Page 7 of Brooding Bodyguard Summer

“Oh yeah? I mean, she came looking for me, bud. Maybe you weren’t doing it for her, yeah?”

“I won’t repeat myself. Miss Noemi, it is time to go,” Neko cuts out.

Miss Noemi. Since he misspoke that day at the market, this is what he calls me. We’re going to be late, Miss Noemi. Don’t try to distract me, Miss Noemi. I am trying to protect you, Miss Noemi.

“Because you said so?” I decide I do want to challenge him after all.

Neko’s entire body is coiled tight. God above, he is a beautiful man. Did my father know what he was doing to me when he hired this beast of a man? Was this some sort of punishment? Teasing me with something the ultimate forbidden fruit—a formidable fruit that does not want me back.

“Yes, because I said so. We’re leaving, now,” he barks, his hand circling the back of my neck.

I cannot hold back the little whimper his touch pulls from deep inside of me. His hand tightens on me, surprising me. I do not hesitate to move. I stumble over my heels, but I push away from the cocky stranger. Neko makes a little rough sound, pulling me to his side.

“Do not play games with me, little girl,” he hisses against my ear.

“Got to put your hands on a woman to get her to obey?”

Neko pushes me behind his big body—no, he adjusts me gently behind him. The stranger stands up, sipping at his beer before he tosses it aside with a crash. I almost laugh. A few days ago, I had never flirted with a man, never dared touch one and now, it looks as if two might come to blows over me.

“Hmm, not at all. This one just happens to prefer my hands on her, chief. I am going to warn you to get lost, this ain’t a fight you want.”

I press against Neko’s back, stunned when one of his arms bends behind him to wrap around me, holding me there. I am shaking from the contact. A starved women given sustenance after a long fast. I burrow closer and smile against his shoulder.

“We’re going now,” Neko announces as if warning the stranger. “Be smart and keep your fucking hands to yourself in the future, chief.”

Then he storms from the tiny bar, leaving the entire bar to stare after us. I am used to being watched. Used to people wondering who I am or why I slip past velvet ropes or get past doors closed to them. This is not the same. They’re not watching a spoiled princess—they’re watching him.

Neko in action is a force of nature. He stalks out of the place as if walking through fire that doesn’t burn him. He keeps that arm bent to pin me to his back as he cuts through the small crowd to get us outside. There is a car waiting for us that he loads me into as if I am the most precious thing on earth.

“I…I didn’t mean,” I trail off when he climbs in after me, barking an order at the driver.

“Do. Not. Speak,” his bark is aimed at me now, his eyes dark as he slides close on the back seat of the blacked-out SUV.

I can’t breathe. Neko’s hard body is pressed close, pinning me to the cool leather. I have a drink or two in me, so I am braver than usual. I do not dare speak. I do, however, dare to move. Lifting a hand, I let it drift up his back, over his broad shoulders, diving into his dark hair.

“Do you want me to hurt people? Does the idea of me breaking someone’s fucking hands for touching you turn you on, baby?”

Swallowing hard, I don’t dare break our heated stare. “Yes.”

Neko’s head bows, stunning me as he presses his face against my throat. It is the first contact he has initiated. The first time he has been so close in days. I whimper, my fingers tightening in his hair as I hold him to me. His hand drops between my thighs, and I gasp as it scolds me.

In a way, it does burn. Right to the pulse between my thighs that came to life the moment he showed up in my bedroom. My thighs spread a little and he grunts, his fingertips walking up the bare skin. I cry out when he flips my skirt up, pushing it almost to my hips.

“Fucking rules. Fucking right from wrong,” his voice is raw, rough, his words warm against my throat.

“Who said your rules count with me, Neko?”

His growl of a response ignites something deep inside of me. Low, deep, in the place that craved touch for so long. It was his touch I was seeking without knowing it. Because I held back for twenty-two years. I waited until he showed up, then I could not wait a moment more.

“Neko,” I whimper when his fingertips brush over my panties.

“Shh, be quiet now. We’re breaking the rules remember.”

I bite back a moan when his lips brush over my throat. I almost can’t stop the sound of pleasure when his teeth scrape against my skin next, then sink in, hard. My thighs being to tremble. His fingers push at my panties and I swallow a gasp when he touches me where I ache.

“Ah, fuck. Soaked. For me, yes?” he hums, chuckling as I nod furiously.

Neko’s rough fingertips brush over my swollen clit and my hips rock forward. We’re tangled up on the back seat as the driver heads for home. We’re definitely breaking rules. Rules that were meant to be broken.