“Okay,” he conceded.
Like a Meerkat in the Serengeti, her head popped up and the fridge door shut. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
Her baby blues narrowed. He waited for her to push him more on the subject, but instead she doubled back to her initial question. “Who was on the phone? Was it Grover? Does he have a lead?”
“It was Seth.”
For a split second her face fell, but she quickly masked her disappointment. “Did they find anything in their sweep?”
“They found three cameras.”
Horror registered across her pretty features. “Three?!”
“Yes.” He hated that she had to hear about any of this. All he wanted to do was shield her, protect her from…everything. But, she had a right to know.
“Where?” Her eyes scanned the front room and kitchen. “Where are…or uh…were they?”
“One in the front room. One in the bedroom and one in the bathroom.”
“The bathroom?” Her eyes widened with shock.
“They’re gone now. Seth has our tech guy Nate working on finding where the feed was being sent.”
Her lips pursed and she nodded her head. It was obvious to him that she was trying to be strong, trying to hold back tears. The strength in her vulnerability shredded him.
With renewed determination brimming in her eyes she leveled him with a probing stare. “Are you sure they got them all?”
“Yes.” Even though he’d asked the same question and Seth hadn’t responded, he was confident in his answer. Seth and the men he hired were the best at what they did. Not to mention, Maxi wasn’t just some client. This was personal, and not just to him. She was Jessie’s employee, and Jessie was family. That meant that Maxi was family in Seth’s eyes.
With a shaky breath, Maxi rested her hands on the marble countertop and leaned forward slightly, as if she were bracing herself. Every cell in his body was screaming for him to go pull her into his arms. He wanted to be her support. He wanted to be the one holding her up. He wanted to be the one that she leaned on.
She swallowed hard, inhaled through her nose and blew a breath out of her mouth. It was a technique that he’d seen her use when she was trying to remain calm and not lose it. Sometimes at him. Most of the time at him. Over the years, he’d pushed her buttons any chance he got. Not because he was being a dick, just because he wanted a reaction out of her. Any reaction. Even negative attention was attention.
“So there are no cameras in here,” she clarified calmly as she stared down at her hands.
“Only the ones that we installed. Cameras with eyes at all the points of entry. There will be someone monitoring the activity day and night.”
“Watching me?!” The horror was back as her eyes flew to his as she pushed off the counter and turned so that she was facing him.
“No. Not you. Just the points of entry. Windows. Doors. That’s it.”
“Are you sure?” Her voice trembled as she looked up at him with total trust and vulnerability.
The ache in his chest expanded and his feet moved without permission. He needed to be closer to her. He’d been doing his best to give her space. He knew that even him being here went against every independent bone in her gorgeous body. He wished he knew how to take all of the fear, worry, and stress from her. Assuring her wouldn’t be enough. His mind raced to try to find the right words to give her some peace.
He was still trying to figure out what to say when Maxi placed both hands on his chest and pushed. Hard.
“Stop it!” she raised her voice.
Since he was six foot two, two hundred and ten pounds of muscle and she stood a hair under five-four and weighed about a buck-twenty soaking wet, her efforts didn’t go far. He remained planted in place.
“Stop what?!” he asked, more defensively than he’d meant to.
Not that she cared. An accusatory finger poked where her palm had just pushed. “Stop walking on eggshells around me. Don’t treat me like some fragile thing that might break. I’m not fragile. I won’t break. Just…be normal.”
In Billy’s life he’d been accused of a lot of things. Being an asshole. Being immature. Being cocky. Being a man-whore. But by far, the thing that he heard the most, usually in the form of a complaint from the fairer sex, was that he said what was on his mind. He didn’t sugarcoat things. He’d never seen the point. Before now, that is.
Now, he was so in his own head and emotions, so scared and angry, so filled with fear and rage, that he wasn’t himself. But as he looked into Maxi’s eyes, he realized that, from the time he’d seen her in Jessie’s office until now, the only moment he’d seen the sparkle in her eyes that he’d grown addicted to—the sparkle that was a window into the fire that burned just below the surface of the always calm, cool and collected Maxi Rizzo—was when he teased her in the hall at SPC after Martin had left. For a few seconds, she was just Maxi and he was just Billy.
In the ring, he was known for reading his opponents. Their body language. Their tells. On the job, he was known for reading potential threats. Their body language. Their tells. In the bedroom, he was known for reading women. Their body language. Their tells.
So how in the world had he missed Maxi’s body language? Maxi’s tells?
Shaking his head slightly, he tried to clear the black cloud that had taken up residence in his head since the second he’d stepped into Seth’s office this afternoon. He needed to put his personal shit aside and be there for Maxi. Not just to protect her physically, but also to give her what she needed emotionally.
She wanted normal, he’d give her normal.
A small smirk lifted on his mouth as he held her gaze for a long beat before making her an offer that—unlike the Godfather—he knew she would refuse. “Those are the only cameras up now. But I have video on my phone. If you want, we can make our own movie. That dress is giving me all kinds of creative inspiration.”
Her full red lips twitched, but she didn’t give in to the broad smile that he knew his comment was straining to put on her face. Before the grin had a chance to reach its full potential, his phone buzzed. Glancing down, he saw a message from Nate, their tech guy.
Man. Early 30s. Approaching door.
“Someone’s here,” Billy told her just before there was a knock at the door.
With a start, she jumped slightly.
“Stay,” he commanded as he turned to answer it.
Slender fingers wrapped around his forearm, gripping him firmly. “No. I’ll get it. It’s my door. My date.”
Instead of arguing with her, which he knew was a waste of time, he let her pass by him and followed behind her.
She stopped up short and turned her head, looking back at him over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“My job.”
“Opening the door is not your job.” Her left brow raised.
“Keeping you safe is.”
Letting out a sigh of frustration she ran her hands down her dress, then explained with a heaping dose of attitude. “I seriously doubt me answering the door for my date, who I’m expecting, is going to put me in the danger zone.”
“Where you go, I go.”
“Hold on…” She held up her hand as realization dawned on her. “You are not going on my date with me.”
“Yes I am.”
Another knock sounded, this one louder than the last. Maxi poked her finger into Billy’s chest. “Wait here.”
Never one to obey orders being barked at him, Billy fell in step behind her. Chances were she was right, it was only her date, and there was no real threat—but Billy never left anything to chance. He was primed and ready to pull her to safety if need be.
After looking through the peephole, which Billy appreciated, Maxi pulled the door open only about six inches. Billy wondered if she was trying to hide her date from him or vice versa.
“Hi, I’m almost ready. Just give me one minute.” With that hurried instruction, she shut the door before her date had an o
pportunity to respond.
But not before Billy was able to see the man—and he was using that term loosely—who was standing on the other side. Her date was thin, with dark hair and pale skin. He couldn’t be more than five-foot-eight, and his frame was frail.
Two questions were finally answered for Billy. First, he now knew why she’d been so hard-assed about her “rule” of not dating fighters. If this guy was any indication of what got her going, muscled alpha men weren’t even close to her type. Second, it had to be her date she was trying to hide and not the other way around because, come on…
She spun on her heel and sucked in a startled breath when she saw how close Billy was standing to her. She swatted at his arm. “Don’t sneak up on me.”
“I didn’t.” Not really.
“Yes you did.” She whispered loudly as she shook her head and the intoxicating floral scent that was uniquely hers wafted through the air. “Listen, you don’t need to chaperone my date. I’ll be fine, I am going to be with Simon the entire night.”
“Simon? Him? You’re kidding, right?”
“Shh!” She scolded with a huff of irritation before crossing her arms which pushed her lovely lady lumps up in what he was sure would be an illegal amount of cleavage in some states. In a hushed tone she said, “No. I’m not kidding. I won’t be alone. You can stay here.”
Billy admired Maxi’s independent streak, and would normally take a step back so that she could prove whatever she needed to herself. But this wasn’t the same as the time she’d insisted on moving six heavy boxes of swag that had been delivered to the gym to the backroom by herself, or the time that she’d refused to let him help her change her tire when she’d gotten a flat a block from her dad’s house. This was high stakes. The highest stakes, really. Her safety.
She wanted him to be himself, not sugarcoat things, and if that’s what she wanted, then that’s what she was going to get. Placing his hand on her hip, he leaned down so that his mouth hovered just above her ear. From his new closer, more intimate position, he couldn’t help but notice that her magnificent cleavage was moving up and down in rapid pants.
“If you think that I’m going to let you out of my sight tonight, or until this is over, you don’t know me at all.” He was speaking low since he’d been instructed to “shh,” but he hadn’t meant for his words to come out sounding like a growl, which they had.
Beneath his palm he felt a shiver run through her body as she sucked in a shaky breath. At the sound of her inhale and the tremble of her body, his fingers tightened their hold and his breath grew heavy. He loved the fact that his touch had sent a shiver through her. Loved that he could affect her. God knew she’d been knocking him flat on his ass with a simple smile for years.
“Fine.” Her voice trembled as she stepped back and his hand fell from her hip. Her eyes were glazed and she looked flustered. “But you have to…just don’t be…you know…you.”
“I’m confused, gorgeous.” Billy grinned. He knew what she meant and he didn’t have to give her a hard time, but where was the fun in that? “First, you yell at me for not being me, now you’re telling me not to be me. Talk about mixed signals.”
The corners of her eyes twitched as she shot back, “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Feigning innocence, he lifted his hands in mock-surrender. “No, I don’t. You’re going to have to be more specific. Do you want me to pretend I’m someone else? Should I, how you say, speak with an accent?” he asked, with what was probably hands-down, the worst French accent in the world. He’d discovered her amusement at his lack of French-accent-ability when he’d first learned that Maxi’s mother was French. In an attempt to lighten the mood when the heavy subject had been brought up, Billy had done the stupid accent. It made her smile then and had the same affect today.
The dueling knots that had taken up residence in Billy’s chest and gut loosened slightly at the sight of her lips turning up and her eyes lighting with humor. Damn. He would do anything, anything to keep putting that smile on her face.
There was another knock on the door as Simon asked loudly, “Maxine, are you okay?”
“Maxine?” Billy mouthed.
The only people that he’d ever heard call her by her full name were people that didn’t know her. She hated her full name.
“Just. Don’t.” Her two-word warning was packed full of meaning.
His only response was a wide grin. A small flare of panic flickered in her baby blues before she turned in haste to open the door.
Would he ever do anything to embarrass her? No. Would he ever disrespect her by flirting with her in front of a date? No. But if he kept her mind occupied with what his next move might be, then she wouldn’t be thinking about the asshole that was stalking her. But Billy would. He knew that he wouldn’t have a moment’s peace until whoever was doing this was caught. That’s all he’d be thinking about.
As she pulled the door open his eyes scanned down to the full, rounded curve of her backside. Well, he might be thinking about a few other things, too…
Chapter 6
“Sorry about that.” Maxi’s rushed apology fell on deaf ears as Simon ignored her and stared over her shoulder, his mouth agape like he’d just seen an alien walk off the mothership.
She understood.
Billy Marshall had that effect on people, and not just women. His six-foot-two, muscular frame was impressive in and of itself. But he paired that with looks that could easily be on the big screen and a general demeanor that screamed badass. No matter what gender you were, it was potent and a lot to take in.
Knowing that she had no choice but to get this introduction over with, she motioned her hand behind her. “Simon, this is my friend Billy. He’s going to be working on a client’s security detail and he’s staying with me while he does.”
“Nice to meet you.” Billy reached past her and his forearm brushed against her upper arm as he shook Simon’s hand.
His bare skin felt hot to the touch and sent one doozy of an aftershock running the length of her body. The first quake had erupted when he’d held her hip moments ago as he’d whispered in her ear. The sensation of his large palm and strong fingers on her body, while his hot breath fanned down her neck as his deep voice echoed in her ear caused an eight-point-five tremor to rock her to her core.
“Hello.” Simon flinched at the handshake.
Billy “The Big Bad Wolf” Marshall was known for his firm grip. With a slight shake of her head, she tried to clear the cloud of lust that had cloaked her since the moment she’d walked out into her living room and seen the brooding, tense look on Billy’s normally relaxed face. His jaw was tense as he held his phone. The chiseled lines of his muscular chest were visible through the grey cotton T-shirt that was tight in all the right places. Logically, she knew that she shouldn’t be finding this as sexy a scene to witness as she was. But dear lord, she just couldn’t help it.
When her car had been broken into, she hadn’t been that upset. She’d grown up in Fuller Park on the South Side of Chicago where vandalism had been an everyday occurrence. The second incident, when the dead birds were delivered to her office, had made the scales of her emotional balance start to tip towards unsettled. But it wasn’t until the naked pictures of her in the shower at her gym were sent to everyone at her office that she had felt truly violated and scared.
That underlying emotion had been a constant for the past two weeks, and it wasn’t until she’d been in her shower and realized that, since the moment that Billy had walked into Jessie’s office, she hadn’t been scared. Panicked, yes. The thought of having Billy here was panic-inducing. But not scared.
Then, when she’d walked out and had seen him looking so large, so alpha, so dangerous—she’d had to stop herself from swooning. Literally. She’d locked her wobbly knees so that she could remain upright. She’d barely been able to speak when she’d asked him who was on the phone.
“How do you know Maxine?” Simon’s eyes bounced bet
ween the two of them.
Before she could answer, Billy beat her to it. “I trained with her father.”
“Trained?” Simon’s brow furrowed as he looked at her for answers.
“My father trains boxers.” Her explanation was short and to the point, but the fact that she had to answer that at all meant a lot of other questions were going to be raised, and not from Simon.
Billy stepped even closer to her and she could practically feel the curiosity radiating off of him. “How do you two know each other?”
“Maxine and I met at a charity event that was being held at my gallery.” Simon said the word gallery with the same inflection and reverence that most people reserved for God.
She’d pointed that out once, in fact, and he’d replied that Art was his religion. Her only thought had been, pretentious much?
“I heard voices and I thought that was you—” Jana was speaking as she opened her door, “Holy hotness! I can’t believe you’re wearing the dress!”
Maxi had never been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but if she had, this is what she thought it would feel like. The dress had been in her closet for a year and a half and Jana had tried and failed to get her to wear it on at least a half dozen occasions, but she always refused.
Tonight, when she’d been standing in her closet with the knowledge that Billy was in her living room, she’d grabbed it. She was trying not to read too much into her impulse decision. Especially since the event she’d originally purchased the dress for was Billy’s last fight, the one at which he’d announced his retirement. She’d chickened out of wearing it that night when she’d heard that he was bringing a Playboy model as his date.
“We were just heading out. See you later!” Maxi tried to scoot by Billy, but he was large and the hall wasn’t—especially since there were now four people standing in it.
“I know this one. Hey, Simon.” Jana lifted her hand in a wave before zeroing in on Billy and pointing her finger. “But, I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure.”
All He Wants Page 5
