My lips quirked.
Lucy Lee was a sassy little thing.
Well, not so little. She had an ass on her that could make a grown man cry.
Everything about her stirred a wild heat into my cock.
Taking a step closer, I stared straight into her eyes. “Lucy, whoever’s been coming for you already knows you’re alone out here. And you’ve been taking risks like you have a death wish. Is that what you want? You want to die?”
Her pretty lips dropped open, and she whispered, “No.”
I took another step closer until we were only inches apart. My hand came up, settling at her waist like it belonged there, holding her in place. “You’ve been taking walks on the beach byyourself. Driving into town. Going to crowded festivals. Sounds to me like you have a death wish.”
Lucy stiffened at my touch, and now I saw her in the right light. She was frightened out of her mind and powerless to protect herself. She’d just done a good job covering it.
If she kept that fear, it could save her life. I needed her alert and vigilant, just like me.
I softened my voice down to a low growl. “Baby doll, you might be rich and famous, but that doesn’t stop a bullet. I know all about that husband you’re in the middle of divorcing and how overprotective he was. You’ve been living like the threat stopped when you left him, but it didn’t. Someone wants you dead. My job is simple. I need to keep you alive. And if that means tying you up and dragging you to a safe house, that’s what I’m going to do.”
She quietly confided, “I can’t live in a cage any longer. I need to be free.”
I lifted an eyebrow without uttering another word.
She sighed and looked away, her eyes stuttering down to my chest. “Cal promised you’d be unobtrusive.”
Lucy Lee wanted me to fade into the shadows?
Well, I was good at that.
“That’s me,” I rumbled. “I’ll be a ghost in your house.”
She exhaled slowly and nodded, fragile and unsure of herself. A broken woman trying to figure out her place in this world.
Valerie came out with her suitcase packed and gave Lucy a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Call me anytime, day or night.”
Lucy nodded. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I know.” Valerie looked at me. “Youbetterkeep her safe.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After I locked the door behind her, Lucy started crying lightly.
This whole experience must have felt overwhelming to her.
After a restless couple of hours, where she paced the house while I kept my eye on her, following her from room to room, she turned to face me.
“Are you going to follow me like this the whole time you’re here?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She seemed frazzled, as if my very presence was too much for her to handle.
Then she stomped toward the bathroom, every inch a curvy diva who was used to getting her own way.
“I’m going to take a bath,” she sniffled at me as she wiped at her eyes.
“Yes, ma’am.”
