Page 26 of Dangerous Rhythm

Lina’s brain short-circuited when Curtis folded her into his heat, his hand pressing against her back, his mouth exploringhers. Men’s unwanted advances usually were met with her fast reflexes. No one stole a kiss from Lina Cheung.

Except Curtis Bisset, apparently.

Obviously, Lina could’ve stopped him before he’d even moved an inch, but her muscles betrayed her.

Listen to what your body is saying, Lina.

The voice of her Uncle Ed—her martial artssenseigrowing up—echoed in her mind. He’d shown her that sometimes she needed to let her body take the lead in a fight, not her head. Well-trained limbs remembered movements, reactions to actions, and a lot of times moved better without the brain overthinking the next steps.

At this moment, her body didn’t want to defend itself. It wanted Curtis’ touch.

Giving in to her needs, Lina reveled in the feel of being pressed against his hard form and in the taste of him. She fleetingly thought he tasted like wine—complex notes with just a touch of sweetness. But none of that really mattered with the way her whole system was humming with excitement.

As abruptly as he’d stolen the kiss, he stopped short and pulled away.

Lina stood still, but not exactly feeling the ground her feet were on, deprived of his warmth and the touch she’d known she would like. The humming still overwhelmed all of her senses as she just tried to breathe.

Curtis stared at her with questioning eyes, but one corner of his lips twisted upward. “Wow,” he said under his breath. “Lina…”

Lina didn’t move a muscle.

“Phew, that is…” Curtis blew a breath, dropped onto the bed dramatically. “You’re right. I need to sleep this off.”

His words kicked her out of her daze.

He’s drunk.

Lina’s gaze fell on Curtis’ figure lying on the bed with his eyes closed, still fully dressed.

“You must be joking,” she murmured.

Is he asleep?

She bent over him to check his breathing, but an arm went around her and pulled her down. This time, she didn’t abandon her training. She didn’t fight Curtis’ half-asleep move, but rolled with it, using the momentum to spin him into the middle of the bed. But it also made her straddle his waist.

The man had the audacity to peel back his sleepy eyes to peer at her sitting on top of him. The lazy grin he sported made her want to kiss him again and also smack him in the face. He placed a hand on her thigh but didn’t move it.

“I love this, but I don’t think I’m in the right shape to make this good for either of us,” he said.

The hard evidence Lina could feel under her said otherwise. She believed Curtis Bisset could fuck anybody in any shape or form—drunk or otherwise.

You better remember that, Lina.

Not responding to his drunken allusion, she flipped away from Curtis and was ready to leave his sorry ass sleeping with his shoes still on. She might be his bodyguard, but she wasn’t his nanny. And she definitely wasn’t one of his groupies.

“Lina.” Curtis’ hand grabbed her fingers as she was about to walk away.

The teasing tone was gone, replaced by a soft plea in the way he said her name. After taking a calming breath, she allowed a glance back.

“Thank you,” he said softly. The glassy look in his eyes seemed to clear for the few seconds he looked at her. “Thank you for watching over me and my family.” Then he closed his eyes, dropped her hand, and rolled to his other side to sleep.

Lina’s irritability lost steam at the sincerity in his voice.

Damn you, Curtis.How am I going to look you in the eyes come morning?

twelve

Lina reread the text she’d typed:All is calm here. The only trouble I foresee is Curtis getting bored if I don’t allow him out of the compound sometime soon. Any updates on your front?

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