Leah Braemel - Personal Protection

“Yeah, we did. So what do you say?”

“All right. But I have some conditions.”

“Ah, a negotiation.” His grin returned. “Name your terms, sugar.”

When she slid off his lap and began pacing, he spread his arms out along the back of the couch, and straightened his legs, forcing her to divert her path around him.

“First off, you’ve got to stop treating me like I’m some china doll. I’m a Close Protective Officer with Hauberk Protection. And we’re the best on the whole eastern seaboard. Got that?”

“Yeah, but-”

“Shut up and listen, you big jerk.” She stopped in front of him. “I can drop a two-hundred-and-twenty-pound man and have him crying for his mommy in two seconds. I carry two Glocks and I know how to use them.”

“Right. You’re tough. Keep going.” His grin widened.

“Damned right I’m tough. And like it or not, if someone threatens you, I’m going after them.” She climbed back on his lap, straddling him. “They want to get to you-” she jabbed his sternum with her thumb, then pointed her herself, “-they have to go through me. You got that?”

She narrowed her eyes, growling, “I said-got. that?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Her gaze dropped from his face to his bulging erection. “Are you getting off on this, Watson? Because I know that’s not where you keep your Glock.”

A grin flashed on his face before he wrestled control back and replaced it with a bland expression. “No, ma’am. I mean, no, that’s not my Glock. And yes, ma’am, you sure make me hot when you get all riled up.”

A choked sound echoed down the hallway. Damn, how had she forgotten her mother would have been eavesdropping?

“Do you agree to my terms? That you don’t try to wrap me in cotton wool and protect me like some china doll?”

“Agreed. Reluctantly. But agreed. Now you mention it, I have a couple conditions too.”

“Which are?”

His grin faded. “You don’t run out on me again, Rosebud. You stick around and hear me out if we ever get into an argument.”

“Right back at you.”

“I’m not the one who flew to New York.”

She rested her head on his chest. “I’m sorry about that. I just needed to get away to think.”

“You could have stuck around a bit longer before hopping on a plane. It’s not like I could have chased after you, if that’s what you were expecting.” His hands kneaded her behind before pulling her on top of his erection. “You left me handcuffed and shackled, remember?”

“How long did they leave you there?” She wondered who’d had the guts to release him, and if they could still see out of both eyes.

“Hard to tell, they were so busy yakkin’ at me I zoned out.” More likely he was shouting and cursing them. “Then they started arguin’ with each other and walked out and left me hanging there until Fredriksson came to check on me.” A sensible precaution, once freed he probably would have taken them all on. “By the time I got to your place you were gone. Anyway, that’s in the past, right?”

She nodded and shifted closer. “You said you had a couple of conditions. What’s the second one?”

“That you remember I love you, and that I know you’re my here and now. That you’re my future.”

“I think I can agree to that. Provided that you accept that while we’re together, I’m going to be your personal bodyguard.”

Sam chuckled then kissed her until she was lightheaded. “Then that means you’ll be guardin’ me for life. Because, Rosebud, when you’re around I’m gonna need a lot of personal protection.”

About the Author

The only woman in a houseful of men, Leah often takes refuge in her office in an effort to avoid the dishes and dust bunnies. Writing about hunky heroes and hot sex is so much more rewarding than housework.

To learn more about Leah, please visit www.leahbraemel.com. Send an email to Leah at leah@leahbraemel. com or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Leah at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Leah_Braemel.

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