“Shelby!” Petrov shouted as he glared up the stairs toward the front door of the penthouse and tapped his watch. “Hurry up! I need to get out of here, my flight’s at noon!”

“Okay, okay, dad, just a minute!” Shelby called back to him as she ran down the stairs toward him and grabbed the box out of his arms.

“I can’t believe you actually managed to rope me into carrying things up here for you,” he said in a huff. “I don’t see why some of the men couldn’t have helped you.”

“Because this is what fathers and daughters do,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Daughters move out and their dads help them move into their new places by carrying their boxes up the stairs and helping them get unpacked. Surely, you must have seen it on TV at some point!”

Mr. Petrov shook his head and looked at her affectionately.

“Well, at least I’m trying now,” he said with a wry smile. “Before, there would have been no chance I would have put myself out.”

“Ha, and don’t I know it!” Shelby laughed.

Her dad held his hands up in surrender as if he knew he had been a jerk in the past and had relied too much on the help of others to do menial tasks in their day to day lives.

“Plus, don’t you think it makes you feel more involved?” she grinned. “Now, you know exactly what the apartment is like and you know where I’ll be. Surely, that must make you feel better?”

“It does,” he said as he patted her affectionately on the top of the head. “It makes me feel a lot better…”

He trailed off and looked down the stairs behind him.

“But it still makes me feel better knowing you have him with you…”

Shelby followed his eyeline to the foot of the stairs. Waiting there at the bottom, wearing all black and looking so fucking sexy that she just wanted to run and rip his clothes off, was Hammer. Shelby couldn’t help but smile.

“He’s the best bodyguard there is,” Shelby smiled knowingly. “And I must say, I’m very grateful you decided to keep him on.”

When Petrov wasn’t looking, Hammer winked up at Shelby and grinned.

“Well, if you’re not going to come back to the house and are so determined to stay here, then I’ve got to make sure you’re safe now, don’t I?” Petrov bellowed. “And he’s proven himself before, so I am more than happy to let him prove himself again.”

“It would be an honor, Mr. Petrov,” Hammer smiled as he began to climb the stairs.

Still, whenever she saw him, he took her breath away, and this was no different. He really was the one for her.

“I better get going,” Shelby’s dad said. “My flight is scheduled and we don’t want to miss our slot on the runway.”

Shelby leaned forward and let her dad kiss her on the cheek.

“I’ll call you when I land,” he said as he began to walk down the stairs. “And I’ll be back at the end of the week.”

“Bye, dad,” Shelby smiled and Hammer gave him a mock salute.

“Take care of my daughter,” Petrov snarled at Hammer, even though they all knew it was for show. Since the incident with the Russians and the weeks that followed where Hammer had done more than just prove himself by sticking by Shelby’s side, they all knew he was welcomed into the Petrov family.

“You have my word,” Hammer said as he stood beside Shelby.

She wanted to reach out and take hold of him, but they waited until her father had reached the final step and disappeared out of view.

She turned to look at him and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. She still could barely reach, so Hammer lifted her and wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Alone at last,” he whispered as he climbed the remaining stairs and kicked the door open behind them and began to walk with her inside.

“In our own place,” she grinned.

“Well, technically, it’s yours,” he laughed.

“Yes, but you’re hired to live with me… So…”

“So, what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine?” he said cockily.

“Exactly,” Shelby bit her lip.

He kissed her deeply on the lips and began to walk backward with her toward the bedroom. They had been brought together in the most unbelievable of circumstances and they had triumphed against all odds. They had found love in a crazy world where all either of them had been used to was hurt, pain and heartache. And now, they had the freedom to be with each other, even if it was still in secret until they figured out how they would tell Shelby’s father about what had happened between them both.

“He’ll be fine with it,” Shelby assured him as she gazed longingly into his eyes, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. “You’ve done nothing but look after me since the moment we met. He knows you’re a stand up guy.”

Hammer raised his eyebrows and smiled.

“I know,” he grinned.

Shelby kissed him again and felt as if she had never been happier. She had been through hell and back, and now, she was finally back in her apartment with the man she loved. Their love may have been forbidden and frightening, it may have been in secret and hidden away, but she knew that wouldn’t last forever.

When the time was right, they would tell her father and the rest of The Forsaken Riders, and if anything, Shelby knew it would just strengthen their bonds even more. A common enemy and a bond via families would make them practically blood. And Shelby knew her father had been very impressed by what he had seen of The Forsaken Riders, so far. It wasn’t just Shelby and Hammer’s relationship that was evolving, many relationships out in the desert were set to change, and all for the better.

“So, what are we doing tonight?” Shelby asked her bodyguard as she looked up at him cheekily and slowly began to slip the strap of her top down over her shoulder.

Hammer watched her with lust in his eyes and the look of a man that was about to take exactly what he wanted.

“Well, I think maybe for your own protection, we should probably stay in the apartment,” he teased. “Confined to the bedroom…” He moved closer and began to climb on top of her. “And I think we should probably remove all your clothes.”

“That sounds like the perfect night to me,” Shelby grinned as she reached for him and pulled him to her.

She smiled and kissed him and ran her hands through his hair.

From gaining a bodyguard, she had also gained the love of her life. And she knew that from there on in, their life together was going to be nothing short of amazing.

She had found her Greek god and she had traveled to exactly where she needed to be. Shelby had finally found somewhere she could call home.

THE END