Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 139606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 558(@250wpm)___ 465(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 558(@250wpm)___ 465(@300wpm)
She was the one in the living room. She’d called down and gotten coffee, and she was sitting out there waiting for him to wake up and explain why she should stay.
They’d talked about something the night before. He could remember her saying something about a guard or being on her guard, and Brian had disagreed at first.
He moved to the bathroom. He wasn’t about to have this conversation with her until he was clean and somewhat clearheaded. Damn. He had meetings today. He needed to do some research so he would be ready to meet with Huisman later in the week and here he was desperately worried about whether or not a woman he’d known mere days was going to leave him.
He tossed off his clothes and started up the big shower.
The problem was it felt like he’d known her forever. There was a deep comfort in being around her that he couldn’t quite explain. It was like something eased inside him when she was around, something that had been tight for so long he’d forgotten what it felt like to be comfortable.
He stepped in the shower and breathed in the steam, letting it start to clear his head.
Gina was sixteen. Two more years and she would be able to make her own decisions. Johnny made bad decisions no matter his age. He would always have to be there for his brother, but Johnny was also more capable of living without money than Gina was.
Sometimes he wished his mom hadn’t made the deal with his father, that he’d never known his younger siblings so they wouldn’t be a weakness to be used against him.
He could pay for Gina’s college. He had some money, and he knew how to make more. He wasn’t completely foolish. After the divorce, he’d opened a couple of accounts and started stashing cash away. Cash that could be used to support his brother and sister if they chose to leave with him. Johnny would in a heartbeat, but he wasn’t sure about Gina.
Could he leave her? Or would he stay to make sure their father didn’t torture her?
“Hey, you’re up,” a soft voice said.
He turned, ready to tell her he would be out in a moment, but his breath caught in his chest because she was standing there completely naked, her dark hair spilling around her shoulders and brushing the tops of her breasts. She wasn’t wearing any makeup and was so gorgeous it hurt his fucking heart to look at her.
Longing. She made him long.
“We should talk,” he began. “I’ll get dressed.”
“Why?” She moved into the shower, that impish expression he was coming to love taking over. “Does your mouth work better when you’re wearing clothes?”
“My brain works better when you are.” His cock was already threatening to take over. His cock thought this was the best idea in the history of time.
She got right into his space, her hands going to his waist as she tilted her head up. “Your brain doesn’t need to work at all right now, Sir. You need to relax. The bodyguard is going to be here in a couple of hours. I’m picking him up from the airport myself. He’s kind of a family friend, but I haven’t seen him in a couple of years. My friend Tristan knows him better, though it’s been a while for him, too. Nate’s former SAS, and he happens to need a job. You’ll love him.”
“Bodyguard?” This was what they’d talked about before she’d smoothed back his hair and told him to sleep, that she would take care of everything.
That she would take care of him.
Her nose wrinkled. “I wondered if you would remember. Yes. Bodyguard. He’s a big guy who makes sure no one else shoots a dart into you. Or a bullet. Really, he’s there to ensure nothing goes into this hot bod that you do not approve of. I don’t think he’ll save you from my tongue though.”
He was so hard he could barely breathe. Shouldn’t yesterday’s crap have had an effect on his libido? Not when Tasha was around. He somehow managed to put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her from dropping to her knees. “Tasha, we have to talk. Someone came after me yesterday.”
“And Nathan Carter is going to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she said with a breezy smile that suddenly disappeared in favor of a wince. “He’s expensive. Sorry about that. I had to promise him almost twenty grand, but when you think about it, it’s not so bad. It’s two full weeks, twenty-four seven. The good news is he doesn’t actually work for a company. He’s in between jobs, so there’s no company fees. This job would be thirty grand if you were going through my dad.”
“The money is fine.” Hell, he could expense that amount and his father wouldn’t notice, but there was something else. “You’re in danger if you stay with me.”