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“Then I guess you better keep up.”

His stare hardens.

“Rusty.”

“What?” I say innocently.

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

I lean closer just enough to make his breath hitch.

“Oh, Alessio,” I murmur. “I think that ship sailed the second you took this assignment.”

A faint smile touches his mouth.

The first real one I’ve seen since the plane landed.

“Good to know you’re still a firecracker,” he says. “But if anyone else in this mausoleum looks at you the way I just did, they’re going to regret it.”

I cross my arms.

“Jealousy isn’t very professional, Mr. Bodyguard.”

He steps closer.

Close enough that I can feel the heat coming off him.

“It’s my job to protect you. And protectiveness is professional,” he corrects softly. “Very professional.”

My heart betrays me again by speeding up.

This man is dangerous.

Not just physically. Emotionally.

Shit.

I need to remember exactly who he is.

The guy who left without a word.

The one who broke my heart.

But standing this close to him, feeling that familiar gravity pulling me toward him again, I’m starting to realize something.

Three years might not have been long enough to forget Alessio Figueroa.

And tonight? Well, let’s just say it’s going to be a very long night.

Chapter 6

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If she wiggles her hips one more time in that fucking dress, I’m going to hoist her over my shoulder and carry her straight out of this house.

I know I shouldn’t be thinking shit like that.

Not while I’m working.