He closes the door behind him and locks it. And here we are again, him facing me, me facing him. Staring.
I arch a brow and tut.
“For God’s sake, this is ridiculous. Can you move? I’m hungry and I heard someone say steak.”
“You’re beautiful,” he replies, his eyes still gazing. “Lucy, honestly, you’re stunning.”
“Why thank you. New dress, do you like it?” I spin around and flutter my eyelashes then roll my eyes. “You need to move, King. Oh no wait, that’s wrong. You’re Cooper now. Owen Cooper. It’s got a nice ring to it.”
“I didn’t know you were coming tonight; you weren’t on the guest list.”
“Come on, Owen, you’re not stupid. I was a last minute addition; how else do you think this would work?”
He frowns and goddammit, he looks cute. A boyish handsomeness masks his features, and small frown lines create wrinkles in his forehead.
“How would what work?”
“Duh! Protection detail.”
His eyes widen in surprise. “Wait, what? You.” He laughs. “My little Cookie?” The way he says my nickname makes something flip in my stomach. He looks around. “Who put you up to this, Jack?” He lets out a laugh, but there’s an edge to it.
“Apex, at your service.” I bow. “That’s who your office has subcontracted, right? What was your specific request?Upping your security, with a natural and subtle increase so as to not arise suspicion.”
“That’s right…” he says slowly, but his forehead is still masked in the cute frown lines.
“Well, you’re looking at your natural and subtle increase in security.” I hold out my arms wide. “Lucy Cook. Well, actually, I go by Kara Snow nowadays, but I’m at your disposal. For the next three months. It will be just like the old days. Kara Snow can’t exactly embed herself into your life. Lucy Cook, though,” I hum and step forward, tracing my finger up his shirt over his bow tie, and I lean forward. Warmth radiates from him, along with his comforting scent that I both love and hate.
“What better way for us to bump into each other?” I walk around him, letting my hand track over his shoulders, thedefinition strong under his tailored tux. I circle him, like a predator assessing their prey. “For us to see something in each other, for us to become intimate.” I lean closer, my lips at the corner of his mouth. “For us to remember our times together, our past,” I whisper, leaving the gentlest of kisses on the side of his mouth. And God,the smell of him.
It’s so masculine. It overpowers me, washing over my senses, travelling along my spine all the way to my toes.
How can a smell have such a physical reaction?
“Except this time round, I’ll be protecting you. And I’ll keep protecting you until the day I die, or the day the contract ends. But until then, I’ll be around. Because, like I said before, I don’t leave, and I will protect you from whatever monsters are trying to get you.” I step back and his eyes seek out mine.
“What did he do to you?” he growls out the words, and as I walk past, I stop next to him, glancing sideways.
“Everything.” I open the lock on the latch before leaving Owen Cooper standing in the ladies’ toilet, watching me leave for a second time in the last ten minutes.
It turns out I’m just as good at it.
I was spot on; we had been seated next to each other.
He re-joins the room ten minutes after me, I’m already seated at the table making small talk with a lovely elderly gentleman called Jeffery. In a short time, I’d realised that we were at a children’s charity event, raising funds for foster carers.
Owen is a sponsor and executive on the board to a local charity, and this was an annual event.
They charged a shit ton per ticket, and it had become quite the social event in the calendar for the higher classes.
Between courses, Owen would be giving a speech, and a slight part of me—okay, that’s bullshit—abigpart of me really wants to hear what he has to say for himself.
Throughout our whole encounter, Owen radiates confusion, but there is something more. Rage, annoyance, and as I walked past him, leaving him in the toilet, I could have sworn I saw disappointment.
How dare he judge me?
He looks at me like I’m a stranger.
Well, you know what, Owen Cooper, I am a fucking stranger. He has no bloody idea what I’ve been through. How dare he judge my path?
