The Billionaire Boyfriend Proposal: A Kavanagh Family Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

he said, lazily.
    "You know I am. You've been doing this to get
my attention without pissing me off directly. Nice work, by the
way. You did get my attention. Your work is lively and you have
talent. With a little more direction, you could be a fabulous
artist."
    He swung round. "Direction?" He snorted.
"Trying to get me to sign up? I've got news for you, lady, I don't
have money for your exclusive art classes."
    So he did know who I was and what I did. My
curiosity was officially piqued. "My classes aren't exclusive and
my fees are reasonable. I want everyone to be able to afford
them."
    He merely snorted and stabbed his brush onto
his palette, grinding it into the paint.
    I was about to offer him free tuition when I
saw someone move out of the corner of my eye. I gasped as another
hooded figure emerged from the darkness of the street. This one was
taller than the artist, despite hunched shoulders. His hood came
down low over his face too, but as he drew closer, I could see the
sneer on his thin lips. He strode right up to me, but the artist
stepped in front before he reached me.
    "Don't," the artist said, his voice pitched
higher. "Let her go." He held up his paint-splattered hands, still
holding brush and palette. "Please, Skull."
    I shrank back, my palms slick, my heart in my
throat. Everything inside me recoiled as the newcomer's hands
curled into fists. Skull. What the hell kind of name was that? A
gang member's nickname, maybe. It wasn't the name you gave a nice,
reasonable person. I couldn't even run back to my house. Skull was
in my way and I bet he could run faster than me.
    "Who are you?" Skull's voice was a menacing
rasp.
    I swallowed, but my fear remained. "A
concerned citizen."
    "You live here?" To the artist, he said, "Is
this her?"
    They'd talked about me? What the hell for? I
wanted to ask, but I didn't want to attract any aggravation from
Skull. It was best to keep quiet and fly under his radar as much as
possible.
    "Yeah," the artist said. "I recognize her
hair."
    Skull reached out and wrapped a strand of my
hair near my face around his finger. I held myself still, despite
the desire to gag at the smell of days-old grime wafting off him.
"Nice hair. Wild." He leaned in. His stinking breath warmed my
cheek. "I like wild."
    "Please," I whispered, "let me go."
    "She's harmless," the artist said quickly. He
licked dry lips. I didn't expect him to save me, despite his
urging. He was smaller than Skull and not as scary.
    Skull grabbed more hair in his fist. He
twisted it, almost pulling it out by the roots. I cried out as pain
ripped across my scalp.
    "You fucking idiot," Skull snarled. "She's
seen you. Seen us. She can identify us."
    "I can't!" I cried. "Your hoods hide your
faces.
    "Please, Skull," the artist begged. "I'll do
anything if you let her go."
    Skull chuckled. "Anything? Yeah?" The click
and swish of a switchblade made me jump and my jumping made him
laugh. "First, I want to take me a lock of this pretty, wild hair
to remember her by."
    The cold steel pressed against my cheek. I
closed my eyes and tried to lean away, but Skull held my hair too
tight. It was just hair. I could lose some of it. As long as that
was all he cut.

CHAPTER 3
     
     
    Skull expelled a breath and let go of my
hair. I opened my eyes to see him crumple to the ground at my feet.
Behind him stood Blake.
    I almost threw my arms around him in relief.
I'm not sure what held me back. Maybe the fierce glare in his eyes
as he looked down at Skull. I began to shake and, to my horror,
cry. I buried my face in my hands and suddenly Blake's arms were
around me, holding me against his chest. He stroked my back, my
neck, and kissed the top of my head. His heat soaked through my
clothes, calming me, and I stopped shaking.
    "You okay?" he whispered into my hair.
    I nodded.
    He gently cupped my face and stroked his
thumbs across my cheeks, wiping away my tears. His hooded gaze
searched my eyes and for one heart-stopping moment I thought he
would