years, youâd know some of that attitude was bound to rub off on me.â
He laughed. âWell, my set of conditions is a bit different. You protect me, but you donât get to judge me. I like women, I like sex and I have a lot of both. Iâm up late, which means I sleep late, but that donât mean Iâm lazy. I work out at least every other day, so you need to keep up. That said, I need time alone to write, and the only time that happens is when Iâm on my tour bus. Iâll be one hundred percent safe while weâre traveling down the road, so during that time, youâll need to entertain yourself.â
âNot a problem.â
âMy biggest stipulation is that you canât tell anyone youâre my bodyguard, especially your sister. I donât need this spread among my friends in Muddy Gap.â
âGSC is discreet and professional. I have nondisclosure agreements with them, and Iâm fully prepared to sign them with you. I donât talk about my work with anyone.â
âI appreciate that. Now, hereâs my final concern. Crash will tell everyone associated with the tour that youâre my new personal assistant. However, when you store your stuff in my tour bus, no one is gonna believe it. Theyâll assume weâre fucking. Will that be a problem for you?â
She shook her head. âI donât care about anything except doing my job.â
Devin raised an eyebrow. âEven if it means Iâll parade groupies past you?â he countered. âYou prepared for the questions from my bandmates? You donât care if they think youâre a star fucker? You can honestly act like you donât give a shit who I fuck as long as Iâm givinâ it to you on a regular basis? Because in my past experiences, no woman ever deals well with that.â
That gave her pause. Then she offered him that evil smile. âMaybe since Iâm a more . . . masculine-acting womanâyour words, not mine, Mr.McClainâthat means I proudly embrace the same I-donât-give-a-damn attitude that men do when it comes to casual sex.â
âYou gonna toss my knee-jerk comment about your physical attributes in my face every chance you get?â
Liberty cocked her head. âYep. You wouldnât have said it if you didnât mean it, which means you have to accept that I wonât forget it. Youâre used to saying whatever pops into your head, and I doubt anyone ever calls you out on it. Be warned: I will.â
âSo noted.â
âAnd I donât shy away from asking what I need to know.â
âSuch as?â
âWhen was your last relationship that lasted longer than a box of condoms?â
He refused to let her get a rise out of him. âFour years ago.â
âThen no one is expecting you to suddenly become monogamous.â
âTrue.â He took a sip of his cold coffee. âBut Iâll expect you to look like the type of woman Iâd hire. Or have in my bed.â
She scowled. âWhat does Devin McClainâs type look like?â
âNot that.â He gestured to her outfit. âWearing a getup like that will be a dead giveaway that youâre not who you claim to be. And Iâm not all right with that. You shouldnât be either. Darlinâ, you gotta blend.â
Instead of bristling, she nodded. âUnderstood. But I wonât wear constricting clothing. I canât run in high heels. My gun needs to be accessible at all times.â
âWill you always be carrying?â
âItâll depend on the situation. But, yes, Iâll either have a handgun or a stun gun on my person, which is standard in the personal-protection business regardless of your gender or mine.â
Devin didnât want thisâhe truly felt he didnât need it. But in the case of picking the lesser of two evils, heâd choose her. He managed a smile. âYouâre
Earth's Requiem (Earth Reclaimed)