Shameless - Sybil Bartel Page 0,23
gonna lie, princess. I like the woman side of you better than this nineteen-year-old attitude version.” Way fucking better.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about because there’s only one version of me, but let me be perfectly clear. I wasn’t saying I was worried about you simply because you’re my bodyguard. I was worried because I care what happens to you because for some stupid, unfathomable reason, I don’t hate you. Or I didn’t. But now that you’re being a dick, I don’t know if I really do care whether or not your psycho ex or her husband catch up to you.” Crossing her arms, she leaned back in her seat. “And for the record, I don’t do snow. I hate it. Frozen white shit all around feels like a prison or a death sentence. Which, apparently, is what we’re driving into if, according to you, a mob boss catches up to us.”
“Nice speech.” Christ, this woman. “You done?” She was making me realize exactly how much time I didn’t spend talking to Cara over the past few years. And why I avoided women except to fuck them.
“Screw you, whatever your real name is.”
Sick bastard that I was, I fought a smile. “Good, keep that thought, and listen to what the fuck I’m about to tell you.”
“Oh yay, bossy Shade is back. How fun.”
Ignoring her dig, I addressed what I should’ve earlier. “You didn’t kiss me. I allowed it to happen, but make no mistake, it meant nothing and it’s not going to happen again. Let it go.” If I knew what was good for me, I’d believe my own bullshit.
“Oh my God, seriously?” Turning in her seat to face me, her voice amped up. “You’re that egotistical that you think I’m sitting here pining over you? Which, make no mistake, it was me who kissed you first.”
Lifting an eyebrow as my only response, I turned the wipers on faster as the rain started freezing.
“You’re a piece of work, you know that?”
“Now you’re getting it.” I winked at her.
“Oh my God.” Leaning back in her seat, she sighed. “It wasn’t even a good kiss.”
“No, it wasn’t,” I deadpanned.
Her head whipped toward me, and her baby blues gave away her lie.
Dropping my voice, I called her on her bullshit. “It was a fucking great kiss.”
MY SEX CLENCHED, MY HEAD spun, and my heart jumped on a damn trampoline.
He liked the kiss. He liked the kiss.
Oh my fucking God.
Breathe, Summer. Breathe and get a grip.
Not that it mattered, because not only did he say it wasn’t happening again, I’d made the self-preservation decision to never go there again. I shouldn’t even want to. Getting tangled up with Mr. Bodyguard would only lead to me getting my ego or, worse, my heart stepped on. I didn’t need to screw myself over before I’d even had a chance to get home from rehab.
No man was worth that.
But damn, that kiss.
There was no denying it, Shade kissed like a man who knew exactly what to do with a woman. No guy should be that obscenely sexy. And arrogant. And protective. And oh my God, the scent of his skin—Jesus, Summer, pull it together.
Not looking at him, because I couldn’t simultaneously see his full lips and dark eyes and form reasonable words, I made one last ditch attempt at preserving my dignity. “Well, like we said, it’s not happening again.” Keeping my gaze trained straight ahead, I stared at the rain coming down that looked like it was starting to freeze.
“We?” Shade smirked, and his cell rang.
Both hands on the wheel, he answered on speaker. “Shade.”
“I tried to reason with Cara again.” Andre’s voice filled the cabin. “No go. I don’t know if she’s refusing to come in because she knows Vincenzo’s tapping her phone or if she’s really that stupid to turn down the offer. Either way, Feds aren’t going after her. They said she can come to them, so I’m sending Ronan up solo for retrieval. She can say no to the Feds in person.”
“Bad idea to send him alone.”
“He’s the only one not on assignment at the moment, and he knows what he’s walking into. You know his capabilities as well as I do. But he won’t get to Cara before she catches your six, and it looks like Vincenzo’s sent more backup your way. So, you’ve got two choices.”
Shade glanced at the side mirror. “Whatever it is, I’ll take the lesser shit one.”
“Candle can be on the road in thirty,”