Page 28 of Never Say Yes To A Stranger

“No, nope. How the heck would I do that anyway? You’re the kind of person who wouldn’t do that dangerous kind of work—putting your life on the line—unless it made you some serious bank. You’re already minted. You don’t even need to work. So either you sometimes enjoy nearly getting killed, or you get a thrill out of protecting people, which would be kind of sweet, but I imagine the people who hire you are the ones who are also minted and making bank and whatever other rich people terms there are that could possibly apply.” Her nostrils flare out a little, and her eyes turn so stormy blue. There’s a fire in there that I haven’t seen before. She should have directed it at Aiden earlier, but I’m glad her spirit is coming back now.

Also? She looks so honest-to-goodness gorgeous when all hot and defensive, a little bit angry, and a whole lot stubborn thatmy dick slams against the fly of my pants. I’m not sure if he’s saluting her or if it’s some kind of sign for me. It should be a sign to get out of here because getting my dick involved in any of this is just a recipe for a dick soup disaster.

Christ.

It’s a recipe for trouble.

Big dick trouble.

Any dick would be too much trouble. The big is…well, I’m just saying.

She continues, “Anyway, you’re not moving in here because I haven’t hired you. I can’t afford your services. And your life is far too valuable for any amount of money I could offer.”

I can’t tell her that I’d do it for free. Also, what the hell? Why do I want to do it for free? Why do I suddenly want to stay here, day and night, in this tiny little farmhouse to ensure this woman’s safety when she’s someone I basically just met? She’s a client on a completely different contract. She was supposed to just stay a client.

But the truth is, she’s not just a client.

If she were just a client, then I wouldn’t even be here right now. I would have taken my one night, ran with it, and never looked back. I wouldn’t have booked extra nights. I wouldn’t have wanted to see her so badly that I did the unthinkable and bound myself to her.

Even if I could afford to pay out the contract.

The contract.It might be the one thing I have left to argue in my favor. “We have a contract. It says if you don’t fulfill it, then you’ll be charged to pay back the fees for those missing nights.”

“You can still come,” she says, rolling her eyes and regaining back more and more of her former spirit with every minute. “I’ll still be here. I’m not leaving. I’m not running again.”

“Good.” I crunch my knuckles like I’m waiting for a good fight. “I’m glad you’re being brave. I’m glad you want to stand up tothis, but you don’t have the resources and tools to do this alone. If you hire me, then I can help you.”

“I can’t hire you. I don’t have the money to hire you. We’ve already been over this,” she says exasperatedly.

“First, you’re in no position to be offering your bed as a rental when it’s not a safe environment, so it puts you in breach of the contract. Second, I’ll waive my fee. Let me fix this for you, and while it’s all being settled, you come and stay with me for a few weeks. It will only take a few weeks, and then I’ll call the contract null and void. I’ll even pay you out for it at the end of it all.”

“Why would you call me out for a breach of the contract, waive your fee, and then pay me out anyway?”

Yeah, that doesn’t exactly make sense now, does it? I’m trying to get her on a technicality, so it’s not so damn obvious that I’m desperate to keep her safe. And why that is…I don’t even know. People don’t get under my skin, I don’t work for free, and I don’t let myselfcare.

“And what about thecats?” she adds.

“You’re more worried about the cats than you are about yourself.” I have to point that out again. She doesn’t seem to understand that her safety is paramount. “Your ex is a criminal. He’s unpredictable, he’s a stalker, he’s stolen your personal information and committed fraud, and he’s stolen years of your life.”

“Dude, I know. It happened to me,” she says with a roll of her eyes. Then, she glances at my mug and gives me—I swear on cheese feet or whatever—the most evil curl of her lips. If someone like her could look evil. She’s more like play evil. And it’s darned adorable. My dick gives my pants another zipper punch. He’s in a fighting mood, too, apparently. “You haven’t drank your tea. Are you waiting for it to cool? Iced chai is delicious as well. You should have said you prefer it that way.”

I pick the mug up and down the whole nasty brew in a few swallows. She’s right. It’s gone cold. But she’s also wrong. It’s not at all more palatable.

“There are so many great health teas. I have a few in the canisters in my top cupboard. We could brew those up and give them a try. They taste…um, well, not so great, but they’re excellent for gut health.”

This woman might kill me with her teas if I’m not careful.

She might do a heck of a lot more to me than that, and the stupid thing is, I’m not being careful at all about it.

“This is what we’re going to do,” I announce before I go silent. It’s better for dramatic effect. However, the only drama I get in return is Ignacia’s hands flying to her hips. She’s still sitting down, so it looks quite hilarious. I manage not to smile since none of this is funny. “You’re going to hire me, and I’m going to work for free. I see it taking no more than ten to fourteen days to resolve if I have my team working on it. And I will have my team working on it. As for sleeping arrangements, you have an extra bedroom here. It might be small and filled with sewing things, but I’ll sleep there, and we will resume our hot bedding appointments on the correct nights to stay true to the contract.”

“I’m between jobs right now, and I can assign myself wherever I wish. Perks of being the boss and all. You won’t go anywhere without me, even if it’s out in the yard. I’m your constant shadow now. My team will get this figured out for you. You’ll get your old life back, and I do guarantee Aiden will face jail time, and if not that, then serious legal repercussions. He’s gone too far, and we’ll find a way to prove it. He might think he’s a great hacker and good at finding people, but he has no idea what a true professional looks like. We’ll build an ironclad case against him. We will also get you a restraining order against him under both your identities. If he comes anywhere near you, he’ll go to jail.All of this will happen quickly. I have people who can just about perform miracles.”

“Are they saints?” she asks.

My eyes nearly go flying out of my head. “Are theywho?”

Her lips flutter and twitch. They’re so lovely—full and kissable. I’d like to lean across the table and taste them. Kiss them until they’re swollen and hurting. Maybe punish them a little, but not in a creepy, asshole way. Just in a way she would like, with little bits of teeth and tongue.

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