Protect Me by Selma Wolfe Read Free Book Online Page A

excited."
    She
stepped inside the room, because Rick seemed to want her to, and gazed around
at the shelves loaded with books.
    "I'm
not really a big reader," she said, hating the hesitation in her voice.
"I wasn't very good at school, and now I'm busy." She'd always had
more important things to worry about than homework. And her mother certainly
hadn't cared. Hope reminded herself of those things, but it felt hollow. She
stared helplessly at the thousands upon thousands of books.
    "That
right?" Hope glanced back at Rick; he was watching her with a soft look in
his eyes. "That's a shame. You're too smart not to read."
    Hope
blinked. Smart? That phrase didn't sound familiar to her ears. Strong, yes.
Capable, absolutely. But she couldn’t remember a time anyone had described her
as intelligent before. Not ever.
    Pride
bit her tongue and held her back from saying so. She stared at the calm
confidence on Rick's handsome face. Something in his expression gave her
courage.
    "So…
what do you recommend?" she asked quietly.
    Rick's
eyes lit up and he darted forward into the room. He went to one bookshelf first
and then hesitated, moved over to another. He poked around in the shelves in
the familiar way of a frequent visitor.
    "Here."
He pulled an old, worn hardback off the shelf and handed it to her.
    Hope
took it gently. She stared at it for a second, perplexed. Even she recognized
this one.
    " Jane
Eyre ? Really?”
    Rick
cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yes?”
    "Isn't
that a romance?" Hope wasn't sure if she was protesting him giving a
romance to her, or him knowing a romance well enough to recommend it. But it
was easier to make a case for the latter. "You like romance novels?"
    Rick
didn't look put off in the least. He just grinned a little, his eyes catching
the sparkle of the afternoon sun filtering in through the huge windows.
    "I
like good books. And Jane Eyre's a damn good book." His grin widened and
he smirked. "Besides, it seemed appropriate. An over-large mansion, a bright
young woman, a dashing, handsome, charming, clever..."
    "Alright!"
Hope actually laughed a little and Rick joined in, the rich sound of his deep,
rolling laugh filling up the room that had seemed intimidatingly large a moment
ago.
    There
was nowhere else she really had to be for the rest of the afternoon. So she
raised the book in a mock salute and settled down into one of the squashy
leather chairs. She didn’t kick off her shoes, but she did curl up in the chair
in a way so that her combat boots would dangle over the side. Hope tucked a
loose strand of hair behind her ear and flicked the book open to the first
page.
    The
smell of tea and the sensation of a warm hand on her shoulder interrupted her
focus on the page.
    “Nothing
sexier than a woman reading,” Rick’s voice, deeper than usual, said softly in
her ear.
    Hope
didn’t move. She stared unseeingly at the page in front of her eyes, trying to
decide what to do. If she ignored him, she was certain that Rick would move
away. But if she turned to face him…
    A hugely
loud alarm blared into the room and the book dropped from Hope’s hand.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    She was
on her feet in a fraction of a second.
    “Get
down,” she hissed at Rick, her hand already on his shoulder and shoving him
toward the floor.
    He
pulled away from her hand and raced toward the door. Hope was close on his
heels. She threw herself in front of him to block the doors.
    “What
the hell are you doing?” she demanded.
    “It’s
just the fire alarm!” Rick said, his face gone pale. “Shouldn’t be anything to
worry about.”
    “Then
it shouldn’t be anything to worry about while you go to the panic room and wait
for me to figure out what’s going on,” Hope said calmly, watching the surprise
register on Rick’s face. As if she wouldn’t go looking for a panic room first
thing just because he didn’t tell her it existed.
    Rick
pursed his lips and stared at