“Jaxson?” What was he doing?
“Breathe,” he said, his blue eyes stared right into mine.
I exhaled a heavy breath that I hadn’t realized that I’d been holding.
Jaxson clasped my hands tight, and I glanced down at our joined hands, mine trembled. “You got this, Freckles.” He held one hand tight and flipped on the bathroom fan with the other hand.
“Do I?” I asked, my voice squeaked. I grimaced and exhaled a long breath, trying to calm myself down. “I’m not a field agent. I work well in an office, where there’s stability and structure.”
He wrapped his strong arms around my waist and pulled me tight against his body. “Just imagine that you’re doing office work outside,” Jaxson said.
His breath teased my neck, and his lips caressed my skin. Slowly he dropped soft kisses just behind my ear.
He was my undoing—each and every time.
“You got this, Freckles,” Jaxson said again.
I exhaled a heavy breath through my nose. My eyes shut, I nodded. “Give it to me. What’s the assignment?”
He’d brought me into the bathroom to tell me, right? Out of earshot of Skylar, who had a big mouth.
“There’s a film crew starting this morning for a movie. They’re requesting a security team to monitor the production and make sure that no one uninvited breaches the set.”
“That’s it?” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Now I feel like an idiot.”
“Don’t,” Jaxson said. “You can’t help how you feel or how your body responds.” He pulled me tight against him, one hand on my lower back, the other cradling my ass.
I smiled and leaned in, stealing a kiss, unsure when I’d get the opportunity again with him. Just the two of us, alone.
* * *
I’d never done security detail, but Jaxson needed an extra body, and while I didn’t look the least bit threatening, I could at least make sure no one ran on set who didn’t belong. Plus, I had a walkie-talkie, and I was to report to Jaxson anyone who I deemed suspicious.
I wasn’t expecting much to happen.
No one knew a film crew was scheduled in town, but people would talk when they noticed side roads were closed and the cast trailers parked out on the open field just off the main road.
The locals would come, curious about the production in a town of less than a thousand.
While I hadn’t lived in Breckenridge for long, this was probably the most exciting thing to happen in the spring months, when skiing and snowboarding were closed for the season.
It was difficult to tear my gaze from Jaxson.
While he stood guard outside of the cast’s trailer, specifically Harper Madison, my responsibility was to make sure that the crew members all wore badges to easily be identified.
The job was easy for the most part, making sure no one snuck on set who didn’t belong.
Did anyone even realize outside of the production crew that Harper Madison was in town?
She probably stayed under a fake name at whatever hotel she checked into.
When the stars paused for lunch, I grabbed a quick bite to eat in my car, enjoying the solitude. I couldn’t join Jaxson for lunch as much as I wanted to because we both couldn’t afford to take an hour off at the same time.
Finishing a quick meal, I strode across the parking lot, back toward the set.
A sharp pinch struck my neck.
I reached up to rub away the pain, and my vision blurred. I opened my mouth to scream when I felt a hand cover my lips.
My body slumped, about to fall to the ground, when a set of arms lifted me into their embrace.
Darkness swept over me.