Rogue Beast (The Rourkes #12) - Kylie Gilmore Page 0,61

mind the layers of protection. Anything to keep her safe. Joe waits by my side for her to answer.

She opens the door with a wide smile and steps back. “Come on in.”

I nod at Joe and shut the door behind me. “Hello, beautiful.”

She does a little hip pose in her sleeveless dark red dress, and then she throws her arms around me, kissing me with wild abandon. I wrap my arms around her, caught up in it like always. She grinds against me, and I slide my hand to her ass, cupping her. She moans into my mouth, and I’m ready to take her right now.

I break the kiss, determined to have this date with her. “Harp.”

Her hazel eyes are bright, her cheeks flushed. “Quickie?”

I grin. “Come on, now. They’re gonna be pissed that you keep taking those reserved seats and skipping out on them.”

She pouts. “You’re right. After.”

I kiss her and nip her bottom lip. “Can’t wait.” I step away from her, working on cooling down.

“I’ll just get my purse and let Joe know.”

A few minutes later, we’re heading downstairs in the elevator with her guard. It’s only a fifteen-minute drive to the theater. She’s wearing a white shawl around her shoulders that’s lacy enough to hint at the bare skin underneath. So sexy. She catches me up on her week at work, and the excitement over a major movie star, Claire Jordan, visiting the set to see Josie, who somehow knows her through the Rourke family connection. First I’m hearing about it. Apparently, my cousin Princess Sylvia used an American wedding planner for her stateside wedding (she married an American), who’s close friends with Claire. The connection started with Sean to Sylvia to wedding planner lady to Claire to Josie to Harper. Small world. Makes me think at some point I would’ve met Harper through one of those links. Fate at work here.

Harper continues. “The best part is—and I had no idea about this—but Claire has her own production company based in Connecticut.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah, I told her I was interested in directing, and she told me she’d love to meet with me about a project! She’s got a lot in the pipeline—movies, TV shows, even some reality TV based around classic cars. Have you heard of Hot Finds? They go around looking for classic cars to—”

“Fix up. Yes, I love that show with Ty and Park.”

She bounces on the balls of her feet. “I mean, I don’t expect her to hand me a movie to direct, but directing an episode of an established show while I’m on hiatus from Living Gold could be a start. Our last episode is at the end of the month. Then we play the waiting game to see if we get picked up for more episodes.” She smiles up at me. “It could mean I’d be local for a while.”

“That sounds good to me.”

The elevator doors open, and Joe goes ahead of us. He heads out the front door first and waits for her. I hold the front door open for her and follow behind. The car’s right out front, a silver Mercedes.

“Amanda,” a man yells, “take me with you.”

Harper’s eyes widen as she takes in the disheveled middle-aged man in a stained short-sleeve button-down shirt and jogging pants. Joe confronts the guy, telling him to back away. Harper hurries into the back seat of the car, and I follow her.

“That’s the guy who broke into my apartment,” she says, craning her neck to see where he went. “He wants tough Amanda to whip him.”

Joe’s heading this way, and I don’t see the guy anymore.

I turn to her. “Joe scared him off.”

She grabs my hand, clutching it tight. “He was arrested. I guess he’s out of jail.”

“Do you have a restraining order against him?”

“Yes.”

“Report him.”

Joe slips into the front seat. “Let’s go.” The driver pulls away from the curb. He turns to Harper. “I’m reporting him for violating the restraining order. He’s got some mental issues. I told him you’re not Amanda, and to leave Harper Ellis alone or he’d be arrested. He barked at me and ran away.”

“You mean like a dog?” I ask.

“Yeah. Harper, I’ve got you covered. Don’t let that ruin your night. He’s misguided. I don’t think he means to hurt you, so much as he’s hoping you’ll train him like a dog.”

Harper lets out a shaky breath. “Yes, well, that’s not happening.”

“He can’t get into the building either,” Joe says. “Put him out of your mind.” He shoots me