Charming Like Us (Like Us Series: Billionaires & Bodyguards Book 7)

by Krista Ritchie

  “Yeah…sort of, I guess. I don’t know. It’s hard not to fucking be…” Her face scrunches and when she stands back up, she avoids our gazes and has trouble twisting off the water bottle cap with her bandaged hand.

  Akara reaches out. “Let me, Sul—”

  “I’ve got it,” she snaps.

  A smile pulls at my mouth, and I almost laugh. Alright, I actually laugh. Fuck it.

  She looks more confused at me.

  “You’ve gotta stop giving Akara a hard time, mermaid. That’s my job.”

  Akara fits on a baseball cap backwards. “He’s not wrong.” His voice is light, but his concern is still on Sulli.

  She nears and stands right between us. “Hilarious.” She jokingly slugs his arm, then my arm, and it ends on an awkward beat.

  Akara isn’t her “bro” as much as he’s in denial and thinks he is, and I definitely don’t see her as one of the fucking guys.

  Her face reddens and she mutters, “I shouldn’t be here. What the fuck am I doing?”

  Akara cuts in, “Hey, we’re just talking, Sulli. It’s good. Talking, working things out. It’s what friends do.”

  “Friends?” she questions like she’s still not sure he deserves that title after keeping a secret about her boyfriend.

  I tell her, “We like you here.” I put a hand on the back of her head, just for a short second, and a breathy noise ejects between her lips.

  Her chest falls and rises, and her green eyes flit from me to Akara. Like she just realizes she’s standing between our towering builds.

  I glance down her body. Fuck me. My muscles flex, and I look to Akara out of the corner of my eye. He sees what I see.

  Her nipples are hard.

  Unmistakable, they push against her tank top. My blood cranks up even more. If we were in public, we’d block Sulli from public view and camera lenses.

  Akara glances at her nipples, then nails a death-glare into me.

  Like I turned her on.

  Mother of Christ, I didn’t arouse her on purpose.

  Akara fits his earpiece in as temp guards talk over comms. “Want me to get you a jacket?”

  I think she’s going to say something like, I want you to stop looking at my tits.

  Instead, she shakes her head and her eyes noticeably plant on our crotches. Trying to see if we have boners.

  Her brows scrunch, confused again.

  If we were somewhere else and if she didn’t have a boyfriend, I’d take her hand and let her feel.

  Sulli uses her bicep and body to open the water bottle, managing to twist off the cap herself. A tense silence lingers until she asks, “What are you doing with that?”

  She notices the shoelace in Akara’s hand.

  Akara and I share another look like you wanna tell her?

  I lift a shoulder in a why not? He’s usually a “buddy-guard” with her and always walks a professional tightrope.

  Akara says, “We were talking about restraint knots.”

  “For…?” Her eyes tighten in more confusion.

  “Sex,” he says.

  I add, “Headboards.” I put down my beer and stick a toothpick between my lips, a growing pang pounding the back of my head.

  Fuck this thunder-fucking migraine.

  “Right, I figured it’d be, you know, P-in-the-V action.” She pauses and frowns. “That’s actually not entirely fucking true. I did think that maybe it’d be security related. Like cuffing someone and…” Her eyes ping between us and she avoids our gazes again, her neck flushed. “Um…I’m going to…” She jabs a thumb behind her shoulder. Towards a wall.

  “Disappear into the wall?” I tease.

  She glances back there. “Fuck…um, no. I meant…you know, I don’t know what I meant, but…” Her eyes widen like she’s a hot second from running away.

  “We come in peace,” Akara says with a smile.

  “Do you?” She shrugs like she doesn’t know him anymore.

  His smile vanishes. “Sul.”

  “Don’t Sul me, Kits. I’m allowed to be mad.”

  “You are,” he agrees. “Just don’t hate me forever.”

  She winces. “I don’t hate you…I couldn’t…” She glances at me, like she’s remembering what I whispered against her ear at the bar.

  I told Sulli, “Akara would never hurt you. He just did what he thought was right. And you can try to shove me back all night, all day. But I’m seven-inches taller and can throw you over my shoulder.”

  Ever since I said that last part, she’s been looking at me like she wants to competitively test that.

  “Are we good?” Akara asks right here, right now, his concern still tight on her.

  She shakes her head. “I don’t know.” Sulli struggles to screw the cap back on her water before even taking a sip, and she doesn’t let us help.

  “Does that hurt?” Akara asks about her bandaged hand, and just as he says it, a splitting pain nails my head.

  Christ fuck Almighty.

  I close one eye and try to rub my temple without drawing attention.

  “Not that much.” Sulli stares at her healing palm in thought. I want to tell her that at least we can all agree her boyfriend is a shitbag for complaining about Akara being at the bachelor party.

  It’s not like they went together. He was there for Farrow. She was there for Maximoff.

  But I think she already knows this. Or else she wouldn’t be so quick to break up with him in the first place. I have to give it to Sulli, she doesn’t play around.

  Will made one big asshole move, and she cut him off.

  “Are you ghosting me?” Akara wonders. “You haven’t replied to any of my texts.”

  “Feels pretty fucking shitty, huh?”

  Akara frowns. “You’re ignoring me to get back at me for being standoffish?”

  “No. I did it because I didn’t know what to fucking say to you…and maybe I need a day or two…” At this, she literally runs away. Out of the room, up the stairs.

  “Sulli!” he calls, one second from chasing after her.

  Neither of us move. Maximoff is already jogging after his cousin. He sends me and Akara a sharp-edged Hale glare before disappearing to where Sulli fled.

  Reason number one million why I’m glad these families have Maximoff. Family picking up the pieces is different than a bodyguard picking up the pieces. Sometimes a bodyguard can be better, but in this situation, family definitely is.

  Akara breathes out a frustrated breath, then tells me, “That feels irreparably damaged…but I can’t give up on her. I don’t know how.”

  I bite down on my toothpick. “It might not be as bad as you think.”

  Things aren’t headed towards a porta shitter, but I can’t tell where it’ll end up. Where it’s going. But it doesn’t matter if I can’t see the future.

  I’m always ready for anything.

  Thanks so much for reading this bonus scene! We can’t wait for you to read all about Banks, Sulli, and Akara’s epic MFM romance in Wild Like Us!

  If you want to read more bonus scenes like this one, be sure to check out our Patreon! Joining will give you access to all of these bonus scenes (click for a complete list). Plus new content and extras release every month! Our Patreon is a great place for readers who love behind-the-scenes posts and all the extra goodies :D

  MORE TO READ FROM KRISTA & BECCA

  WHATEVER IT TAKES

  New Adult Romance

  She’s a shy wallflower who doesn’t like to be touched.

  He’s the guy with the bad reputation who craves to touch her.

  Be sure to subscribe to our NEWSLETTER so you don’t miss book announcements for the Like Us series and more books!

  Also by Krista & Becca

  ADDICTED SERIES

  Addicted to You

  Ricochet

  Addicted for Now

  Thrive

  Addicted After All

  The Addicted Series Box Set

  BAD REPUTATION DUET
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  Whatever It Takes

  Wherever You Are

  CALLOWAY SISTERS SERIES

  Kiss the Sky

  Hothouse Flower

  Fuel the Fire

  Long Way Down

  Some Kind of Perfect

  LIKE US SERIES

  Damaged Like Us

  Lovers Like Us

  Alphas Like Us

  Tangled Like Us

  Sinful Like Us

  Headstrong Like Us

  Charming Like Us

  Wild Like Us

  Fearless Like Us

  Infamous Like Us

  Misfits Like Us

  Unlucky Like Us

  STANDALONE ROMANCES

  Amour Amour

  Infini

  About the Authors

  ABOUT KRISTA & BECCA RITCHIE

  Krista & Becca Ritchie are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors and identical twins—one a science nerd, the other a comic book geek—but with their shared passion for writing, they combined their mental powers as kids and have never stopped telling stories. They love superheroes, flawed characters, and soul mate love.

  CONNECT WITH KRISTA & BECCA

  www.kbritchie.com

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  www.pinterest.com/kbmritchie

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  FANS OF KRISTA & BECCA’S BOOKS

  Join the Fizzle Force Facebook Group to interact with other readers, chat about the books, and to enter exclusive Fizzle Force giveaways.

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, we want to extend a special and deepest thanks to Lanie and Jenn. We’ll always cherish the creation of this book because of both of you. You’ve been with us since the very beginning and rooted for us and given us and our books a sort of love that comes once in a lifetime. We wanted to write a Filipino-American family because we love you both, and we’re so honored that we could bring Jack Highland to life with your invaluable input and help. You two have been our superheroes for years, and we’ll always look back at Charming Like Us and remember the talks we had, the group chats, and learning more about two people we love most (that’s you two!). Thank you for sharing your Filipino culture with us. Knowing pieces of you are in the Like Us saga is the greatest gift and treasure of all. It brings tears to our eyes. Thank you for absolutely everything throughout the years, and we hope we did you two proud.

  Big thanks to those that helped us with bringing the Oliveira family to life. From our sensitivity reader to the translators, we’re forever grateful for your input and expertise. And thank you to Andressa for answering our questions, for making beautiful art, and for being so sweet—we’re so lucky you found our books!

  Any mistakes and misrepresentations are our own.

  Thanks to our mom for lending your editing powers and your constant support. Our books wouldn’t be nearly as magical without you. We love you as each sun sets and rises!

  Thanks to Marie for your continued help with the French translations. We’re so happy to have you in our corner to make sure the Cobalt Empire continues to thrive. You are a goddess.

  Thanks to Kimberly, our agent, for helping land this book in audio. We’re so excited to hear Oscar and Jack in audio format.

  Thank you to the bloggers and reviewers who continue to shout about this series at Book 7. We’re forever honored that you’ve chosen to spend time spreading the word about the Like Us series. It’s a dream having you all reach this point!

  To the Fizzle Force, thank you for being a bright spot in our lives. Your love, memes, and edits are some of our favorite things and we’re so grateful that you’ve found our books. Shout out to our admins, Jenn, Lanie and Shea for all your wonderful support and all you do to uplift us and these books. Thank you is never enough, but we shall always say a big overwhelming, thankyouthankyouthankyou.

  To our patrons on Patreon, thank you for making our dreams come true by allowing us to write full-time, and for giving our dorky character-loving hearts a place to expand this world with bonus scenes. You’ve truly changed our lives, and we can’t wait to add more and more content over there! Prepare yourselves!

  And finally, thanks to you, the reader, for picking up Charming Like Us. This book is so special to us for a multitude of reasons, and we’re so grateful that you took a chance on it and the Like Us series. We can’t wait to bring you more epic romances in this world.