Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“Is it wrong that I’m super excited about this?” Kay asked, her hand on the door. Her dress had been righted and she didn’t look like a woman who’d been manhandled.
He reached out and stopped her. “Don’t be so excited you forget my manners.”
She was the kind of woman who bounded out of a car when it stopped, but he liked being the gentleman. So much of his life had been about brutality that he enjoyed the ease of social niceties, even when a lot of people considered them outdated. That’s why he called them his manners. Of course, what they really amounted to was protocol. They were finding their way with that. She was to allow him to give her every courtesy. He wasn’t allowed to call her property or be insanely jealous when she talked to another man.
Well, he wasn’t allowed to act on it.
He opened his side of the car and found Declan had already gotten out. The big man towered over him.
“You have to stay with her,” he said.
His bodyguards were pushy and all too often forgot who the boss was. “We’ll be fine. It should be a few hours. Take a nap or something.”
The big bodyguard’s eyes were also hidden behind sunglasses, and Josh was happy for that. Something about the man unnerved him at times. Shane was the all-American type, but there was something almost otherworldly about this dude. “I’ll be around if you need me. If you text, I’ll be there.”
Josh nodded and moved around the limo. He’d wanted to take the Porsche out, but apparently that went against bodyguard rules. Those rules that were meant to keep him safe were beginning to chafe. He needed his alone time, but that wasn’t happening anytime soon. He’d had some more threatening letters, these sent to his agent and publicist.
It was all crap. I love you. I want to kill you. I know your secrets.
Yeah, he didn’t buy that one because the person who knew his secrets didn’t send him letters through representatives. No. That bitch knew exactly how to get hold of him.
He was getting antsy. It was almost time. Almost time again.
He opened the door and held out a hand. Already someone walking down the street was turning, sunglasses coming off as though she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. Josh ignored the gawker, preferring greatly to concentrate on the one good thing to have come from all the bodyguard crap.
Kayla slid her hand in his, allowing him to help her up, though they both knew she didn’t need any help from him physically. She was strong and steady. She could run in those mile-high heels and not break an ankle or a sweat.
And yet her eyes were wide as saucers as she looked up at the store. That almost childlike joy kicked him in the gut every time because he was the one providing the experience for her. This was a woman who wouldn’t get jaded or cynical. Who wouldn’t take for granted the little things in life. Hell, she talked to dolphins.
“You ready to have some fun?”
“Are you sure you want to come with me?” she asked, her eyes on the storefront. “I know you’ve got stuff to prep. I can handle this if you have work to do. I’ll call in a stylist to make sure I don’t pick up something embarrassing.”
“I can read the new pages while you try stuff on,” he assured her. “I’ve got my tablet and I can jot down questions for Tyler Williams. He’s already sent me a list of mandatory training my character would go through and some interesting case files that can serve as backstory. Besides, I like your style. If we bring someone in, she’ll try to put you in as many trends as possible. You tend to like soft, feminine stuff. I like that, too. On you.”
The limo drove away and they were left alone on the street. It was nice to be alone with her. He could pretend they were just another couple. He was the Dom, indulging his lovely submissive in a free-for-all shopping experience that would likely cost him six figures. Okay, maybe they would never be normal, but he liked it when they didn’t have an entourage around them.
“Are you sure you’re not protecting your wealth?” She grinned up at him.
He put a hand on his wallet. “Should I?”
“Oh, yeah. I can do some damage,” she promised. “And seriously, it’s been years since I shopped this way. Well, the Santa Barbara mall version of this.”
“I would have thought the life of a spy was filled with designer wear.”
“See, that’s where Hollywood gets it wrong. We mostly try to fit in, not stand out. Though there was this one time when I infiltrated the king of Loa Mali’s…oh, let’s call it a harem, for lack of a better word. There was designer wear then, but mostly bikinis and lingerie. We were on this unbelievable yacht. There wasn’t a lot of evening wear.”