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Maybe that belief will make it okay to keep secrets…
Or maybe it would cut away her trust. There was only one way to know for certain—head down that road and see if it all fell apart.
His fingers pressed tightly against her head as if he wanted to hold her there forever. His gaze remained focused on the sheet of hair trailing down her back and over her shoulders. His hips thrust upward into her eager mouth. And he couldn’t look away. He was so damn close…
“Chrissie.” He growled.
And she moved faster, took him deeper. She gave and gave and gave—
He came. His hips bucked in earnest, and he didn’t try to pull away. He couldn’t… He didn’t want to…
And at the last moment, he remembered to scream.
“Chrissie,” he roared. “Oh, fuck…”
I love you…
No, he couldn’t tell her. Not now. Not like this. So he bellowed the one word he could say over and over.
“Chrissie!”
…
“I want to go back to Vegas.”
Dante stood with his arms folded across his chest and flat-out lied to the chart-topping country sweetheart. And yeah, Chrissie looked the part right now in her red, white, and blue sequined top.
She’d just stepped off the stage after performing to a sold-out auditorium in sunny Southern California. He’d missed the show due to his lengthy physical with the Navy’s best and brightest doctors. But he didn’t need to see her sing to know that she’d brought the crowd to their feet, made them cry, and left them damn glad they’d showed up tonight. Although one glance at her new bodyguard, a woman who’d served with the Marines before accepting a position with one of the country’s largest personal protection companies, and he had a feeling the new hired muscle wasn’t a country music fan.
Just wait, Ms. Marine. It’s not all about tractors.
?
?Walk with me,” Chrissie demanded, and he fell into step beside her.
They weaved through the unfamiliar backstage halls that looked oddly similar to the ones in other venues. They reached a door, and she stepped back and allowed him to open it and scan the empty dressing room.
“All clear,” he said.
She glanced at her new bodyguard. “Please wait out here, Moira.”
The woman gave a curt nod before assuming a parade rest position outside the door.
“Your new bodyguard seems solid,” he said as she closed the door.
“Yes.” She turned the lock. “She’s great. Although Mason said he picked her because she’d blend in. And I’ve never met a more rigid person. I’m not sure she’d blend in anywhere.”
“He picked her because I told him to. She’s one of the best. Or so I’m told.”
“Is that why you picked her? Not because she’s female and there is less risk I’ll end up in her room late at night?”
If you do, I’ll be jealous as fuck. I don’t want anyone else touching you—male or female.
“She’s the best,” he repeated.
“You’d like me to email pictures of our training sessions?” she teased.
“No. Oh hell, no.”