Page 89 of Blue Moon

That was when I tiptoed out of the bedroom wearing cute underwear to surprise Ryder with a kiss, only to realise two things.

One, it wasn’t possible to sneak up on a Navy SEAL.

Two, all men were assholes.

He slammed the lid of his laptop down fast and leapt from his seat at the dining room table, but he wasn’t quick enough to hide what I’d seen.

Boobs.

Big, perky boobs.

“You rat!”

I grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be a fruit bowl, and threw it at him. Apples and oranges bounced off his solid chest and rolled across the apartment with Rocky yipping and chasing after them. Good thing Ryder hadn’t let me keep the gun he’d shown me how to shoot on Monday, or he’d have lost a testicle. Possibly. I mean, I wasn’t great at hitting the target, but sometimes I got lucky.

“Moon, I can explain.”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s not what it looks like.”

“You mean those weren’t a woman’s breasts? And your guilty conscience didn’t try to hide the evidence?” My own chest heaved as I sucked in air, and then reason kicked in, overriding instinct. I slumped onto the couch. “I’m not enough, am I?”

“Huh?”

“I’m not enough, so you were watching porn. You could at least have waited until I was asleep.”

Or out, the way I had done the other day. But I’d been watching for purely educational purposes, and Ryder needed no help in that department. Every appendage of his was magic. But was I being a hypocrite? With Rocky as my witness, I was never googling “blow job” again.

“I thought you were asleep, and I’m not watching porn.”

“You’re not?”

A sob burst out of me because that was worse. If Boob Woman wasn’t Busty Becky from some dubious website, then who was she?

“I’m working.”

“Working? Which part of bodyguarding involves looking at naked women?” Then I realised. Ryder had guarded my body, and he’d definitely seen me naked. “Ohmigosh. She’s another client?”

Laughter wasn’t the reaction I’d expected.

“She’s definitely not a client, and I’m not a bodyguard. Not ordinarily, anyway.”

Offence, not defence, that’s what he’d once told me. He’d only taken the contract with me because all the regular bodyguards were fully booked. But that still didn’t explain the naked woman. I folded my arms.

“Explain.”

“Her name is Elene. At least, that’s what she’s calling herself this month. And she’s the person who has your stolen money.”

Okay, so I hadn’t spent much time with my ex-accountant, but I would have remembered if he had boobs.

“No, Ron took my money. I know cosmetic surgeons can work magic these days, but no way is that him.”

“Ron took your money to start with, but then Elene reeled him in and stole it again. We’ve been tracking it for weeks. That’s why I was in Georgia.”

“That…that’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, but it’s also true.” Ryder knelt in front of me and cupped my cheek with his hand. “If you don’t believe me, ask Marcel. I’m trying to get to know Elene well enough that she reveals her location, and he’s helping out with the subterfuge. Hell, ask Ron.”

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