Honor Bound by Samantha Chase Read Free Book Online Page A

all that bad.”
    I darted a quick look up at his face, checking to see if he was teasing or serious. He still had that soft amusement in his expression, but his eyes held mine. Like he meant it. Like he really thought I made things better for him.
    My heart started to pound again—not from fear, this time.
    “I bet you’d never give a present with strings,” he murmured, sliding his hand up my arm and even higher, until he rubbed his knuckles gently across my cheekbones.
    “I’m terrible about picking out presents.” Yeah, that was a pretty silly comment, but it was the only thing I could think of.
    “I can think of a few things you might—” His words cut off when his phone beeped with a text. He lowered his hand and pulled the phone out of his pocket to check it.
    Obviously, it wasn’t important because he slid the phone back into his pocket.
    But the moment was gone, and he looked like his normal, laidback self again. “It is a nice view from up here,” he said idly.
    “Yeah.” I turned around to face the railing and the view. “Except those picketers kind of break the scenery. Cheryl is going to want to know if you can’t do anything about them.”
    “They’re in the public park, so they’re legally allowed to stay there. Obnoxious, but not breaking any laws.”
    “That’s what I thought. But Cheryl doesn’t like obnoxious things to get in the way of her events.”
    “Duly noted.” His mouth turned up slightly in an ironic expression that made me smile.
    “Does Mr. Gentry really think those picketers are a danger to him?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “You seem to be here all the time, like there’s a real threat.”
    There was a strange expression on his face that I didn’t understand. “Yeah. I’m hired to do this, whether there’s a real threat or not.”
    “Oh. I guess that makes sense. How long have you been in the security business?”
    He looked faintly surprised. “Not long. I was a Marine until last year. Didn’t you know that?”
    “Why would I know that?”
    “I don’t know. A lot of people do.” His expression turned sheepish. “I guess I’m overestimating my own notoriety.”
    I liked that he could laugh at himself. I liked that he seemed authentic—not with that fake charisma that oozed off some guys. Like Gentry. Like Sebastian’s father.
    I was starting to really believe that Sebastian wasn’t anything at all like the rest of them, but I still had to be careful. Even smart women were sometimes fooled by attractive men—and I wasn’t always as smart as I should have been.
    “Why did you get out of the Marines?” I asked.
    “There was an accident. We were…I was injured.” He gestured to his side, which was evidently where the injury was. “It was just the right time.”
    I blinked, surprised by this, since he always seemed so strong and powerful. “What happened?”
    He sighed and stared down at the pool. “Who the hell knows what happened? A friend of mine was killed. One of my best friends.”
    Emotion caught in my throat at the bleak feeling radiating off him, and I reached out to put a hand on his forearm again. “Oh, that’s awful. I’m so sorry. I guess that…that changes things. I mean, the way you look at things.”
    “Yeah. It does.” He turned his head and met my eyes.
    We stared at each other for a minute, and it seemed like we really connected. Like I really knew him. Like he really knew me. Like we were more than two strangers who’d hung out and flirted for a couple of weeks.
    But that was a dangerous thought because, the truth was, I didn’t really know him.
    I broke the gaze and stared down at my hand on his arm. I shouldn’t be touching him. Even if he was the nice guy he seemed, he still was an obstacle to my mission in this house.
    Exposing information on his father and his family company.
    I straightened up. “I should get back to work.”
    “Yeah. I guess so. Did you get the pictures you need?”
    “Yes. Thanks. I’ve done