Page 12 of Protected By the Billionaire Ex-SEAL

“I swear to you that he’s a good guy. Good at his job, too, otherwise he wouldn’t be successful. You don’t have anything to worry about when it comes to Christian. I grew up with him.”

I nod, the decision cementing itself. Then I square my shoulders and head back to the living room to face him again. Christian studies me, his expression as cool as it was when this started.

“Were you going to back out?”

“No.”

“Good. This is a first assignment for me. You could say it’s a test before I expand in the area.”

I raise a brow.

“So, I’m an experiment?”

“No. I take my job seriously. You need protection from your ex, who repeatedly harassed you and made you feel unsafe in your own home—and no matter how you look at it, that’s wrong. No one should be made to feel that.”

My heart jumps in my chest. The words catch me off guard, but it’s the absolute certainty in his tone that makes me understand how much protecting someone means to him—even if it’s protecting someone he probably doesn’t want to be around anymore.

“Right.”

“But now you’re here, so I’ll do my best to make you feel safe.”

“Right.”

“I have one rule, though.”

“What?”

“This remains professional. I don’t sleep with clients.”

There’s something in his tone that perks my ears, a heaviness that has questions swimming in my head. But I bite my tongue, hearing the warning, too, and nod. I match his cool tone.

“Fine by me. I’m done sleeping with men after that fiasco last night.”

Shut up, Raven.

Christian narrows his eyes, but thankfully, he doesn’t take the bait. He holds out a hand. I reluctantly reach out to shake it, biting my tongue again at the electric charge that passes between us.

We let go quickly, and I remind myself of the cold feeling I got when I woke up and he was gone. It was an awful feeling, one that I never want to experience again.

And the key to that is to forget about the charming Christian and remember that this is the professional, no-nonsense Christian I’m dealing with now.

“Now, pack your bags.”

I’m still revving myself up when the words have me blinking. “What? Why?”

And his answer shocks me to my core.

“Because you’re coming home with me. Part of the protection program is us living in the same space.”

Chapter 5

Christian

I’m still angry.

I’m trying not to be, especially when I know I have to have my head in the game and treat this like every other assignment I have: with utmost care and precision. But seeing Raven here and finding out she’s my assignment still catches me by surprise, a cruel twist of fate that I never would have expected in a million years.

I know we both only had one thought in mind last night, but if I had known she was running away from an ex…would I have slept with her?

---