by Nana Malone
All of his tall, dark and delicious frame paused at their booth. “I got tired of waiting for you to come to the bar, so I figured I’d brave the crowd.”
The velvet voice melted into her center making her core contract. The broad chest didn’t help either. Talk about a sexy, make-your-panties-drop kind of body. She whipped her head up to meet his gaze.
If anyone asked her later, she would swear up and down she tried to form words—
Intelligent words. Instead, all she managed was the flap-jaw routine. Open, close. Open, close.
“Cat got your tongue?” He grinned at her.
Damn, that smile should be illegal. “I-I—Uh…”
Clutching his hand to his heart, he added on the extra charm. “I’m wounded. It’s worse than I feared. You’ve forgotten my name and my face.”
The giggle escaped before she could corral it. “I haven’t forgotten your name, Alec. You’re the one who forgot to call me about your shirt.”
“Ahh, you remember me then. It’s a start. And I did call you. You forgot to mention that you no longer worked at Trudeaux Events.”
Heat suffused her face. “Well, since they were the reason I ruined your shirt, I figured they should pay.”
“And if I told you I didn’t call about my shirt?”
Great. A charmer. Derrick had been a charmer once. “I’d say you had no other reason to be calling me.” She felt Micha nudge her with her foot.
Alec put his hand over his heart. “Ouch. Shot down by a goddess.”
Jaya fought not to roll her eyes. “Does this approach ever work for you? The whole I’m-sexy-and-have-more-charm-than-brains thing?”
“So, you think I’m sexy?” He winked at her. “I’m just going to ignore the rest.”
“Are you going to introduce us to your friend, Jai?” Micha made no bones about her open admiration as she eyed Alec up and down. “Even better, is your new friend going to introduce me to his friend at the bar?” Micha turned and waved to the tall man at the bar with the sandy brown hair.
Jaya could feel her skin grow hot. She wasn’t supposed to ever see him again. He wasn’t supposed to be charming and hot. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She had a plan to implement. “He’s not my friend. He’s—”
“Alec Danthers. Ladies,” he said with a grin at Ricca and Micha, but only nodded at Beckett. Maybe it was some guy thing, but the two of them didn’t speak and Jaya could sense the malevolence coming off Beckett in waves.
Ricca and Micha both traitorously grinned back at him.
“Allow me to buy your drinks for the rest of the evening,” he said to them. “Maybe you can put a good word in with your friend for me.”
Jaya rolled her eyes. Taking in the badge on his shirt that said Manager, she said, “Isn’t it your job to make sure the bar makes money and not loses it?”
“And not hit on my friend?” Beckett grumbled beside her, but no one paid attention to him.
“I think the Westhorpe Hotel can handle a couple of free drinks for some beautiful women.”
While Alec chatted with her friends, Jaya realized the carefree flirtation had vanished. Sure, he still smiled and complimented her friends, but something she’d said had turned off the light inside. Damn.
“Thanks for the offer of drinks, Alec. But, if you’ll excuse me, I’m headed to the dance floor.” Walking away she could feel his gaze on her back burning her flesh.
Jaya joined the gyrating throngs on the dance floor and she closed her eyes and moved her body to the tune of Rihanna’s “S&M.” As Jaya moved her hips to the lyrics about chains and whips, a warm hand landed on her hip. Sharp zips of electricity jolted her flesh.
The deep voice at her ear was low and inviting. “Come see me when you’re ready for a drink.”
Alec kept his hand on her hip for a moment too long. His parting squeeze made her body yearn for a more intimate touch.
Even as she turned to face him, he had already moved toward the bar. When her friends joined her on the dance floor, she bit back a smile as Micha gave her a clear, girl-go-get-your-man look. Ricca just fanned herself and fake-swooned. Silly girls. Charmers are for morons. And this was not her first trip to the rodeo.
“Honey, if you don’t go and get him, I will.” Micha booty bumped her. “You put on your moxy—borrow mine if you must—and go make me proud. I’m going to take on his friend.”
Jaya turned towards her goal, her body jerking with adrenaline at the thought of her plan. Or maybe that was Micha’s shove in Alec’s general direction. Either way, Jaya’s feet navigated the masses of the pretty and rich towards the promise of some serious sexual gratification. Though, the closer she got to him, she had a feeling she’d been ensnared rather than the one ensnaring.
Taking in his longish dark hair curling at the ends, she wondered how it would feel between her fingertips. Tousled as it was, it gave him a youthful appearance. Those eyes, though. They were by far his best feature. That unusual shade of blue framed by black, sooty lashes. As she openly ogled, she decided his eyes were not his best feature. Strong shoulders, flat stomach. Given the hard planes of his chest when he held her, she was pretty sure his black polo hid a pretty excellent set of abs.
Mr. Sex on a Stick looked just like the panacea she needed. She needed to flirt a little, secure the date, then move on with the plan. She reminded her libido that everything hinged on getting the plan to work right. Focus. You can do anything. She just needed to pretend she was a superhero.
When she reached the bar, he grinned at her. “If you’d waited another minute to come over, I’d have found a reason to come to you. I had wingmen standing at the ready to occupy your friends.”
Jaya knew she must be blushing, but she held on tight to her borrowed pair of brass balls. “Micha’s already secured one of your wingmen.” She indicated the dance floor where Micha, pressed up against Alec’s friend, worked her hips in time to Sean Paul “I fear for his life. Or his c—.”
He barked out a laugh, interrupting her. “Do you always say what’s on your mind?” He eyed the pair. “Besides, I think Caleb can keep up.”
She liked the feel of the brass balls she wielded, not watching what she said. Not being so cautious. “No. I don’t always speak my mind. But I think I’m starting to like it.”
He reached out to brush a stray hair from her cheek. The contact had her wobbling in her heels and she placed a hand on his chest to steady herself.
His sharp intake of breath and the hitch in his heartbeat under her hand gave her the final boost of confidence she needed.
Leaning in, she pressed her mouth to his. She pulled back and murmured, “Let’s go somewhere.”
Those three words zinged around in Jaya’s head, repeating over and over and over again. Had she really said that? She slid Alec a look from under her lashes and saw naked lust sprinkled with a pinch of curiosity.
Without a word to her, he took her hand and pulled her around the bar. Tossing a set of keys to the other man behind the bar, he ground out a command. “Lock up.”
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Nana Malone Reading List
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Sexy in Stilettos
Game Set Match
Shameless
Before Sin
Cheeky Royal
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Royals
Royals Undercover
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Cheeky Royal
Cheeky King
* * *
Royals Undone
Royal Bastard
Bastard Prince
* * *
Royals United
Royal Tease
Teasing the Princess
* * *
Royal Elite
* * *
The Heiress Duet
Protecting the Heiress
Tempting the Heiress
* * *
The Prince Duet
Return of the Prince
> To Love a Prince
* * *
The Bodyguard Duet
Billionaire to the Bodyguard
The Billionaire’s Secret
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The Donovans Series
Come Home Again (Nate & Delilah)
Love Reality (Ryan & Mia)
Race For Love (Derek & Kisima)
Love in Plain Sight (Dylan and Serafina)
Eye of the Beholder – (Logan & Jezzie)
Love Struck (Zephyr & Malia)
* * *
London Billionaires Standalones
Mr. Trouble (Jarred & Kinsley)
Mr. Big (Zach & Emma)
Mr. Dirty(Nathan & Sophie)
* * *
The Shameless World
* * *
Shameless
Shameless
Shameful
Unashamed
* * *
Force
Enforce
* * *
Deep
Deeper
* * *
Before Sin
Sin
Sinful
* * *
Brazen
Still Brazen
* * *
The Player
Bryce
Dax
Echo
Fox
Ransom
Gage
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The In Stilettos Series
Sexy in Stilettos (Alec & Jaya)
Sultry in Stilettos (Beckett & Ricca)
Sassy in Stilettos (Caleb & Micha)
Strollers & Stilettos (Alec & Jaya & Alexa)
Seductive in Stilettos (Shane & Tristia)
Stunning in Stilettos (Bryan & Kyra)
~~~
In Stilettos Spin off
Tempting in Stilettos (Serena & Tyson)
Teasing in Stilettos (Cara & Tate)
Tantalizing in Stilettos (Jaggar & Griffin)
* * *
Love Match Series
*Game Set Match (Jason & Izzy)
Mismatch (Eli & Jessica)
* * *
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About Nana Malone
USA Today Bestselling Author, Nana Malone’s love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she borrowed from her cousin on a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana at a precocious thirteen. She’s been in love with kick butt heroines ever since.
Nana is the author of multiple series. And the books in her series have been on multiple Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists as well as the iTunes Breakout Books list and most notably the USA Today Bestseller list.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
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Bodyguard to the Billionaire
COPYRIGHT © 2019 by Nana Malone
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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Photography: Wander Aguiar
Model: Jacob Cooley
Cover Art by: Hang Le
Edited by: Angie Ramey
Proofreading by: Michele Ficht
Published in the United States of America