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

kiss me.
    Skull groaned and sat up. "Fucking hell." He
rubbed his head until Blake reached down and jerked him to his
feet. The hood fell back, revealing a long, straight nose and a
curved scar across his cheek. His lanky hair hung like damp weeds
over his eyes, shielding them. I'd guess he was aged in his
mid-twenties.
    His lips peeled back in a snarl. "Tough guy,
huh?" He no longer held the knife and I saw it in Blake's hand.
    "Jesus," said the artist, now behind me. He
was packing his things up, working fast, not caring what the paint
touched. "I'm going, okay! You got what you wanted, lady. I'm
leaving and won't come back. Just let us walk out of here, no cops,
nothing."
    "No," Blake said. That single command was
enough to render everyone still. "You hurt her, I hurt you."
    "I didn't touch her!" Skull cried. "Let us
go, man."
    The artist's head snapped up, his hand still
in his pack. The hood fell back and I got my first proper look at
him. He couldn't have been more than twenty. His features were a
lot like Skull's only more handsome and a little fuller, as if he
hadn't quite shed all his baby fat.
    "I'll do a deal with you," he said to Blake.
"Hand me over to the police, but let my brother go."
    Blake and I were no longer touching, but he
was close enough that I could feel his body ripple with tension.
"Brothers?" he muttered.
    "It's me you want," the artist said. "Skull
didn't do any of this. He hasn't got an artistic bone in his
body."
    "Art is for pussies," Skull sneered.
    "Please. I'll clean this off myself, tonight.
I'll confess to the cops. Just let him go."
    "Already got convictions, has he?" Blake
tossed out.
    The brothers looked at one another. "Go," the
younger one said.
    Skull backed away without taking his gaze off
Blake.
    "If I see you here again, I won't be calling
the cops," Blake said. "I'll deal with you myself."
    Skull gave us the finger, then turned,
flipped up his hood and sprinted off.
    Beside me, the kid swallowed loudly. "What's
your name?" I asked him. "Your real name, not your street
name."
    "Robbie."
    "Your brother's a coward, leaving you behind
to face the music."
    "Don't let him hear you call him that. He'll
feel like he has to prove you wrong, and I can tell you now, that
won't end well."
    "I meant what I said," Blake told him. "He'd
better not show his face around here again." He snatched up
Robbie's pack and rummaged through it.
    "Hey!" Robbie protested. "Careful of my
paints."
    "This stuff's good quality," I said, taking
one of the tubes off Blake. "How can you afford it?"
    "He can't," Blake said. "He steals it."
    Robbie didn't answer which told me Blake was
right.
    Blake removed a small knife from the pack and
tucked it into his back pocket. "Cassie, our artist here needs to
borrow some paint remover."
    I left them and headed back to the house. I
gathered up supplies and returned to the street where it looked
like Blake was lecturing Robbie. The kid's arms were crossed over
his chest, defiant. They both looked to me as I approached.
    "My name's Cassie West," I said. "And this is
Blake Kavanagh."
    Robbie whistled low. "As in one of THE
Kavanaghs?"
    "Whatever you've heard is probably an
exaggeration," Blake told him, with what I thought was a hint of
sheepishness.
    "You're not all mega rich and own half of
Roxburg?"
    "Precisely."
    "They're super-rich, not mega," I teased.
"And it's a third of Roxburg, not half."
    Robbie laughed, but it withered beneath
Blake's glare.
    "Get cleaning," Blake snapped. "Cassie, you
should get back home. It's late and you've had a scare."
    "It's okay. I want to talk to Robbie
here."
    Robbie screwed his nose up at me. "Why?"
    "Reasons."
    "Cass," Blake said again. "Go home. It's
getting cold."
    "A few minutes working to remove this paint
will warm me up." I flashed him a smile, but he only scowled
harder. "Thank you for rescuing me, Blake. I do appreciate it. Your
timing was impeccable."
    "What the hell were you doing out here at
night on your own, anyway? I