***
“Honey girl, you look as if you’d rather be
somewhere else.”
The familiar voice made her stomach clench
and her heart race.
She cleared her throat, turning around. “I
thought about changing my clothes. I’m not really all that comfortable in this type
of attire.”
Jack’s dark eyes went over her from top to
bottom, his perusal slow, until his eyes rested on hers. “That’d be a real
pity, Rose, ’cause you look beautiful in that dress.”
“Yeah, right.” She laughed. “Is that a
pick-up line, Jack?”
Even on her best day she thought she just
looked ‘okay’, nothing out of this world, definitely not a beauty like Daisy
and Jasmine. Rose thought that the beauty gene must have passed her by, because
her two sisters were beautiful while she was merely passable.
The male species were okay, but she’d never
found one that made her sigh and swoon. She was used to putting up a front,
fighting her battles, but truth be told, she was embarrassed and felt
uncomfortable in such close proximity with Jack.
He reached over, slipping his finger around
a curl that the hairdresser had tonged into her straight hair, it was left
loose while the rest of her hair was piled on top of her head. He twined it
around his finger, doing it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She reached up, circling his wrist with her
fingers, only they were too small, and it made her aware of just how large he
was.
He gave her a questioning look. “You gonna
try and throw me down the stairs or something?” His mouth twitched as his eyes
twinkled with amusement.
She stared hard at him. She didn’t like to
be touched. “If I have to.”
Rose was defiant; she knew for sure that no
way in hell would she be able to do that. When he’d allowed her to kick his six
and a half feet of muscled body out of her club she’d had to admit surprise.
Rose thought a man like him would have been mortified by a female getting one
over on him, but he hadn’t even lifted a finger to stop her.
He stepped back, and she held her breath
when she felt his fingers touch her neck as he let go of her hair. Her insides
did that shaking thing which had also happened the last time she saw him. He
leaned back against the banister and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.
“So why’d you laugh when I called you
pretty?”
“Because I thought it was funny and a
terrible pick-up line.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You think that was
a pick-up line?”
“Wasn’t it?” She moved back, or tried to;
she was already pushed against the window. He was so close, she had to look up
to talk to him. The air seemed limited, and she blew out a breath to cool her
very unattractive sweaty upper lip.
“No, it was the truth. You look beautiful.”
She tried to be casual by shrugging her
shoulders, but she was standing in four-inch heels, and the movement unbalanced
her—there was no way that was ever going to end well. She fell forward straight
into his arms, her braless breasts squashed into his hard chest.
Immediately her nipples hardened, and she
was shocked. She could feel her body enjoying the warmth of Jack Calloway before
she realized he had his arms around her with his long fingers laying on the
bare skin of her back. Jeezus, was that an electric shock whizzing down her
arms to the tips of her toes?
She pushed back, looking up into those
black eyes that were half closed. He, on the other hand, seemed perfectly
unaffected by what had just happened. Although he wasn’t smiling as he had
been, the facetiousness had disappeared. She frowned. Had she imagined that
sizzle of awareness? No…the soles of her feet felt like a pincushion.
“You
are beautiful,” he insisted.
AVAILABLE NOW
Rose Eagleton has never let anyone penetrate her tough exterior. She won't allow herself to be hurt again, nor will she let anyone uncover the secrets of her past, which she has successfully hidden for years. But when she meets Jack Calloway he refuses to let her hide behind her shell. She's confused about her feelings for this man who takes every opportunity to be close to her, to touch her, to make her feel. But she knows one thing for sure—she can't let him become important to her.
Jack's motto had always been 'to protect'. An ex-Navy Seal who is now part owner of a security firm, he takes his work seriously. When he installs a security system in Rose's club as a favor to her sister, he finds himself intrigued by the beautiful young woman who fights so hard to keep him at a distance. As he discovers the secrets she's trying so desperately to hide, it becomes clear that her life is in danger. Can he break through her shell and provide her with the protection she needs but refuses to accept?
Content Warning: contains adult language and explicit sex
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