AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Me: Consider her off limits.
Nick: Whoa! Roger that, my friend, Roger that!
“What’s the goofy-ass smile all about?” Cole asks from across the cabin.
“Nothing newsworthy,” I reply to get them off my back while wondering how the hell I’ve managed to let this woman get under my skin in less than a day and a couple of very brief encounters. “You mind checking on the main cabin while I make a quick call?”
Cole raises his eyes and pauses the remote. “Not at all.” Sliding into his shoes, he straightens his suit.
“I have a couple questions for the guys. I’ll come with you,” Dereck mentions, trailing behind him.
The minute the door closes, my finger selects the number it’s been hovering over for the last ten minutes, waiting like a goddamn schoolboy to hear her voice.
She answers, slightly out of breath. “Hello, this is Alexis.”
“It sounds like you’ve been running,” I state, imagining another way to take her breath away—one that would be far more enjoyable than that.
“I was making something to eat back here in the breakroom and forgot my purse. I thought you were my mom and was racing to catch it before the call disconnected.”
Alexis immediately knows who I am, making me wonder if she was waiting for me to call or just remembered the sound of my voice. “Unfortunately, there’s been a change of plans. I won’t be able to return your car to you in person. Nick, one of the guys you met earlier, will drive it over to the salon for you and should be there shortly.”
There’s a brief pause before Alexis talks again. “I see. No problem at all, but I was hoping to pay you back for the seriously boring ride back to the salon. Do you know that officer questioned me about the incident at the café for almost the entire ride back? How many times can you ask the same question in multiple ways? Seriously annoying!”
I imagine her blonde curls bobbing as she nods emphatically, giving me a mental visual of her head moving up and down on my cock, which is now as hard as a rock. I can’t recall a time I have ever been this physically attracted to someone, and the thought is more than a little disarming. “Just how did you intend to pay me back?” I ask, easing back in my chair, unable to resist flirting with her just a little.
“Oh, well, see … I can’t tell you now! It would totally ruin thepayback.”
I smile broadly at the thought she may want to see me again, and then scowl, realizing this can go absolutely nowhere. It’s a bad idea for everyone involved, regardless of the attraction. “Listen, the guy who hit on you this morning? I had a report run on him, and the man is incredibly violent and suspected of many unsolved crimes. His name is Darwin F. Pierce. He’s served time in prison for trafficking young women and is believed to still be in the business. Do you know what that means?”
“Yeah, of course. I know what trafficking is, but isn’t he gone?”
“I want to believe that, Alexis, but I’m also a realist who doesn’t take chances. I don’t think you need to worry, but you need to be very cautious. I’ve asked Nick to put a team together just to be on the safe side. I don’t want you to be frightened if you notice strange men around the perimeter of the salon, or them following you home tonight.”
“I have to admit that I’m a little scared now,” Alexis murmurs softly.
I take in her breathy voice, listening without saying a word in return because the way she says that makes me want to take some time off from the job and do everything in my power to protect her myself.
“I mean, he could have memorized the salon address from my business card. Holy hell, Sheldon! Trafficking?”
“Yes, and the men and women who do that snatch people in broad daylight and make them disappear forever.”
“What unsolved crimes? What violence?”
“Multiple crimes, Alexis, including murder. We have reason to believe he’s connected to the crime syndicate, which means he’s extremely dangerous.”
“Wow! I seriously can’t thank you enough for taking the time to look into him, for having me file a report, and for the security. I’m babbling, but thank you so much!”
The fact Alexis is happy and not pitching a fit about me assigning security is more pleasing to me than it should be. Cole walks back into the cabin, and his eyes widen in surprise. I realize that goofy-ass smile has probably plastered itself on my face again. “I need to go now, but I want you to text me when you leave the salon, and again when you get home. Don’t forget,” I instruct, disconnecting before she has a chance to reply or before I tell her if she doesn’t, there will be consequences, because my big-eared friend is still tuned in and listening to my side of the conversation with unabashed amusement.
To his credit, Cole gives me space and doesn’t say a word about the call. If Nick were here, it would be an entirely different story. I wouldn’t get a moment of peace all night long. “All is well. Everyone’s settled in for the rest of the flight,” Cole says, pulling a piece of pie from the refrigerator and cutting a generous helping before settling back onto the sofa to watch his show.
I finish the day’s reports and get check-ins from the security team who have already arrived at the Carrington mansion and are getting in place for our arrival. Chase’s best friend, Brian, owns one of the most opulent and unusual mansions in Bel Air, featuring stories and stories of open-concept space, all created with glass and Carrington steel. It has a BDSM club that takes up the entire lower level which is open to select Hollywood elite, his close friends, and the bodyguards who protect his family and friends.
It’s sure to be a long night because as hard as Brian, Jenny, Chase, and Katarina work, they play just as hard. I close my eyes with plans to doze until we arrive, but my mind won’t shut down easily, or allow me to get the image of Alexis tilting her head when she looks at me, almost offering the creamy expanse of her neck to me, from my mind.
I finally drift off, reaching out to caress her softness in my sleep. Alexis keens softly, pushing herself against my fingers as one hand trails lower, caressing the sensitive dip between her neck and shoulder before stroking the swell of her breast underneath the edges of her fuzzy pink sweater.
She moans softly while my other hand snakes out and pulls her to me, capturing the lips I’ve been dreaming about all day.
