phone ringing because, aside from being a logistical challenge, she’s an enticement I just don’t need. But like and idiot, I agreed to this business trip.
A small smile shapes her lush mouth. ‘I did my homework. Asked around. Everyone recommends you, Nick.’ She tilts her head provocatively, as if I’m a prize cow and she’s deciding which cut of meat is the juiciest. ‘Although they warned me not to expect idle chit-chat.’
‘I talk when there’s something worth saying, which is why I need to remind you of the safety recommendations I outlined back in London.’
She uncurls her body, rising from the lounger as if she’s being paid to model that bikini—elegant, confident and with some nefarious intent glinting in her eyes.
‘I know you said to stay in my room, but it’s so peaceful up here in the afternoons. That’s why I stay here when I’m in Milan. And I had all this pent-up energy.’ She laughs, a tinkling sound that, despite my rigidity, flutters down my spine. ‘I wanted to get in a swim before the show tonight.’
‘Lady Madden, I can’t do my job if you refuse to take my suggestions for your safety seriously.’
She huffs, her hand ruffling her short hair in frustration. ‘I’ve told you a thousand times, Mr Rivers—just call me Brooke.’
She grins more widely, a taunt I’m only too happy to ignore along with the rest of her sensational body. ‘Look, I checked that the pool was deserted before I came up here,’ she says, donning a hotel robe and scooping up her belongings.
I look down. Despite her statuesque height, I tower over her. ‘You didn’t hear me approach. I could have been anyone.’ I point out the obvious perils of her ignoring my instructions, for which she pays me handsomely. Because I’m the best—personal protection, handler and driver all rolled into one. And while my business, Rivers Security, employs plenty of competent staff that could run this relatively straightforward and low-risk gig, Brooke Madden is the type of woman to demand the personal touch.
Another reason, if I needed it, that she’s way too rich for my blood.
She shrugs with nonchalance, although her eyes flick to the roof-top views of Milan. Then she takes a pointed look around the pool. ‘We’re the only people here. You need a pass key to even access this level.’
She shoves her feet into flip-flops. ‘Come on, Nick, I just fancied a swim, and then when I saw I still had the place to myself I stayed to relax a little. I was perfectly safe.’
I clench my jaw. ‘Safety is a relative term. The world is a lot less safe than most people realise. And there’s no point me being here if you’re just going to run roughshod over my professional recommendations.’
No one is always perfectly safe, a lesson I learned in prison. And the person she’s most at risk from is me and my fantasies. On the short walk from the lift to her lounger, I envisioned taking her on every available surface this room has to offer. Seeing those crystal-blue eyes wild with arousal, hearing that sweet voice of hers beg for my cock, watching her sultry mouth take my length...
Yeah, safe as houses...
I knew she’d test my detachment and restraint. She always does. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint—these days I have discipline to spare. And, as this afternoon’s stunt proves, I need it in spades for this client. As her employee, there’s a power differential that just doesn’t work for me.
Yep, a nice big stack of reasons to keep my dick in my trousers...
Bored of my lecture, she huffs and moves past me. ‘Don’t be so paranoid.’
‘A little bit of paranoia is why I’m good at my job. Why you employ me,’ I say, following her towards the lift, my stare determinedly avoiding the way her arse moves under the robe.
‘You have other charms,’ she tosses over her shoulder with a provocative look. ‘There aren’t many people I trust enough to have around me twenty-four-seven.’ She presses the call button and gazes up at me from under her long lashes in her most flirtatious look yet.
A ripple of unease grips me, tensing muscles. Brooke is a level-headed, practical woman. I have to hope she doesn’t imagine we can share more than our turbulent working relationship.
Never going to happen. Not with a woman like her.
A woman who makes me feel a little out of control every time she looks at me, as if trying to figure me out.