Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
I’m paid to watch people. To get into their lives.
I can read people in an instant. And I’m really good at my job.
But I watch her because I want to. Because I like to.
She’s a sweet girl, a beautiful girl.
But I’m content to admire her from afar.
Something about her fascinates.
But when he walks into the coffee shop where she works, I instantly sense something is off.
And when I hear him ask her out.
I know that something is definitely not right. She’s in trouble.
And I know that I’m the only one who can do something about it.
To save this girl, I’m going to have to step outside my comfort zone. I’m going to have to think, plan and do things I’ve never done before.
Do I have a choice?
I don’t know. One thing I doknow.
I will not let anything happen to her.
So, NO… no choice.
* * *
Brynn
My life is steady and consistent. There aren’t a lot of surprises.
And that’s okay.
I’ve got a career I’m passionate about in front of me and a lot to look forward to.
Love isn’t one of those things.
But that’s okay.
I can find fulfillment in other ways.
Like working in this coffee shop. But when an insistent stranger walks in one day, I find myself thrust into a situation I never expected.
I am in danger.
I have no one to protect me.
And no idea how to escape.
My very life hangs in the balance.
Then I get help from an unexpected source.
And from that moment on, my life is anything but steady. And everything I thought I knew is turned on its head.
I only know one thing.
I know nothing will ever be the same again.
___________________________________________________________
PROTECTED
A short, dark, steamy story from Lena Little
Protective Hero, Age gap, Alpha, Private Investigator, Trafficking, Kidnapping,
Suspense, High Heat, Slow-Burn romance. No OW/OM, Guaranteed HEA!
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
CHAPTER 1
BURKE
“Large coffee. Black, for…” she calls.
I step to the counter and take my cup from her. As I clasp my cup, my finger touches hers. Only the slightest graze, but I instantly feel something deep inside of me stir. The sunlight slants in through the window, making her strawberry-blond hair glimmer. Light glints off her silver-blue eyes. Eyes so pure, they nearly stop my heart. Her full, heart-shaped lips curl upward in a smile that would melt a lesser man. Not me.
“You know, I can tell a lot about a person by their coffee order,” she says.
“Is that so?” I ask.
“She nods. “I can.”
“So, what does my coffee order tell you about me?”
“It tells me you’re steady. Reliable. That you value consistency.”
I grin. “You make me sound predictable.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. There’s a lot to be said for consistency.”
Chuckling, I raise the cup to her. “Thanks, darlin’.”
“You betcha.”
I walk back to my table in the far corner of the coffee shop and sit down. From here, I have a view of the entire place as well as one of Brynn. I was struck by the cute, pixie-like girl from the moment I set foot in here. And it’s because of her that I’ve been coming back for the last couple of months. I tell myself it’s to do some paperwork for my job, but I could do it at home. In truth, I keep coming back for her.
Brynn is gorgeous. And the moment I laid eyes on her, I had a reaction unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. It was visceral. A foot shorter than me and literally half my age, this girl has fueled more than a few of my fantasies. For the last couple of months, she’s been the star of every filthy thought I’ve had while I jerk off in the shower. Just looking at the girl is fucking intoxicating.
I settle down at my table and open my laptop, keeping one eye on the screen, the other eye on Brynn. I have fantasies rolling through my head like a non-stop porn channel. They make it difficult for me to fill out these reports I need to turn in to my client. But the work needs to get done, so I do my best to muddle through. Mrs. Pringle needs to know her husband is nailing his secretary. It’s what she’s paying me for, after all.
“You look like you could use a fresh cup.”
Raising my head, I find myself staring into Brynn’s silver-blue eyes. My heart lurches, and my jeans start getting tighter as I take in the full, round breasts on her small, delicate frame. I glance at my watch, surprised to find that an hour’s gone by. And when I look at the report on my laptop, I’m appalled to see my report is only half-done.
I sigh. “Yeah, looks like I need one.”
“Working, huh?” she asks as she sets down a fresh cup. “On the house.”
“Thank you,” I respond. “And yeah. Just doing some paperwork.”
She glances at my screen and frowns at the incident report I’m working on. “What do you do? Are you a cop?”
“PI,” I say.
She laughs. “You’re a PI?”
“I am.”
“No offense, but aren’t PIs supposed to like, blend in? Like, be invisible?”
“I blend in.”
She laughs again. “You’re way too big to blend in.”
A smirk tugs the corner of my mouth. “How big somebody is matters less than you think. Most people are so self-absorbed that they don’t notice the people around them. It’s just a matter of taking advantage of their blind spots.”
“Blind spots, huh?”
“That’s right.”
A group of twenty-somethings comes through the door and Brynn offers me a smile. She hesitates, almost as if there’s something more she wants to say, but…
“Well, I should get back to work.”
“Thanks for the coffee.”
“Anytime.”
I sit back in my chair and watch Brynn as she handles her customers. She’s personable. Sweet. And she has this bright, magnetic personality that draws me to her like a fucking moth to a porch light. I won’t act on these impulses—she’s far too young for me. She’s twenty years old—literally half my age. But Jesus Christ, do I want to. I really do. Young or not, there is just something about this girl that re-lights a fire inside of me. A fire that burned out a long time ago.
The twenty-somethings get their coffee and depart, leaving me sitting at my table with about half a dozen other people scattered around the coffee shop. I watch Brynn wiping down the counter and laughing with her co-workers. Her voice is high and light. It’s musical. Not to be too poetic or anything, but her voice, and especially her laughter, reminds me of the crystal wind-chimes hanging outside my bedroom window.
As if she feels me watching her, she glances over. Her eyes sparkle, and a small smile turns the corners of her mouth up. Yeah, I would really love nothing more than to sit her on that counter and rail her right now. But I can’t. I won’t let myself fall into that rabbit hole of lust and desire. It wouldn’t be good for either of us.