The Mercenary Next Door (Rogues and Rescuers #2) - Lucy Leroux Page 0,55

list in particular.

Ransom made himself comfortable on the small couch crammed between the single beds. When Rosamie glanced up from her calls, she appeared surprised to find him still there.

“Mason’s orders were to keep an eye on you,” Ransom informed her. “So that means I stay with you—at least until we’re sure he’s not coming back.”

“And do you do everything Mason says?” she asked, hands on her hips.

Appreciatively, he allowed his gaze to roam over her curves, lingering in an obvious way on his favorite spots. “Well, some orders are easier to follow than others.”

He patted the couch next to him. “Want to watch some Netflix?”

Don’t add chill. You want to keep your testicles, he thought, swallowing his chuckle.

Rosamie studied him with narrowed eyes. Then her lip pulled up at the corner. She pivoted on her heel, stomping over to the dorm’s mini-fridge. Riffling through it, she pulled out two beers and handed one to him.

“There’s not enough room on the couch. You’re too big,” she said, giving him the same intimate appraisal he’d given her.

Damn, he was really starting to like this girl.

“I guess I’ll just have to sit on your lap,” she added, cocking her head.

Ransom whistled, fanning himself with one hand.

Yup. He definitely liked this girl.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Laila’s eyes flew open. She stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, but she didn’t have the confused where-am-I feeling. She remembered exactly where she was.

Mason. She was at his new house—with him.

Her brain supplied a mental image of a two-story suburban home. I can’t believe he moved. Laila had assumed he didn’t have the means, but this place was rather large for L.A.

It’s bigger than Joseph’s penthouse.

Laila’s stomach twisted. She didn’t want to think about Joe right now—she had brought this on herself. Not the part where he’d hit her, of course. But the fact she’d been there for him to abuse at all.

I should have left months ago. She had wanted to. Laila had known the minute she moved in with Joseph that it was a mistake. But she’d painted herself into a corner through her own sheer stubbornness and stupidity.

Sitting up, she checked the time. Two AM. She was wide awake. I wonder if Mason has milk. Having a warm glass before bed was a childhood habit. The effect was almost certainly psychosomatic, but it did the trick more often than not.

Tonight’s task was a lot to ask of milk. She doubted it would make a dent, not unless she laced it with a few shots of alcohol. Laila wasn’t even sure what would go with milk. Kahlua?

What would Mason do if she woke him up to ask for Kahlua? Shaking her head, she smiled ruefully, knowing he wouldn’t have any. Mason probably drank manly booze like bourbon or rye whiskey. Not that she’d dare to wake him to ask for a glass of those either.

As it turned out, she didn’t have to. She could hear Mason’s low rumble in the distance as she stepped into the hallway. He was in the living room, talking on his cell phone. After she inched around the corner, she froze.

The man wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Laila gaped at his perfect torso and the way his chest tapered into those loose flannel pajama pants. He was so sculpted that she was half-surprised he could move. Bodies like his belonged in museums, mixed with the classical Greek statuary. She was glad he hadn’t noticed her come into the room. It gave her a moment to wipe her idiotic expression of longing away.

I can’t believe I’m feeling this after what happened. Guilt swamped her. The urge to walk over and touch him was so strong, but she didn’t have the right. Not to mention the fact that she wanted him at all meant there was something deeply wrong with her. Her only real relationship had ended today in a sudden burst of violence.

Stomach dipping in what signaled the start of a full-fledge emotional tailspin, she started listening to what Mason was saying. It was enough to make her blink and step back, mouth quirking. Oh, Rosamie.

“Again, I said for you to protect her. I didn’t say sleep with her,” her knight-in-shining-armor hissed, slashing the air with his hand. There was a pause. He shook his head, closing his eyes briefly.

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you. That one’s a hellcat. No—not in a bad way.” He broke off. “I don’t know, man. For fuck’s sake, just be careful. No. I didn’t mean that. Of course I know