My bake shop had been vandalized, graffiti all over the front of the door and my things destroyed. There was only one person who could have done this but first I had to deal with Jason, the hot guy who’d helped me out the other night when my van had broken down on the side of the road.
Now he was here, overseeing the fixes that nobody else would help me with.
“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” I asked.
He raised an eyebrow as if to say, Really ? “Nowhere more important. I want to make sure the work here is done correctly and this place looks exactly the way you want it.”
While I appreciated his thoughtfulness, he had to have better things to do than worry about me. “Okay, but I can handle this. I don’t want to take up more of your day than I already have. I can stick around until the guys are finished, lock up, and head home.”
He folded his strong arms over his chest, his olive-green Henley pulling tight over his muscles. “And do you think I’m going to leave you here alone after what you told me about your brother?”
“I have pepper spray on my keychain.” The words sounded ridiculous, even to me. If my brother was strung out, he’d have a wiry strength I couldn’t handle. I knew that firsthand, memories of my hands trying to pull his wrists off her neck very clear in my mind.
“Okay, fine. I appreciate you making sure I get home safely.” I’d be a fool to fight Jason’s protective nature.
“You still don’t get it. But you will.” He shook his head, amusement warring with a more serious expression. “You’re coming home with me, sweetness. I’m not leaving you here or in that shitty walk-up with a crappy lock your brother could break with one good kick.”
“Hey! That’s my apartment you’re insulting!” And all I could afford.
“It’s only an insult if I’m wrong.” He studied me, as if daring me to argue.
“I can’t just move in with you!”
He sighed. “Fine. You need someone to vouch for me? We can call my partners. Or my sister. Or… Hey, Sam! Am I trustworthy?” Jason yelled out to the man who was just climbing down a ladder, leaving my clean window staring back at me.
Sam strode up to us and looked from Jason to me and back again. “Best man I know. Take a look at this.” Reaching into his pocket, Sam pulled out his phone, then began scrolling through his pictures.
“This is my girl.” He turned the phone to show me a picture of a grinning little pixie with a bright smile and a pom-pom hat on her bald head, no hair hanging down beneath the folded brim.
“She’s beautiful,” I said, sliding my finger over her face.
“And if it wasn’t for this guy introducing us to his sister, I don’t think my wife and I would have made it through the roughest parts of her illness.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket.
Looking up at Jason from beneath my lashes, I caught a flush on his cheeks.
“It just so happens I could help you, man. But I’m glad Sienna could do her part. She loves fundraising and doing anything she can for kids who’ve been through what she has.”
I tamped down the urge to volunteer my help. One day, when there was no danger following me around. For now, I had to fight through my own problems and not bring them into other people’s lives.
Sam waved and walked back to the other guy helping him.
“Thanks, Sam.” Turning to me, Jason asked, “So? Still think I’m a serial killer?”
“I never said–”
“Oh, by the way, my cousin ate one of your marshmallow pops and went crazy for them. She’d like you to contact her about doing the party favors for her son’s birthday party. So now I’m hooking you up with business. I really think you can trust me to keep you safe.” He grinned at his smug proclamation.
I wanted to smack him … and kiss him at the same time. He had my head spinning, and I knew that was his intention. To keep me off-balance and win me over at the same time. So I was too overwhelmed to say no to his proposition about moving in with him.
But I had to be smart about things. “I’m not questioning your ability to keep me safe, I’m wondering why you’re taking me on as your responsibility?”
He grasped my hand and pulled me into the back kitchen area, where we could be alone. Backing me against the prep counter, his big body hovered over mine.
“From the second we met, there was a connection between us. I felt it and so did you. Then I ignored your tire and my gut screaming it was more than vandalism, and this happened. Now I know I should have paid attention.” He drew a deep breath.
His delicious cologne swept over me at such close range. I steeled myself against his appeal because what we were discussing now was deadly serious.
“There’s a lot about me I don’t talk about,” he went on. “I’m not saying never, I’m just saying for now. All you need to understand is that I’ve been in this situation before, being able to possibly prevent something bad from happening and ignoring my gut. I won’t do that again. So when I say you’re coming home with me? I mean it.”
This was the second time he’d mentioned the connection between us, and despite my wariness, I had to admit there was one. But if I went to his home, it had to be about necessity, not desire.
“Thank you.” I appreciated his honesty and felt he deserved hers in return. “I’ll come with you, but connection or not, we’re not sleeping together.”
An amused smirk pulled at that sexy mouth. “I was planning on giving you your own room.”
“Oh.” well, now I felt stupid. My cheeks burned with embarrassment.
He brushed his hand down my cheek and my body trembled with awareness. “But if you get scared in the middle of the night, feel free to come sleep with me.”
Find out what happens next in More Than Sexy!
What's better than an Alpha?
A bad boy Alpha!
In a Carly Phillips book you’ll always get Alphalicious heroes to swoon for and romance to set your heart on fire. Here, Carly has handpicked nine of her favorite alpha heroes protecting those they love.
Read the full series if you love:
- Alpha Heroes
- Billionaires
- Bodyguards
- Rock Stars
- Surprise Baby Romances
- Insta Love
- Workplace Romances
- Forced Proximity
- Forbidden Love
- Second Chances
- Sports / Athletes
- Opposites Attract
Get nine paperbacks combined from The Sexy Series, Bodyguard Bad Boys and Dare Nation series and learn why these heroines love the alpha type.
PAPERBACKS INCLUDED IN BUNDLE