Reading Online Novel

Since I Fell For You(16)



“No.”

Her laughter came unbidden. Real laughter, not fake I’m-trying-to-seduce-you laughter.

It was a majorly bad idea to think that the bodyguard she didn’t want was cute, but in that moment he’d sounded like a stubborn little boy who was upset that he wasn’t getting his own way. All because of a client who wouldn’t respect professional boundaries and stop poking into his personal life. Of course, his response only helped to egg her on more. After all, she had never liked being told what she could and couldn’t do.

“I’ll start,” she offered as if he hadn’t said no. “I was born in April, and I’m an Aries through and through. All fire, all the time. What month were you born?”

He didn’t reply for a few moments, but then when he must have figured she could look up the information, he said, “November.”

“A Scorpio.” She wasn’t at all surprised. “I recently read this article about the sexiest astrological signs. Aries won big points for passion, although we can also be quite impulsive. Do you want to know what the researchers said about Scorpio?”

“No,” he said again, but it was resigned and halfhearted this time.

“It said you’re dark and mysterious and utterly addictive.” She tried to tell herself that her heart was only beating fast because they were running, before making herself go even further with it. “Does that sound right to you? Because from what I’ve seen so far, I’m thinking it’s dead-on.”

Finally, he turned to her, and she held her breath waiting to hear what his response would be. Would he finally flirt back? Or had she not managed to break down his professional walls at all with her sexy banter?

Unfortunately, it turned out that combining held breath with running that fast was a bad move. A side cramp hit her so hard she doubled over.

“Suzanne.” She could hear the concern in his tone. Along with the clear promise that he’d take care of her. No matter what. “What happened?”

“S…si…side cramp.”

“Don’t try to talk. I know it hurts, but I want you to breathe as normally as you can.”

She felt his arms going around her as he spoke in a gentle voice while helping her move off to the side of the path and over to a water fountain.

“Drink. Slowly, or it will make the cramp worse.”

She wanted to guzzle the city’s entire supply of water. But she knew he was right and only let herself have one small sip, and then another, until the cramp finally started to ease.

“Thank you, the water was just what I needed.” And, she had to admit, the feel of his strong arms around her was nice too. So nice that when he finally deemed her okay enough to stand up on her own and let her go, she missed his touch. More than she wanted to admit.

A part of her wished she could apologize for making him so uncomfortable with her personal—and deliberately sexual—questions. But though he had helped her so sweetly, she couldn’t let herself go soft now, could she?

Besides, she wouldn’t have needed to sprint as if her life depended on it if his presence hadn’t been stealing her every coherent thought this morning in her office.

“I’m okay to run again now.”

She could still read concern on his face, but he didn’t try to stop her from jogging down the path, simply kept pace with her as he had before. She knew she should start back in on her sexy questions, but in the wake of his gentle voice and comforting hands, it was hard to find the motivation. Soon, she’d force herself to get back on task, but for a few minutes would it really be so bad to let herself enjoy his company as they ran through the park on a lovely day? Because no matter how much she wanted to deny that she felt safe with Roman, the truth was that when he was around, she felt almost bulletproo—

The SOS ringtone trilled from the phone she’d strapped to her upper arm. The harsh sound couldn’t be ignored. Even passersby turned to look at her with alarm.

“Damn it.” She’d been so hopeful that she was done with the nonsense her brothers were so worried about. Not only because she was tired of wasting so much time dealing with the online attacks, but also because it would also prove to her brothers that she didn’t need a bodyguard. Unfortunately, this ringtone meant there was a big problem at Sullivan Security. One that she needed to deal with as soon as humanly possible.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s my office.” She’d already turned around on the path. “We’ve got to head back, immediately.”

So much for being bulletproof.





CHAPTER SIX





Suzanne was crazy fast on those long legs. Roman had never found anyone who could outrun him before, but just minutes into their run, he’d realized he might finally have met his match. When she got the emergency call from her office, she all but blazed back through the park—while protectiveness blazed within Roman.