Under His Protection by Karen Erickson Read Free Book Online Page B

and approached when he
saw her, an expectant look on his face.
    “Ready?”
    Blake rolled her eyes. “Can I ask you a
favor?”
    “Depends.”
    He removed the sunglasses, tucking them into
the front pocket of his flannel shirt and for a moment, yet again,
she forgot how to breathe. Would she ever be able to get over his
outrageous handsomeness? Or would this happen every single time she
found his intense gaze locked on her?
    “Could you look a little...” She waved a
hand in his general direction, trying to pretend everything was
normal. That he wasn’t pinning her, devastating her with just one
look. “Less intimidating when you’re hanging around? You’re ruining
it for me.”
    He arched a brow, dark and sexy and full of
skepticism. “Ruining what?”
    God, the man could hardly say more than two
words to her. “I was trying to talk to that woman inside the coffee
shop and I think you freaked her out.”
    Well, she was exaggerating a little, but
Suzanne had picked up on his vibe immediately. She thought it best
if he could fade into the background a little more.
    Hard though, considering how large and
handsome he was. He stood out like a sore thumb. Thank God, he’d at
least ditched the suits.
    “Isn’t that my job?” She swore the brow went
higher. “She looks suspicious.”
    “Suspicious, how? She was really nice. I
thought maybe I had a chance but I think you ruined it.”
    Ah yes, kicking in the drama yet again. It
only happened when she was in Mason’s presence.
    “Had a chance?” He looked utterly confused.
And completely adorable.
    Damn it, this crush thing needed to stop
now. It was unhealthy and distracting, especially after last
night’s events. She didn’t need to make any more of a fool of
herself than she already had.
    “A chance at making a real friend. I liked
her.” Suzanne was the first person who actually seemed to have an
interest in talking to her and not about her father or
politics or how wealthy her family was.
    It was refreshing.
    “She’s a stranger.”
    “Don’t tell me you’re going to warn me about
stranger danger.” Okay, she was sort of being a bitch but she
couldn’t help it. His lack of communication was frustrating, to say
the least.
    “I’m just doing my job,” he pointed out.
“You don’t know her or what she’s all about.”
    She really didn’t need the constant reminder
that she was merely his job. “Isn’t that how you make friends?
Getting to know someone who at first is a stranger?” Blake started
walking, heading back toward the cabin. Mason fell right into step
beside her.
    “Sometimes your judgment is a little...off.”
He sunk his hands into his pockets, staring straight ahead as was
the norm.
    Well. That remark hurt more than she cared
to admit. She glanced at him from out of the corner of her eye,
marveling yet again at the strength that radiated from him. She
wanted to invade his space, touch him, see if his chest and his
arms were as hard as they appeared.
    Okay, she knew they were. She’d touched him
before, more than once. The man was a solid mass of muscle.
Delicious, mouth-watering muscle she wanted to search with her
hands, lips and tongue.
    Heat suffused her entire body and she
breathed deep, trying to calm her suddenly erratic heart. Why
couldn’t he be interested in her? She’d thrown herself at him, gave
him the opportunity to jump her bones, and he hadn’t taken it.
    Oh, he’d said he wanted to do the right
thing, but really, what man did that? It made no sense, especially
when she had no expectations.
    At least, that’s what she told herself.
    “Are you concerned for my well being Mason?”
She pitched her voice higher, batted her eyelashes when he looked
at her. The surprise on his face was unmistakable.
    “Of course, I am. Like I said, it’s my
job.”
    So not the answer she wanted to hear.

    Pretending nothing happened between him and
Blake last night was the hardest thing Mason had ever done. His
supposed