Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“And? What are you doing about it?”
“I know. I need another full-time bodyguard,” he said, sitting up, then leaning forward, hands on my chest, his interest caught there. “You’re beautiful, you know.”
“Finish your thought.”
“After what happened with Burke, I called Preeya because she now has a security business, and I told her what happened.”
“Preeya sounds awesome.”
“She’s bossy is what she is, and she was so pissed at me.”
“Because why? Because you didn’t listen to her about Burke?”
“Yes.”
“What were her concerns?”
“She didn’t like his work history, that he was only in places for one or two years at a time. I didn’t think that was a big deal. And the thing is, Burke was a great bodyguard for three years. When he first started with me, there were no red flags, but I can also be honest and say I might have missed things because I was so busy, moving from project to project so fast that I didn’t really pay attention.”
“So perhaps you missed his more than professional interest in you.”
“It’s possible, though I can’t really point to anything specific because—”
“You don’t remember.”
“That would be the reason, yes,” he muttered, leaning back so he could slide his hands down my chest to my abdomen and then back up to my shoulders. “Can we stop talking about this now and do something else?”
“Has she been looking for someone for you?”
“You have a one-track mind, has anyone ever told you that?”
“It’s been said,” I assured him with a grin.
He smiled right back, as though I was irresistible. “And yes, Preeya says she found the perfect fit for me.”
“Who?”
“A woman named Bridget Carran. She and Preeya are friends. Bridget was working for a man as a flight attendant/bodyguard/pilot on his private plane, and when she told Preeya she was ready to make a change, Preeya offered her a job at her company. And not only is she lethal and boasts an incredible skill set, but she’s also a very creative mixologist.”
“I like her already.”
“I’m sure I will too. I’m meeting her and Preeya in Turks and Caicos after this wedding.”
“Sounds amazing.”
“I agree. Now can you please roll over on top of me and—”
“How do you feel about Burke now?”
He thought a moment. “I feel bad for him. And of course I got to thinking about it after, and the truth is, even if I’d met him on the street or something, and he was never my bodyguard, I wouldn’t have been attracted to him.”
“Why not?”
“I have a very specific type.”
“And what is that?”
“I like annoying men who talk instead of screwing me,” he replied drolly.
“Oh yeah?”
“Apparently.”
“And what else?”
His grin made his eyes sparkle. “Big brown eyes with long lashes, really judgmental eyebrows, a smile that makes me want to get naked, hands that—”
“Would we say judgmental?”
“That’s your takeaway? Not the part about me getting naked?”
I laughed, which he shook his head over, just as the alarm on my phone sounded, followed by several short beeps that told me there was something on the schedule thirty minutes out.
“Okay,” I said, pointing at my nightstand. “I’ll bet you we’re nearing the time for the welcome dinner.”
He had to process that. “I’m sorry, what?”
I loved that he sounded both annoyed and horrified.
“The welcome dinner.”
“Is this a wedding or a convention?”
I chuckled, and he groaned.
“Check my phone,” I told him. “The code is 8675.”
He just stared at me.
“Please, honey, check the phone.”
The way he was looking at me, like I was an alien or something, was really strange.
“What?”
“You’re fine with giving me your security code, and then there’s an endearment?”
I winced. “Sorry, sorry, I tend to—”
“No, no,” he rushed out, leaning over to plant a kiss on me that I felt down to my toes and then back up to my chest, sparking and twinging the whole way, making my pulse pound, my skin tingle, and sending my blood rushing straight to my cock.
“Don’t change anything,” he ordered and warned in the same halting breath. “You’re going to spoil me with all this honesty and trust.”
I smiled against his mouth as he kissed me. My alarm went off again, louder than the first time.
“We really hafta get moving,” I said when he pulled back, kissing behind my ear as I bucked up off the bed. “And you’re gonna make it uncomfortable for me.”
“I could—”
“Get the phone, Ash. And c’mon, we both know you’re hungry.”
“I promise you, the last thing I need is food.”
It would have been a stronger statement if his stomach didn’t take that moment to growl like he was possessed by a demon. Everyone was starving today.
I couldn’t have held in my laughter if I tried.
“You know, Cooper, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think I like you at all.”
I grinned at him. “No. You like me a lot.”
“Perhaps,” he granted, and tried to kiss me again before his stomach let out a roar.