BODYGUARD - Part One (The BODYGUARD Series, Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

proposition for you."
    Is that what they call it these days?
    "We don't know anything about each other. Who we are, that kind of thing."
    I smile. I'm right here, so knock yourself out. Five feet three inches of hungry girl in my trainers, one hundred and ten pounds last time I checked. I reckon I've lost at least a pound of sweat. One hundred and nine pounds, yippee.
    I turn my head to meet his eyes. "Okay, go ahead. You first."
    "Me?" He sounds hesitant, and when he removes his hand, I feel about to cry, "I told you what I do. I'm a professional bodyguard, and you know about my other job."
    Rescuing damsels in distress, yeah. I like that word 'damsel.' Makes me feel like a character in a movie. "Yeah, you drive a cab, I got that. What else?"
    He puts both strong hands on my shoulders and eases me back a few inches, so we are facing each other. "I swapped ROTC for my college degree, and joined the..."
    "Whoa. ROTC?"
    "Reserve Officer Training Corps. It's a commitment to join the military after they've paid to put you through college."
    I smile, thinking of this hunk in uniform. Sexy. Girls scattering themselves in front of him like flower petals before the arrival of the King. "So you're an officer."
    "Was. I left, and I joined this company that hires out bodyguards to the rich and famous."
    There's a gap in the narrative as wide as the Grand Canyon. "Why'd you leave, Jamie? The military. What was it, Army? Marines?"
    "Navy. I was a SEAL." I'm impressed. No wonder he has a talent for overwhelming the enemy, and coming home with the reward. Me.
    "I thought the Navy was a good career. Why did you leave?"
    A shadow crosses his face, and I'm sorry I've touched on something raw.
    "Long story, I won't bore you with it. What about Tiffany Durham?"
    I shrug. "Nothing adventurous. I came to New York when I was a kid. My parents wanted me to...well, that's another story. I took the job in the gym, doing the juice bar. I've been experimenting with different juice cocktails, working out which benefits each one has. I thought I might start my own business one day. Sell them in markets, health food stores, that kind of thing. It's big business these days, although it helps to get noticed if you're a celeb."
    "Wanted you to what?"
    "I'm sorry?" I've lost the thread.
    "What did your parents want you to do?"
    I hesitate, and he grins, puts a strong, warm hand back down there, and strokes my core.
    He's mean, this guy. Real mean. Is this a Navy SEALs interrogation technique? I'll join.
    I was so aroused; I dropped straight into it. I told the truth.
    "They wanted me to be a singer."
    "Uh, uh. What sort, Broadway musicals, pop, crossover, what?"
    "All the above. I took lessons and trained pretty much every day. There's no other way if you want to make it. It's a tough business. I guess I'd have liked to sing pop, maybe combine it with the odd Broadway show."
    I tense. I revealed too much of me to this hunky man. He's like that. Addictive. I'd do anything to get more.
    "Why didn't you?"
    I feel cold. Cold, and yet I'm perspiring like crazy. "It didn't happen. Period."
    There, that wraps it up. It's ended, over. Finito. Except I hear his deep rumble again.
    "I guess we'll find out tomorrow night."
    "Mm, what's tomorrow night? Something different?"
    Men are like that. Maybe he wants me to dress up as a hooker. A skirt that struggles to cover my fanny, fishnets, high heels, the whole nine yards. Oh, yeah, the plunging neckline. The one where you almost have to glue your breasts in to stop them popping out. A saucy little hat, and he can pretend he's picked me up off the street. Wait, that's just what he did do. Picked me up off the street. But not like that.
    "We're going out. I said I'd fix it up for tomorrow, and you agreed. We're going out to that bar, remember? Where we were going tonight." He drapes his hand around the back of my head and draws my lips toward his. We kiss, and despite my anxiety, we drink of each other's mouths.
    "The Karaoke