Page 4 of His To Protect

Chapter Two

“It’s just a speed bump. I’m sure we’ll hit a few along the way,” she said breezily using her cell phone to take pictures of the mountains surrounding the capital city of Colombia.

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. Breathe, he told himself. He’d known the woman two weeks and she’d become an expert at testing his patience. Interviewing her, planning their itinerary, getting to know each other (he’d insisted since they’d be out of the country alone together), every damn time they were together, she pushed his buttons. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep his twitchy palm off her bratty ass.

There they stood, at a bus stop, him choking on the bus’s exhaust fumes as it pulled up and her acting like a carefree tourist, shrugging like it was no big deal that they’d just broken down and were being ditched by their driver. Meanwhile, Jack was practically bursting a blood vessel. The taxi driver hopped on a filled-to-capacity local bus and gave them nothing more than a promise he’d return with another car, and she just smiled. Smiled!

The man, speaking broken English, assured them, profusely, he’d be back in fifteen minutes. Jack eyeballed him, immediately noticed the sweat break out along his forehead and how he exchanged looks with the driver as he grabbed her bag to load it on the bus with him.

And again Alexis just smiled. Jack bared his teeth, stopping the driver mid-heft. Jack had been told his size, muscled body and tatts intimidated people, so he knew he looked the role of ass-beater, but he only acted on it when he needed to. The bag dropped with a flump onto the sidewalk.

Who in their right mind let a stranger separate them from their bags? Did this girl have even a lick of sense?

Alexis Riker, apparently, was senseless.

“Tell him we’ll keep our bags and find our own way,” Jack said through gritted teeth, still glaring. If she wasn’t paying him a ridiculous sum and he didn’t need that ridiculous sum… he shook his head not finishing his thought. She was young and he’d been hired to take care of her, and that’s what he’d do.

“I’m sure he’ll come back,” she said flippantly. “Spanish people are so friendly.”

“Just tell him what I said,” Jack said once again through his teeth.

“No, no, Señor. Mucho gracias.” She waved her hands in front of the man then placed them protectively over her bags.

Jack pressed his temples. Even he knew enough Spanish to say that. Closing his eyes, Jack drew in a long breath.

“Please tell me you know more Spanish than that,” he said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. And being the ever-evasive brat he’d discovered her to be, she didn’t answer. She was too busy smiling at a group of dancers moving to the lively Latin music from a street band. Her flowered wrap skirt billowed in the breeze, and she dropped her large expensive handbag to try out some of the sexy Latin moves.

He liked her better in the baseball hat, loose jeans and hoodie. Ever since they met up after that and he’d seen how different she looked without the casual attire, he’d been even more irritated. At least the hoodie and loose jeans had hidden her womanly curves. As much as she annoyed him, he couldn’t stop appreciating her appearance and that just made him even more short-tempered.

“Alexis,” he warned. She glanced at him quickly, tensing momentarily at his tone.

“I know enough Spanish,” she said in her cheerful carefree way. His gut knotted.

“You didn’t take a Spanish course, did you?”

“I used a language learning app…” Seeing his brows rise, she added, “For a few weeks.”

“Great,” he grumbled.

It was obvious she had been pampered all her life. She had the grace and posture of someone who’d been raised in luxury and never worried about anything. He, on the other hand, worked his ass off for every penny. For years he had scrimped and saved, living in rooms meant for college kids, and working for rich bastards. And more often than not, they were the dangerous kind of bastards.

Jack watched their flighty bimbo wives and rescued their arrogant, spoiled offspring, and when he was off duty, whether that be during the day or night, he slept in party houses filled with the stale smell of beer, marijuana and sex. Growing up he had no one waiting with handouts of emergency cash. In fact, he was the one bailing out his younger sisters.

Jack still worked for the same type of people, but at least now he owned his own home and had a decent savings account—or did. Thanks to Pete, his house would probably be seized and his accounts frozen. And Alexis was likely to give him a God-damn ulcer within a week. He rubbed his jaw and sighed.

Alexis danced while capturing images of the colourful colonial-style buildings surrounding them on her phone. Heavy mist hung around the lush green tops of the mountains, and he wanted to appreciate it too. It would be nice to plunk his ass at one of the outdoor tables and sip an espresso while listening to jaunty music and enjoying the gorgeous scenery, just not until they had safely found their hotel and settled in. The one thing he couldn’t stop appreciating though, was Alexis’s hips as they swung around in dance.

That round, bouncy backside of hers was just as dangerous as leaving your wallet unattended. He almost groaned aloud as he watched it wiggle and when she spun and her front bounced too, his cock stiffened. Like this, quiet and dancing, pleasure written all over her face, she was magnificent. Absolutely stunning.

Bogotá was much safer than it used to be, as she’d said, but nevertheless a foreign country and still a leader in the drug trade so he pulled his eyes from her gorgeous curves to keep watch. With the new wrench thrown into their travel agenda, you’d think she’d be concerned, but no, she was as worry-free as ever, wiggling her curvaceous ass as if she were simply at a street festival in Toronto.

Jack swallowed hard as his eyes found her again. He couldn’t help it. She was a siren pulling his attention. He glanced around again and noted his were not the only eyes plastered on Alexis’s gorgeous form. His gut clenched at the thought. He just wasn’t sure if it was because he was possessive of her suddenly or because he sensed danger. No one had messed with Jack’s instincts like that in a long time. His fists tightened at the thought. He had a job to do. He couldn’t afford to be getting soft on her. He needed to keep his head—the right one—on task. And he should yank her out of that circle of dancers right now and teach her to pay attention!

But she was so relaxed in her movement, unconcerned and beautiful, it made his mouth dry. Even Alexis’s hair seemed unworried.

The mass of misshapen curls, a mixture of blonde, caramel, and orange, seemed to toss the decision for a colour into the air and let it land where it may. The tint seemed in fashion as if it were intentional but was one that only nature could create.

Even nature fancied the girl’s whims, Jack thought, snorting slightly as he reached in his bag for a water bottle. A girl like this didn’t deserve his attention, but as much as he wanted to look away, he couldn’t. He took a swig of the now warm water, wishing it were something stronger. God dammit if his cock didn’t twitch for her, and against all logic and better judgment, his daddy side wanted her just as bad. Jack wanted to teach her, take care of her—fucking own her.

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