Cocky Protector - Kat Mizera Page 0,31

he’d spent in prison.

“It was a last-minute decision for us,” I said. “Our first vacation as a couple. Shannon teaches at an American school here in Cologne so we hopped on a day late because of her final exam schedule.”

“How fun.” Aubrey smiled. “How do you know Chance?”

I looked to him, since I had no idea what his wife knew.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “Aubrey knows everything.”

Now Shannon was the one looking confused.

“Chance was in prison,” Aubrey said to Shannon, when neither Chance nor I continued. Then she turned to her husband. “I’m assuming Ace is the man who kept you safe while you were there.”

He gave a brief nod.

Shannon frowned. “But…”

“I’ll tell you about it privately,” I told her. “Let’s not talk about it here in such a public place.”

“We’ve been out all day, so we need to freshen up,” Chance said, “but how about we share a table at dinner? I’d love to catch up.”

“Sounds great,” I nodded, glancing at Shannon. “Okay with you?”

“Of course.”

Chance and Aubrey left and Shannon sat down again, leaning against me. “They seem nice. Dare I ask why he went to prison?”

“He beat the shit out of the man who raped his sister.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh. Well, good for him. I hope prison wasn’t too terrible. There aren’t a lot of honorable men in prisons, I don’t think.”

“I made sure he was protected.” I spoke quietly, right into her ear. “There was a very bad man at the prison with him, and I needed someone to watch him. Everyone he spoke to, what he ate, who he hung out with, everything. Chance did that and more, but the details don’t matter. He got me information I couldn’t get anywhere else and I kept him safe. Over the course of about eighteen months of visits, we got to know each other pretty well and he’s a good guy. I’m glad he got his happy ending.”

“Are we telling them about my stalker?” she asked.

I hesitated. “Let’s see how it goes. If it comes up and you feel it’s pertinent, I trust Chance completely. So I’ll leave it up to you.”

“Okay.” She looked down. “I’m in jeans and a T-shirt. Should I get dressed up for dinner?”

“The info they gave us didn’t say anything about formal attire, but you can change if you want. I have a pair of dress pants and a button-down shirt I can wear.”

“We may have to go shopping,” she said, grinning at me. “I can’t have you wearing the same slacks and dress shirt every night.”

I chuckled. “We can go shopping if you want. Tomorrow we’re in Rüdesheim. I don’t know much about it, but they must have stores.”

“I’m sure they do.”

We went down to dinner at seven and I was having a hard time thinking about anything except Shannon. She wore a calf-length black dress that hugged her curves. Especially her spectacular ass. She had a fantastic body in general, but this dress left very little to the imagination. Everything was covered, of course, but the cleavage peeking out of her low neckline and the way it showed every detail of her slim figure had me imagining her naked. Very naked. Very soon.

Chance and Aubrey came down the stairs just as we got to the restaurant and we walked inside together.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bateman.” One of the waiters approached us. “Would you like to sit where you sat this morning or somewhere else?”

“We’d like to sit with Mr. Ross and his girlfriend,” Chance said. “Is that all right?”

“Of course. Come.” The waiter led us to a table toward the back. We had a great view of the shore, with lighted buildings and homes. It was dark now, so we couldn’t see the water, but there were enough lights on shore to make it pretty to look at.

No one said anything, but within minutes someone poured us all flutes of champagne, brought baskets of bread and butter, and gave us menus. There were nightly specials as well as items that were apparently always available, like pizza and hamburgers. I hadn’t seen any children on the cruise so far, but I figured there had to be adults who were picky eaters too.

“He’s fine,” Chance said softly to his wife, gently taking her phone from her.

Aubrey sighed and then glanced up. “It’s my first time away from our son. I mean, he’s with family and I know he’s okay, but I check my phone constantly to make sure they’re not trying to reach