Born Wild

Born Wild by Julie Ann Walker Read Free Book Online

Book: Born Wild by Julie Ann Walker Read Free Book Online
Authors: Julie Ann Walker
year, you still get all gooey-bellied and jelly-kneed around him? What the heck is the matter with you?
    She refused to contemplate the answer to that question. She had enough on her plate right now without dealing with her ever-present feelings for one William Wesley Reichert.
    Case in point…“I want to find out who this is without them knowing we’re on to them,” Billy told Jeremy. “So we’re going to stroll out there, calm as you please, like you’re just seeing us out. Savvy?”
    â€œAye, aye, Captain,” Jeremy snorted, playing off Billy’s Jack Sparrow jargon as they turned for the door.
    And, huzzah! Eve mentally patted herself on the back for picking up on that reference, because she wasn’t much of a moviegoer. As a girl, her father hadn’t liked the idea of her sitting in a darkened theater where anyone and everyone with an eye toward ransom could sneak up and grab her. And then, after she’d become an adult, a single adult, sitting alone in the gloom, eating too-salty popcorn while being surrounded by all those starry-eyed couples just reminded her of everything she’d lost when she’d lost Billy.
    But in this case, she was well-schooled on Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack lingo because after having been held hostage by Somali pirates, Becky’d thought it would be a hoot to hold a Pirates of the Caribbean movie marathon—complete with eye patches, fake parrots, and little chocolates in the shape of gold coins. So Eve could “who drank all the rum?” and “I’ve got a jar of dirt!” right along with the best of them.
    Of course, not even good ol’ Johnny Depp could bring more than a short-lived smile to her lips right then because the fact remained that she was in danger. Maybe imminent danger. She gnawed on her bottom lip during the too-short elevator ride to the bottom floor. Then, after they’d shuffled across the well-appointed lobby, it was time for the show. Or maybe the show down was the better way to put it.
    Oh geez. Oh geez…
    She repeated the mantra like a pathetic prayer when they edged out the front door as a unit, Jeremy and Billy creating a wall of living flesh in front of her. She instinctively grabbed the back of Billy’s waistband, hooking her fingers into a belt loop and marveling at the warmth of him, at the sheer strength of the muscles in his lower back as they bunched with his steps and brushed across her knuckles. It was the first time she’d touched him in months. And, okay, so she could admit she’d missed his nearness waayyy more than she should have, especially considering how things stood between them. But she could also admit that while the sensation of his hard flesh against the back of her hand was titillating, it was also comforting. Giving her the strength to keep from faltering as they crossed the street to the parked Hummer.
    â€œGet ready to open the door, Eve,” Billy instructed quietly once they’d made it to the vehicle. He and Jeremy body-blocked her from the suspicious SUV’s direct line of sight. Then, a chirp-chirp emanated from the big Hummer, and she knew he’d unlocked the door and disarmed the alarm system with the key fob in the hand that wasn’t snaked behind his hip, palming the handgun he kept hidden there. Gulp. “Okay, now jump on in there, and don’t be shy about it.”
    She wished she could say she hopped-to without hesitation. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. For some reason she couldn’t explain, maybe it was momentary panic or a bout of fleeting hysteria or…the fact that she didn’t want to let go of Billy and the comfort his nearness provided, but she froze. For just a second. But it was long enough for Billy turn to her, his expression so soft, the light in his eyes so warm that she almost forgot how precarious her situation was and melted into a puddle of hormonal slop right there on the

Similar Books

My Life as a Fake

Peter Carey

Some Trees: Poems

John Ashbery

Wild & Hexy

Vicki Lewis Thompson

The Remarkable Rise of Eliza Jumel

Margaret A. Oppenheimer

Angelic Sight

Jana Downs

The Catch

Archer Mayor

Chance Lost

Jo Larue

Cold Case Squad

Edna Buchanan

Deception

Ken McClure