Broken Rules Read Online Free PDF Page A

statement,
not a question.
     “No, the minute I saw you walk out the door,
it was clear that they’re very well behaved and that they respect you. You’re
clearly the alpha dog.” She smiled at him and he seemed to appreciate the
compliment, but she wasn’t blowing smoke up his ass, so she added, “You’ve done
a very good job training them.”
     “ Gracias . You have dogs?” Alex
nodded.
     “Two pits, three and a half cats.”
     “A half?”
     “Long story. I’ll tell you later. Anyway,
I’m going to tell Jesús and Luis that it’s safe for them to come out, ok?”
     “Well, I’d prefer it be just you and me,
Alexandra, but if you must.” He winked at her and damnit if she didn’t feel
herself blush again. She turned around to walk back to the car, so maybe he
didn’t see… When she got to the passenger side, Jesús had the window already
rolled down.
     “Are you guys going to join us or stay in
the car all day?”
     “Is it safe, Alex?” Jesús asked
     “Well, they haven’t eaten me yet, so I think
you two chickens can come out and test the water.” Jesús shot Luis a look and
they both rolled their eyes and slowly got out of the car, but didn’t make a
move forward. Alex laughed. “Come on, I’ll protect you.” Alex said as the three
of them walked back to Marco. Alex protecting Jesús and Luis seemed to humor
Marco as he asked them in Spanish,
     “ You guys need a woman to protect you?” Uh oh. Alex could feel the testosterone start to flow as both Jesús and Luis
suddenly puffed up. Jesús especially. At which point two of the dogs emitted a
low growl. Marco snapped his fingers and the dogs stopped. But Alex could see
that with three macho Latin men and three Rottweilers, she was going to end up
being part photographer, part referee. She said a silent prayer that Marco
didn’t continue flexing his muscles, literally and figuratively, especially not
with Jesús. Long ago, Jesús appointed himself Alex’s protector. This was not
the issue on which to challenge him.
    But Alex also didn’t appreciate the implication.
Of course, she wasn’t about to let Marco know that. She needed him happy and
cooperative if she were going to make this a good shoot. But this little
exchange helped her get a little clarity about Sr. Flores. As hot as he was,
and he was hot, this Latino machismo bullshit helped clarify for her that he
was just another cocky Hollywood actor.  Hopefully that was all she needed
to stop her from blushing every time he opened that beautiful mouth of his.
    Alex was going to have to be the adult here, so
she turned to Marco, and, all business, said, “Marco, if you don’t mind, could
you show us around, maybe show us your favorite spots in the house so that I
can get a sense of where we might want to shoot, and then we can get set up
while you finish your workout and get dressed, ok?”
    Marco looked at her, then at Jesús and Luis, then
back at Alex, “ Si, Alexandra, por supesto. Venga .” His tone was cool,
strong and commanding. He was making it clear that he was the alpha dog, they
were on his territory after all. He held out his arm in a motion that made it
clear for Alex to put her arm through his at the elbow. Once she did, he
started leading the way, the dogs behind them, and then Jesús and Luis picking up
the rear. Yep, Marco made the hierarchy very clear.
     
    It was the ultimate Hollywood actor bachelor pad,
furnished in a way that it felt at once both comfortable and sophisticated.
There were three levels with the bottom level featuring a living room that
opened out onto a large deck with a good-sized swimming pool. Since the whole
house was built into the hillside, each level had a view overlooking the city.
They started their tour on the bottom level. As Alex looked out she said, “Wow,
the view’s amazing. I’ll bet it’s beautiful at night with all the city lights.”
The minute she said it, she knew what that sounded like. Ugh.
     “You should