“You did do good.”
Billy put his hand up again. “Let me finish. I asked Vic if I could hang out down here between assignments and he agreed. Here is where I want to be. If I’m here, I’m close to you and that’s what I want. You understand me, you challenge me and you forgive my screw-ups.” He rested his hand on the truck. “I figured I’d need wheels if I was going to spend any substantial time here. I thought a truck would be good. Something I’ll be comfortable in.”
“Wait. You’re staying? In South Beach. Permanently?”
“Not exactly.”
Yep, here it comes. Whatever fly-by-night plan her free-spirited lover had. A plan, she would no doubt hate. “What exactly?”
“When I’m on an assignment, I’ll be gone. I can’t be here all the time.”
“Just when you have assignments? What about after that? Are you going to be bouncing around, coming back whenever it suits you while I sit around and wait? I can’t do that.”
“No. Between assignments, I’m here. All the time. And Vic is good about giving us down time.”
Should she even hope? Not without assurances. “Don’t mess with me on this, Billy. It’s important. I’ve been a weepy mess all day. I don’t want to get my hopes up and be disappointed. I have responsibilities and they don’t include sitting on my bed staring at your jeans in the middle of the work day.”
“You were staring at my jeans?”
God help her.
“Yes. I can’t be doing that.”
“What if I’m wearing them?”
“If it’s in the middle of my work day, it’s still not good.” She took a breath. “I could occasionally make an exception, though.”
“Kristen?”
“Yes?”
“Do I have a shot?”
“I’m standing here, aren’t I? Give me something to believe, Billy. That’s all I want.”
He leaned against the truck and she noticed the grayish circles under his eyes. For a man who could function on very little sleep, he looked tired. Exhausted even.
“Here goes,” he said. “I want my voice to be the one you hear right before you fall asleep at night. And the first one you hear in the morning. More than that, I want to take care of you. I can’t be here one hundred percent of the time, but I’ll always love you and be faithful. That I can do one hundred percent of the time.”
She stood, a bit stunned, totally immobile. At least her mouth wasn’t hanging open. He must have taken it for hesitation.
“Kris, I’m not asking for a lifetime commitment—yet. Even I’m not that nuts. We need time to get to know each other and learn all the day-to-day boring stuff. All I’m asking is for you to have faith in me. I won’t let you down. I promise. You know I always keep my promises.”
“Promise me you won’t break my heart.”
“No. With my job, that would be a lie, and I won’t lie to you. I can promise you I’ll work hard not to break your heart.”
She shook her head. “If you die on me, Billy Tripp, I’ll kill you.”
He grinned like the devil he was.
“M.H., when it comes to escaping death, I’m the luckiest bastard there is. In the last ten years I’ve been shot, I’ve been stabbed, and now I can add a gator attack to my credentials. I think there’s a reason I’m meant to be among the living and I think she’s standing right in front of me.”
That cracked it. Done deal. As crazy as he drove her, never had she experienced a man like this. One who made her laugh and enjoy life and taught her to be comfortable with her body. She held her hands up and he grabbed hold, entwining his fingers with hers.
“Today,” she said, “is one of those days I’d make an exception for you in the middle of my work day.”
“I have to leave on Friday. I’m at your disposal until then. And, by the way, you got a room in this shack for me?”
She stuck her bottom lip out. “Unfortunately, we’re booked.”
“Seriously?”
“Lucky for you, the general manager has a suite in this shack with a big bed. I think you’ll be comfortable in it.”
“A big bed? You naked?”
“Filter, Billy. Filter.”
He ran the back of his hand over her cheek and she leaned into it, letting the comfort of his teasing fill her.
“M.H., I keep telling you there are times when you don’t want me to filter. Now, show me to my suite.”
* * * * *
You can guard your heart, but there’s no protection from true love…
Don’t miss the first four titles in Adrienne Giordano’s Private Protectors series, available now:
Man Law
A Just Deception
Risking Trust
Negotiating Point (novella)
Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers and much more!
Visit CarinaPress.com
We like you—why not like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/CarinaPress
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/CarinaPress
About the Author
Adrienne Giordano writes romantic suspense and women’s fiction. She is a Jersey girl at heart, but now lives in the Midwest with her workaholic husband, sports-obsessed son and Buddy the Wheaten Terrorist (Terrier). She is a cofounder of Romance University blog. For more information on Adrienne’s Private Protectors series please visit www.AdrienneGiordano.com. Adrienne can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AdrienneGiordanoAuthor and Twitter at twitter.com/AdriennGiordano.
Where no great story goes untold.
The variety you want to read, the stories authors have always wanted to write.
With new releases every week, your next great read is just a download away!
Keep in touch with Carina Press:
Read our blog: www.CarinaPress.com/blog
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarinaPress
Become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarinaPress
ISBN: 978-14268-9420-6
Copyright © 2012 by Adrienne Giordano-Maynard
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.CarinaPress.com
Adrienne Giordano Page 30