Exposing the Heiress by Jennifer Apodaca Read Free Book Online Page B

phone with her. “You ran for over an hour. What did you come up with?”
    “Men suck.”
    Hunt laughed. “Guess you can’t get all life’s answers in one run. But—”
    Lyssie’s phone dinged and vibrated by her thigh.
    She scooped it up and looked at the screen. “Text from Nate.”
    “Read it.”
    Her sun-warmed skin paled. “You’re not in your house, but your car is in the garage. Are we going to have a problem I need to eliminate?” Lifting her eyes, worry filled her eyes. “He’s threatening me. This is crazy, Nate’s in Europe. How does he even know I’m gone but my car is in the garage?”
    The back of Hunt’s neck prickled with danger. “You’re sure he went?”
    “Yes. Dragon Wing’s limo took him to the airport. I checked with the driver.” Alyssa shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Someone had to get in my house and garage to realize I’m gone but my car is there.”
    “Who has a key?”
    “Nate, Jessie my housekeeper, and my friend Maxine.”
    Hunt considered it. He’d seen her gated community in Malibu. “Call the guard shack and see if they have a record of any of them going through the gates.”
    She picked up her phone, went through her contacts and made the call. Finished, she hung up. “Not Maxine or Jessie, only a dress delivery sent from an up-and-coming designer.” She rubbed her forehead. “Those always go to Dragon Wing, never my house. Even if the office sent them there since I quit, they don’t have a key and Jessie’s not there today.” A shudder ran through her. “Someone was in my house. Nate’s having me watched.”
    Lyssie’s growing anxiety yanked out his need to protect and soothe her. Care for her. No way in hell would he let her get hurt. He cupped her chin, forcing her to focus on him. “I’ll have an operative, Cooper Sims, go to your house in the next few days and sweep it for bugs and cameras. He’ll change your locks, and evaluate your security system. By the time he’s done, no one will get into your house because it will be a fortress. It’s going to be okay.”
    “Thank you, but I need to pay you too, not just—”
    Releasing her chin, he spread his hand over her shoulder, cutting her off. “Don’t.” He wasn’t taking her money. “That bastard scared you. He threatened you and your son. Until I know you’re safe, until I’m one thousand percent sure he won’t dare touch you or hurt you in any way, I’m your bodyguard. And you don’t pay me for that.” The feel of her soft, sun-warmed skin nearly singed his hand, but he stayed on point. “And no one gets through me, Lyssie. No one.”
    …
    Alyssa stared into his eyes, soaking up the feel of his hand covering her shoulder. For the first time in years, she felt safe…and more. He sat so close that his scent of soap and male, mixed with clay that always clung to him, teased her. She caught herself inhaling, trying to memorize it. But all it did was fuel her simmering desire. The want she hadn’t experienced in years. Answer him!
    “Okay.”
    “Good.”
    He didn’t move. He hadn’t shaved this morning and the shadow on his jaw added to the edge in him. This wasn’t like last night when he’d pulled her into his lap. Oh, there’d been a thrum of sexuality, but mostly it’d been trust and comfort, familiarity. A bond of old friendship.
    This? Her pulse jumped, and her nipples tightened from just the touch of his hand. She’d experienced sexual attraction before, but this was insane. It was a raw, penetrating need . She licked her lips, trying to think of something clever to say, some way to lighten the moment.
    “Don’t do that.”
    His husky growl shivered into her. “What?”
    “Lick your lips.” He leaned closer, dark intensity throbbing in his voice. “I’m barely holding back.”
    “From?”
    “Kissing you.”
    Oh God. Alyssa had dreamed of kissing him for years, craved the feel of his arms around her, his mouth exploring hers. Heat curled in her