Page 41 of The Bodyguard and the Bombshell

It was so easy to be honest with this woman. He wasn’t the kind of man who prevaricated, but he also didn’t open up easily. But with her, being honest was like breathing. “Of course. I hoped you still did because I thought that awkward girl would be perfect for me. I thought she would be a balm to my soul. I even entertained the idea of seeing if there was a spark between us. I needed something in my life to work. Something easy.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not easy, Nate.”

He reached up and stroked back her hair, giving in to the undeniable need to touch her. “No, you’re not. I was looking for an ember to keep me warm and I got the bloody volcano, and I won’t go back for anything. If you’re scared I’m going to get fed up with the chaos that seems to follow you, I won’t. If you’re scared I’ll back out, let’s settle it. We can get married.”

“What?” She tried to move away from him, but there was nowhere to go.

It felt good to throw her off. He got the feeling he would be chasing after her for the rest of his life, so he would take these moments when he surprised her. “I can cause some chaos, too, baby. Think about it. It solves the problem with your da. We can tell him we were joking and I took your virginity on our wedding night, and you can be pregnant by the end of the year. I’ve heard pumping out a few adorable kiddos softens up the mad dads pretty quick.”

She ducked under his arm, moving away again. She started to pace, putting one of the luxurious sofas between them. “Nate, that’s a crazy idea.”

He could pick that sucker up and toss it away if he wanted to. “Yeah, it is. Let’s do it.”

She stopped, staring at him like he’d gone insane. “We can’t.”

He shrugged. “Why not? We’re young and stupid, and I’m so fucking crazy about you. If it’s a mistake, it’ll be the best one I ever make.”

He moved closer to her.

“You can’t be serious.” She held her ground, but it was easy to see she was… Not exactly nervous. Aware. She was aware of him.

Beware, little sub.

“I am bloody serious.”

She bit her bottom lip. “Nathan, are you stalking me?”

It was good to put it plainly, though he rather thought he’d already done it. “I told you what I want, Dais.”

“You want to chase me through the club.” Every word was the tiniest bit shaky, like she knew what came next. “You don’t want me to make it easy on you. You don’t want simple.”

At last she understood him. “I want trouble. I want whacked-out, crazy fucking trouble. Can you give it to me? You have a safe word. You should be ready to use it because I’m feeling feral today, love. I’m never feral. I’m perfectly polite. Been that way all my life. I learned how to shove the beast that lives in me way down or I scare folks. But you bring it out. So I’m going to ask you again. Are you going to give me the trouble I’m craving?”

“Just in the club?”

He shook his head. “Nah, love. You made your choice. You get me in and out of this club. I don’t want boundaries or walls. If we’re in the office and you need my cock, I’ll get really fucking creative. This isn’t a ploy to get a couple of hours of sex from you. I want it forever. You and the sex and all the trouble I can stand.”

Daisy’s lips curled up in the sweetest smile, and then she took off running.

Nate’s beast growled in the best way as he stalked his prey.

Chapter Nine

Daisy ran, sprinting toward the dungeon floor, dragging air into her lungs and letting the high of adrenaline flood her system.

She wasn’t afraid of him. Not in any way.

Well, not physically. Physically all he would do was make her ache before he gave her everything she wanted.

Her heart, though. Damn. Her heart was already his, and she wondered if it hadn’t always been. He’d talked about the awkward girl she’d been and how she’d followed him around. She had. When she’d learned he was coming to Dallas, a part of her had wondered if it was their time.

He was here now, and he seemed to want her.

She was trouble, but she never meant for bad things to happen. She’d helped a lot of people with her misadventures. Her mother often talked about the world always trying to find balance. What if the universe had sent her a big Aussie hunk to balance out the bad stuff?

The fight with her family was sitting in her head, but for now she banished it because she was a sweet sub being chased by a brute of a man who was going to inevitably capture her and fuck her senseless. All she had to worry about right now was how many orgasms she would get and how much he would make her pay for each and every one.

As ploys to get her out of her own head went, he’d come up with a winner.

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