Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
I laughed. There’s a story idea: a bodyguard romance where the bodyguard gets his balls shot off for crossing the line with the daughter of a mob boss. And not by the mobster, but by said daughter.
***
The next morning, I awoke to a loud bang. And not the kind of bang I’d had in my dreams—a loud and jarring one that sounded like it had come from somewhere in the house.
Fuck! What was that?
Adrenaline pumping, I jumped off the couch and reached over for my gun.
My heart pounded as I burst through Juliette’s bedroom to check on her.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she screamed.
Panting, I held the gun up. “You didn’t hear that?”
“Hear what?” she asked groggily, placing her hand on her chest. “And get that gun away from me.”
“There was a loud bang. I thought someone had burst through your bedroom window or something.”
She rubbed her eyes. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Was I hallucinating? “Stay put. Do not leave this room,” I ordered.
Holding my gun close, I tiptoed around the house, sweeping the place. Finding nothing, I cautiously headed out the door to survey the front. Then I walked around the side of the house, which happened to be closest to where I’d been sitting in the living room. There I found a garbage can tipped over. Two raccoons were ransacking the garbage, though they fled the scene when I appeared. Well, fuck.
Laughter rang out behind me. Juliette looked all too amused by my discovery.
“What are you laughing at?” I grimaced.
“Thanks for rescuing me from those…evil perpetrators.” She burst out laughing again.
“I’m glad you think it’s so funny.”
Her joking annoyed me. But that feeling was quickly replaced when I looked down and saw she’d never put a damn bra on. Just like that, I was feeling something else again.
“How about I treat you to breakfast for saving me, big guy?” She winked.
God, I wished she wouldn’t wink at me like that. I was still too damn sensitized after last night. I cleared my throat. “I accept.”
While we were out for coffee that morning, I noticed Juliette was in a much better mood. “You seem happier today,” I told her. “Perhaps you let some of that tension go? Maybe your wrist is a little tired from thinking about the last book you read?”
She scowled. “I did no such thing.”
That makes one of us. I sure as hell had used my hand. “Well, even if you did, it’s natural.” I shrugged. “I do it all the time.”
“You’d better not be doing it on my couch.”
Time to change the subject. “What’s on tap for today?” I asked as I sipped my coffee.
She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I have a yoga class.”
“Oh, sounds like fun.” I beamed.
Juliette looked a little scared. “You’re not coming inside with me.”
That’s what you think.
CHAPTER 6
* * *
Wes
This is the day from hell.
It was barely noon, and I was already being subjected to my third round of torture. The first had been another braless morning at home. This time, the camisole was white, and I could clearly make out Juliette’s areolas as she pranced around making a damn smoothie. Thankfully, she’d changed before going to yoga, and the new outfit wasn’t see-through. But watching her stick her ass in the air during an hour-long class was definitely torture round two—and the gift that kept on giving. Because now that I knew how limber her body was, I couldn’t stop imagining all the positions I could bend her into. Still, this third round of punishment was the worst of them all—watching her eat lunch with Jett.
I’d known the guy would take a renewed interest in Juliette the moment he saw me with her. The way he’d sized me up the other day told me he was one of those guys who liked to keep his options open and only paid attention when he felt threatened. So I wasn’t surprised when Juliette’s phone rang as we were walking into the house after yoga.
What pissed me off was that she immediately rearranged her whole day to accommodate him. Still, even that irritation didn’t compare to what I was feeling now as I sat in my car, watching the jerk check out another woman’s ass while Juliette was busy looking at the menu.
I sat, stewing and watching Juliette toss her hair around and laugh for almost an hour. Then, because apparently my shitty day could only get worse, my phone buzzed. Vince. Great. Just fucking great.
I took a deep breath and answered. “Hello?”
“I hear it’s going to be hot out there today.”
Vince Ginocassi did not call anyone to shoot the shit about the weather, so he had to be referring to something else—something I didn’t like the sound of. I sat up straighter and kept my eyes on Juliette as we spoke. “Oh yeah. How hot?”