Page 60 of Protected By the Billionaire Ex-SEAL

“Nice bed?”

The gleam in his gaze is practically unholy. “Very nice. Big. Can stand a lot of bouncing. There’s a very nice hot tub situation in the suite, too, with fancy jets. Provides a lot of bubbles.”

Desire ignites in my soul, and it takes everything in me not to insist that we head there now. Christian bites back a laugh, reading right through me, and he steps closer again until his lips can brush over mine. My breath hitches.

“Christian…”

“Tonight.” It’s a silky, deadly promise. “When the world’s asleep and all the lights are out, I’ll have you right in that room moaning my name. Repeatedly.”

Oh, my God.

I want that. I want this sexy, teasing Christian as much as I want the protective, serious one, and I’m aware that it’s becoming difficult not to get attached to all the facets of his personality. Thankfully, Ingrid calls his attention, telling him that some clients decided to visit the office when they learned of his arrival in Coronado.

“Shit. I’m sorry, Raven. I have to deal with this. These high-profile clients are my longstanding clients, and I haven’t seen them in person in a while…”

“It’s okay. Go ahead. Do your thing.”

I tiptoe to kiss his cheek. With a growl, he turns his head so that his mouth can capture my lips instead, and we get lost in that heated moment, the hunger simmering between us. Then I pull away and playfully push him back.

“Go. Before I change my mind and drag you to the hotel room.”

Christian winks and leaves. Ingrid steps right in, inviting me to a tour around the building. I happily accept, even more impressed when I see everything inside. Then I meet her husband, Leon, who’s around her age and as handsome as she is beautiful.

They’re friendly and organized, and I get where Christian’s comment came from when they seamlessly take turns with the tour. They are around Christian’s age and make the perfect pair, efficiently running the place while he’s mostly away.

“You should take her out shopping, Ingrid. Maybe when they get to lounge around the beach, and Christian sees how happy she is here, he’ll finally take a day or two off.”

His statement furrows my brows. “He doesn’t take days off?”

“Maybe in Sweet Haven, but I know he’s on assignment there. Or doing something to fulfill that Nashville expansion. But here, in this vacation city? Nope. It’s work all the time.”

“And if he works, we work.” Ingrid winks. “Not that we’re complaining. It’s a great job with great benefits, but more than that…”

“It’s got heart.”

Leon approves of my answer. “That’s right. My brother is in the military and his contract is ending soon. It makes me happy that we have good companies like this one where his skills can still be used.”

I never looked at it that way, only thinking about the client’s side, but this makes me like Christian’s outlook even more. I listen as they explain how the agency works without revealing sensitive information, then hang back when the high-profile clients arrive and they have to leave me, too.

An hour later, Christian apologizes that it’s taking longer than usual, but I wave him away and decide to check out the hotel. It’s a step out of my comfort zone to stroll out alone, and I’m nervous again when I’m near the pool and there are a lot of tourists. But I lock my knees in place and stay where I am, only leaving when I know I’m tired and not because I’m scared.

It’s a step in the right direction, and I feel proud of that small dose of triumph. When I return to the agency, Christian’s worried face greets me, but he studies my expression and relaxes. Then he takes my hand again.

“Thank you for waiting. The meetings are done now and it’s time for fun.”

“Do you mean some hotel room fun?”

He chuckles at my teasing, but to my surprise, he shakes his head. “Tempting, but let’s do that later. I have something to show you first.”

Intrigued, I don’t argue when we get into the car and he drives with the top down. I greedily inhale the sea breeze and admire the view, then notice that he skips the restaurants and other resorts to head to a less touristy area. When we stop in front of a smaller building, I read the sign and my brows shoot up.

“It’s one of Coronado’s publishing houses. It’s family-owned and has been here for years. They mostly publish magazines, but they also publish books.”

“Christian?”

Noting the question in my tone, he turns to me.

“You mentioned that you hadn’t been able to contact your old publisher since you left San Francisco and that you’re due to publish your book soon. I was checking with a colleague and found that your old publisher is good friends with this one, and they want to review your work. The husband-and-wife team who opened this has four kids and eight grandkids, so they do a lot of children’s books, too. It’s their preference.”

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