Page 32 of A Reclusive Heart

“Yes?” Jamie asked, wondering if he was here to get her autograph for his girlfriend or mother. That was the excuse most of the guys used when asking for her autograph, but a few of them she suspected were closet romance novel junkies. Something about this guy told her that wasn’t the case.

Before she could wonder what he was doing, he reached over and grabbed her hand, yanking her to her feet and had his mouth plastered against hers, surprising the heck out of her and everyone in line if the startled gasps and nervous chuckles were any indication. Just as fast as it started it was over.

What the heck just happened, Jamie wondered as her eyes landed on Nick and widened. He was kneeling in front of the table and it wasn’t until he pulled his arm back that she realized what he was doing.

“Stop!” the guy on the ground cried as Nick pulled back his fist and punched him again.

“Oh, no,” Jamie mumbled, scrambling out from behind the table, but before she could get close enough to stop him, the guy’s friends were there trying to pull Nick away. Nick didn’t bother to look back as he shoved them away and focused his attention on the guy bleeding on the floor.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” the blonde guy with a buzz cut demanded as he tried to yank Nick back. “It was just for a frat scavenger hunt. Let him go!”

Nick ignored him and focused on the guy throwing wild swings as he tried to fight Nick off. A few connected with Nick’s jaw, but if they hurt, it didn’t show. Jamie shoved the college kids out of the way and did the only thing she could think of at the moment.

She launched herself onto Nick’s back.

“Get the hell off of me!” he snapped, trying to gently shrug her off even as he moved to punch the guy again.

“No!” Jamie said, wrapping her legs around his waist in an attempt to use her weight to throw him off.

“Jamie!” Nick snapped, pausing mid-punch to try and shrug her off again, but she wouldn’t budge.

The guy on the floor took the opportunity to make a run for it with his friends, cursing as they moved to join him. With a growl of frustration, Nick got to his feet to go after them, but apparently, he refused to do it with her still on his back.

“Get off!”

“No!”

“Get the hell off my back so that I can go kick his ass!”

“You already did!” Jamie pointed out and then added. “He left bloody and crying! Is that not good enough for you?”

He paused briefly and shook his head as he reached back to pull her off, but she refused to let go. “Jamie,” he growled in warning. Once upon a time that would have sent her screaming for the hills, but not anymore. He wouldn’t hurt her. She knew that, but just in case he decided to get even with her for this little stunt, she made a mental note to hide her chocolate later.

“Um, excuse me?” the bookstore manager said, grabbing their attention.

With a sigh, Nick turned around so that they were both facing the woman who looked really freaking nervous. Not that Jamie could blame her. She just hoped the woman didn’t call the cops on Nick because she had absolutely no idea how to bail someone out of jail and she really had no interest in learning how.

“I’m afraid that I’m going to have ask you to leave,” she said much to Jamie’s relief since she really didn’t like the idea of Nick becoming some guy’s “special friend” for the night.

CHAPTER 17

“Go. Away,” Nick bit out tightly, but the damn woman refused to leave. At least she was on the other side of the door, he thought, otherwise, he’d be tempted to strangle his little recluse.

“You can’t still be mad!” Jamie said in exasperation. “I eventually got off your back.”

He paused mid-sip of his beer and glared at the door. “You didn’t get off my back until I was in front of your door!” he snapped.

“I had to make sure that you wouldn’t do anything stupid,” she pointed out and he barely stopped himself from storming over to the door, ripping it open and kissing the hell out of her.

Now,thatwould have been stupid.

Perhaps not as stupid as attacking some dumb kid in front of a group of J.L. Lewis fans at a signing, Nick thought with a groan. What in the hell had he been thinking? He’d never lost it like that and certainly never over a woman. Several of the women he’d taken out over the years received attention from other men and it never bothered him. He didn’t get jealous, never cared enough to, but today, he’d been ready to kill the little bastard.

For any other client, he would have simply pulled her away and signaled for the manager. There was no way that he would have taken a chance screwing up his career for anyone. He’d worked too damn hard to get where he was and wasn’t about to let anyone come between him and what he wanted.

All his plans went to hell the moment he saw another man kiss her. All he could think of at the time was that another man was touching his little recluse. Even as he grabbed the guy, Nick knew what he was doing and that it could very well be the end of his career, but he didn’t give a damn. All that mattered was taking care of Jamie and if he hadn’t been so furious at the time, the realization would have scared the hell out of him.

“Are you going to let me in?” Jamie asked, sighing heavily with annoyance and sounding so damn cute that he had to stop himself from smiling.

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