Page 73 of Ruthless Protector

Was there a nicer guy in existence? I really didn’t think so.

He draped an arm around my shoulders and said against my ear, “You look beautiful.”

I’d chosen a pair of Levi’s, spike heeled boots, a pale pink tank with a shelf bra, and a dove tray sweater that hung off one shoulder, since it had been getting cooler in the evenings. Nothing special, really; one of the outfits I’d worn when I was seeing Evan, when I’d spent most of my paychecks on nice things to impress him and his family. Dressy casual. I hadn’t worn anything like this in a while. I was either schlepping around the house or stripping. Not much cause for pretty sweaters in my new line of work.

“Thanks.” I tried not to preen, but having Jude look at me like that made my belly squirm and my heart race.

He hit a buzzer by the door and grinned down at me, looking like the cat that got the cream.

“What’s with the grin?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I’m spending time with you. Makes me happy.”

I stared back at him, caught in the heat and tenderness of his gaze. The man made my heart skip a beat. Dangerous. So dangerous.

The door opened and I jumped.

Jude’s grin widened before he turned to the woman standing there. “Hey, Sunny. Happy birthday.” He handed her a gift-wrapped box, that looked like chocolates, and gave her a quick hug.

She beamed at him. “Thank you! You didn’t have to get me a gift.” Then her eyes came to me and her smile got impossibly bigger. “You must be Willa, and this must be Tilly,” she said to my niece, who was also smiling.

The other woman was beautiful—curvy figure, wild wavy blonde hair, wide gorgeous blue eyes, delicate features. I felt a little like a brown autumn leaf beside a spring daffodil, she was that stunning.

I took her outstretched hand. “Thanks for letting Tilly and I crash the party.”

She shook her head and stepped back, inviting us in. “I’m so happy you could come, everyone’s dying to meet you.”

I blinked up at her and realized I’d frozen at the threshold when Jude gave me a squeeze and tilted his head toward the open door.

I forced my feet to move me forward. We followed her into a huge open space, people milling about. There was a cluster of guys by the couch in the middle of the room. One of them was holding a baby with golden hair, and eyes that were an identical blue to our host. There was also a little boy, about three or maybe four years old, running around with a toy plane. Standing around the kitchen island were several women sipping drinks and chatting, eating the finger foods that had been set up there.

They all turned to us when we walked in, and despite my current profession, I didn’t like having all of their focus aimed my way, not one damned bit. How much did they know about me? What had Jude told them about us? Did they think we were an “us”?

I glanced up at him, hoping to catch some kind of clue. I got nothing; he seemed completely unfazed. My eyes slid the group of men when one broke away and started toward us.

Every muscle in my body tensed.

The guy from the poker game. Mr. Dark and Handsome. Jude said he worked at the agency with him. Oh God. I’d assumed…I had no idea this was a work thing…

“Are these people your coworkers?” I asked as heat crawled up my neck.

Jude frowned, obviously seeing the change in me. “Well, yeah, but we’re more a family…”

No. No. No. “These guys were with you at Stilettos? When I had my audition dance for Raul?”

He curled his fingers around my bicep. “Baby, there’s nothing to worry about…”

My breath punched from my chest. “Are these the guys?”

He frowned. “Well, yeah.”

Mr. Dark and Handsome had reached us and I shrank back, my humiliation so fierce there was no hiding, no concealing it.

“Get me out of here,” I said under my breath, tone urgent. “Now, Jude. I want you to get me the hell out of here.”

What had he been thinking? These men had seen me practically naked, had seen me at my most vulnerable, and the guy now standing beside Jude, looking down at me with concern, had seen me passed around at that poker game like a cheap hooker, had had me in his own goddamn lap, trying to protect me. He thought I’d put myself in that situation. That I was some idiot who would do anything for money, even put herself in dangerous situations like the one I’d been in that night.

The women standing in the kitchen, still looking at me, were their wives, partners. They must hate me. God, they must think I’m some desperate, grasping, skank.