Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
He rubbed his finger under his lower lip as he considered my reasoning.
I knew I had him. I was, after all, my father’s daughter, whether he liked it or not, and had inherited his genes for negotiating.
Turning, he selected a Rolex GMT Master II Ice from the spinning watch caddy on top of his valet station. As he latched the watch around his wrist and adjusted his cuffs, I kept silent.
Patiently waiting. A necessary skill when navigating any engagement with my father. And that’s what they were—tactical, almost military, engagements, never casual father daughter moments.
Without bothering to face me as he made his way out of the dressing room, he tossed over his shoulders, “Consider it done. This is for the best. It was a waste of resources to have my head of security holding your bags while you shopped anyway.”
And there it was again.
Love you too, Dad.
Sigh.
I lingered for several moments after he left.
Checking to make sure there weren’t any staff nearby, I kept to the far corner of the room and pushed several wooden hangers to the side to reveal a black dress bag.
Lifting up the zipper, I pulled out a small bit of the champagne cream lace and silk. Rubbing the familiar fabric between my fingertips, I leaned down and inhaled the faint, lingering scent of rose perfume.
My mother’s wedding dress.
I’d discovered it as a child one day when I used this place during a game of hide-and-seek.
Since then, I’d had a fantasy of wearing it one day for my own wedding.
A vision of Reid waiting for me at the altar dressed in a tuxedo flashed across my mind. I could even envision a hint of a smile on his stern face as he watched me approach down the aisle in my mother’s gown.
A strange sadness settled over me.
Stuffing the bit of dress back into the darkness, I wrenched the zipper back down and shoved the hangers back into place.
I flicked the light off as I left.
Romantic fantasies were stupid.
Besides, it was done.
Reid would no longer be my bodyguard.
CHAPTER 10
REID
If she mouthed off to me one more time, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off her.
She was one snide look away from being on her knees, choking on my cock, before I… I shook the thought out of my head.
I couldn’t think like that while I was on the job. It was a distraction.
I would talk to Lucian in the morning and tell him that he needed to assign someone else—anyone else—to her detail.
If he insisted, I would offer to supervise.
But I could not be left alone with her again, that much was clear.
I had crossed a line today.
Definitely professional, and probably moral and ethical as well.
She was in my charge, my protectee, and my boss’ daughter.
I had no fucking business trying to fuck her.
Christ, what had I been thinking?
Stupid question.
I knew exactly what I had been thinking… and doing.
That was the real problem.
She was supposed to be a spoiled brat. A pain in the ass.
Not an endearingly adorable little kitten with tiny claws and a sexy mew.
I should have known better. I’d spent countless hours watching her from afar during Manwarring public events. Always standing to the side, playing the dutiful daughter. Perfectly dressed and behaved.
Like a doll.
But who knew the pretty doll had a moan like a siren and a pussy a man would die for the chance to taste?
Fuck my life.
At least my shift was finally over, and she was in for the night. Before I left her, I’d installed an app on her phone while she was distracted with her thoughts in the truck that would alert me if she left the building.
The fact that I didn’t want to leave her… that I’d wanted to follow her into the house and straight up to her bed… was also a problem. A real problem.
After a shower to cool my cock, I headed out to meet an old friend for a much-needed drink. I hadn’t seen Hunter for a few weeks. He had been assigned to some need-to-know operation in the Middle East. I wasn’t even sure what country he was coming from. Lucky bastard got to see action, real action, and make a real difference. He got to use his training and expertise and get the adrenaline of putting his life on the line for the greater good. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I missed that part of my life.
It took me less than an hour to get from work to home and to the bar where Hunter knew enough to have a cold one waiting for me.
“You look like you’ve seen some… unusual action,” Hunter laughed as I downed the entire pint in a single pull.
“Never mind about my gig. What have you been up to?” I asked, needing to change the subject.