AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The woman nodded, looking doubtful, then wandered away toward the romance section. Probably she was going to need some good reading material to endure all those nights of sexual restraint to come.
Luke could put up a damn good argument against Jane’s advice, but he kept his mouth shut. Sexual intimacy could enhance emotional intimacy—it didn’t have to hinder it. And if he got the chance, he’d demonstrate that very fact to her.
He was just about to settle in and imagine all sorts of things he’d like to demonstrate to Jane, when he spotted a guy who set off his internal alarm. Dishwater-brown hair, five-o’clock shadow, denim jacket in need of a wash, the guy wore an eerie look of calm as he made his way from the magazine section over to Jane’s table. He hung back at first, surveying the scene, taking note of Luke’s presence, then approached slowly.
Luke decided not to take any immediate action. His instincts pegged the guy as a potential harasser, or maybe just a curious onlooker, probably not a serious threat. Just to be safe though, he kept his gaze focused on the man, made sure he knew that he was being watched.
Jane greeted the man with a wary smile, aware as she was that her book generally wasn’t received well by the male half of the public.
“Hello,” she said, when he reached the table.
He picked up a copy of The Sex Factor and thumbed through it. “I heard you on the radio the other day—on The Jax Reed Show.”
Jane’s smiled became a little more strained. “Not one of my finer moments, I assure you.”
“You really believe this stuff you write?”
“No, I think it’s all garbage. That’s why I write it and put my name on it.”
“I think Jax was right—you need to get laid.”
“Excuse me?”
Luke took a step forward, and the man glanced nervously between him and Jane.
“Who’s that? Your hired goon?”
Jane looked up at Luke. She was doing a pretty good job of disguising her panic behind a calm facade.
“He’s my personal security specialist. If you’d like me to sign a book, you’re welcome to stick around, but if you’re just going to make speculations about my sex life, you might want to make your way over to the reference section and find yourself a book on conversational etiquette.”
The guy leered at Jane, and Luke’s entire body tensed for action. “You’re hotter-looking than I thought you’d be. I wouldn’t mind showing you a good time in bed.”
Luke rounded the table and took a firm hold of the loser’s elbow. “I’m going to give you one chance to walk out of here on your own,” he said, keeping his voice low to avoid a scene. “Get lost.”
“Back off, man.” The guy smiled and held his hands up in a gesture of peace. “I was just having a little fun.”
The jerk was trying to play it cool, but he didn’t waste any time leaving the store. Luke was pretty sure he would have run if it wouldn’t have made him look like an even bigger ass.
Luke turned back to the table after he’d watched the guy get into a late-model Ford truck and drive away. A few customers who witnessed the incident eyed him with curiosity. Jane’s interested crowd had wandered away.
“What a creep,” she said, shaking her head. Her face had paled noticeably.
“He’s gone, so just put him out of your head.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d had to endure any more of the witty repartee.”
Luke smiled. “I bet you could have handled him yourself. But you shouldn’t have to.” He sat down next to Jane in an empty chair. “He probably wasn’t a serious threat—just your typical disgruntled loser—but you never know when a loser will cross the line and become something worse.”
Something worse—a stalker, a rapist, a murderer. He didn’t want to give Jane those details now. She needed to keep a clear head to finish the book signing, but when they got the chance, he did want to make sure she understood all the potential threats to her safety. Now that he’d had a chance to observe her in public—and witnessed the harassment she could receive at something as benign as a suburban bookstore event—he wanted to make sure she never forgot all the dangers that lurked in her seemingly safe world. She’d gotten a big taste of danger yesterday with the book in her car, but she’d also spent the rest of the day acting as if it hadn’t bothered her. He needed to be sure she understood.
Another fan had approached and was thanking Jane for her wonderful advice, so Luke stood up and took over his post watching the store again. When they were alone, Jane turned to him.
