She let a little curling wisp of grey smoke drift from her left nostril, much to Blaise’s delight.
“Cool!”
His father must not have been as impressed because he took a faltering step backward, and it wasn’t lost on her when he instinctively reached for his son. To his credit, he let his hands fall to his sides before making an even bigger fool of himself.
“I have some questions I need to ask you two to get started, if that’s okay,” Wyntir announced.
Stark looked hesitant, but he nodded. “Go ahead.”
She pulled out her phone to take notes. “Have you seen anything out of the ordinary in your neighborhood lately? This goes for both of you.”
“Not that I can think of,” Stark said. “Can you think of anything, sport?”
Blaise shook his head. “Not really. Oh, wait! I did see a raccoon in the recycling bin the other night when I took out the trash.”
Wyntir smiled at the boy, impressed that his father had him do household chores. Most men of his status would have several employees to take care of such things.
“Great, I’ll put him on the watchlist,” she said and then turned her attention on Stark. “I’m very familiar with the security system our team installed in your home after the…incident.”
She shot a sideways glance at Blaise, but Stark just shrugged. “He knows all about the break-in. We’ve talked about what to do if it ever happens when we’re home.”
“Good,” she said, even more impressed with him and hating herself for it. “So, who has access to the home?”
“Just Blaise and me most days, plus our housekeeper, Hilde. She’s not here today.”
“And you trust her?”
Stark looked almost insulted. “Of course! She’s worked for me for nearly a decade now. I couldn’t have…” He paused and then shook his head, clearly unwilling to share whatever personal bit of information he’d almost let slip. “I trust her implicitly.”
Wyntir sighed, satisfied that he trusted the woman, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to have Ragan and Dyrk run background checks on her as soon as possible.
“What about stalkers?”
Stark barked out an incredulous laugh. “Uh, no. Why would you even ask that?”
“Because you’re famous,” Blaise interjected, rolling his eyes at Wyntir like his dad didn’t have the sense god gave a turnip. “Duh!”
She liked the kid.
“It does make you a target,” she agreed.”
“Not in my experience. I love my fans.” Stark puffed out his chest a little.
The urge to roll her eyes was almost overwhelming. His fans? Ugh.
“Any girlfriends have a key to the place?”
Stark snorted. “I don’t even have one girlfriend, much less multiples.”
Then he caught her attention and lifted one eyebrow a fraction of an inch, as if asking if she was interested in taking on the title. This time she didn’t hold back. She rolled her eyes so hard she could almost hear her mother admonishing her that they’d get stuck that way. But despite her irritation, she was undeniably pleased to hear he was single. And she hated herself for it.
“Why don’t you two show me around the house so I can get the lay of the land,” she suggested, getting to her feet and looking at them expectantly. Her confident stance made it clear she wasn’t asking.
Stark led her on a tour with Blaise bringing up the rear. She confirmed the security system her coworker Thrett had installed was running properly and that no further modifications were needed.
“Nice place,” she said, taking in the expansive living space and high-end furnishings. “Shouldn’t be too hard for me to keep an eye on you both here.”
Stark shook his head. “Fine, you can pretend you’re my personal security here, and you can escort Blaise wherever, but I’m fine on my own.”
She shot a glance back at Blaise who just shook his head at his father’s stubbornness. Who would have thought the kid would have better sense than the dad? But wasn’t that so often the case?
They climbed the stairs to the second floor in silence and then Blaise perked up with a question of his own. “What’s it feel like when you, you know, get all dragony? Does it hurt?”
“Not really. It’s actually pretty fun. I feel more powerful than anyone else in the world.”
His eyes grew wide. “Wow. My best friend is a dragon, you know! Well, half-dragon.”
Wyntir smiled. “I know. Did you know that Trystin’s father works with me and is a close personal friend?”
“Neat!”
Stark interrupted their little chat by clearing his throat. “And here’s your client’s bedroom.”
It was definitely a little boy’s room with posters of sports figures hung all around and a sports car bed in the middle of it. Wyntir slyly checked the window and the solidity of the door before beaming at Blaise.
“Nice digs, kid.”
“Thanks! I decorated it myself. Didn’t I, Daddy?”
“You sure did, sport.”
Blaise’s gaze bounced between them. “Daddy, I don’t understand why you won’t let Wyntir be your bodyguard. She’s awesome!”
“Listen to the man. He knows what he’s talking about.” She couldn’t keep the smugness out of her tone.
Stark sighed heavily. “Sport, it’s not that I have a problem with a female bodyguard. Honestly, I don’t care. But I have a reputation. Even if she is a dragon, my studio still won’t like the image of a woman protecting their biggest moneymaker. It just wouldn’t look good.”
“Not my problem,” Wyntir said, crossing her arms. “I’ve got my orders and if there’s one thing in life I take seriously, it’s my job. And fashion, but mostly my job.”
“Well, it kinda is your problem,” he started and then he blinked rapidly as a big grin broke out on his face. Her heart fluttered in her chest in response. “Wait a minute. I have a great idea!”
A sick feeling flooded her gut. “Oh goody, can’t wait to hear this.”
“You can pretend to be Blaise’s nanny.”
She stared at him for what seemed like hours. Did she just hear that right? “Are you nuts?”
“Not at all,” Stark replied, nodding his head at the supposed awesomeness of his brainstorm. “It solves everything. You can keep an eye on us here without it being an issue, but outside these walls, we can explain your constant presence by telling everyone you’re the nanny. I mean, that’s kinda why you’re here anyway.”
Wyntir could barely believe her ears. This guy thought this was all a joke. Anger seethed inside her and she could no longer hold back.
“No. Nope. Not happening. I’m here to protect both of you, not just Blaise. I’m a bodyguard. Never in a million years will I pretend to be anything I’m not—especially not a nanny!”
Chapter Two
“Who, her?” Stark said as he glanced over his shoulder at her with an evil smile. “That’s my son’s nanny. She’s new”
Wyntir glowered at him, hands curled into fists as she tried to hide her annoyance. They were on the set of his new action film and Stark was talking with the apparently high-profile director. Wyntir had never heard of the guy but she didn’t keep up on the film industry’s comings and goings. She had better things to do—like protecting her clients from bad guys. Though if Godzilla stomped through the set at the moment, Wyntir might have sat back and wished for popcorn.