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33

COLLINS

If Penny is trying to tick me off, it’s working. I’m at my wits’ end with that woman.

Sassy.

Fiery.

And stubborn as hell.

She is testing me, and I am failing miserably. From the moment she saw me at Limit-X, to the way she fought me on giving her a ride in the parking lot, to how she set off my security system without a second thought, to now…

Dismissing me?

When the hell has anyone dismissed me and gotten away with it?

I watch as Penny’s ass shimmies while she saunters away from me, in an outfit I know is lacking any undergarments. Should I be purchasing these items for her to have on stock at my place?

Apparently, yes, I should.

It’s just that I never considered these types of dilemmas before when I have had to pick out clothes for others when an emergency arose.

However, something is different with Penny.

And knowing her, she’d refuse to put them on out of principle.

Enticing little wench.

When I got her belongings delivered via Chris—who I’m shocked took the initiative—and looked through to find her phone, I was livid to find her goal sheet. I knew she had a list. I did not know she had a mission to be promiscuous.

Sure, she alluded to doing so while at the Japanese Garden, but I honestly thought she was bluffing.

Hell, I would have refrained from giving her a new journal for her birthday if I thought it would be turned into her own personal sex documentation system.

Fury burns through my veins as I think of some loser touching her. I imagine this is how Graham and Nic feel when their women are around other men.

Shit.

My situation is different…

Penny isn’t mine. She’s no one’s. And if I have any say, then she will remain that way.

She doesn’t fear punishment because I can’t do anything other than threaten to lock her up. Even if I did, she’d need to plead one time, and I’d cave.

That’s her unrelenting effect on me…

I’m screwed.

I should be thankful that the transparency of Penny’s plans has been revealed. However, the only thing I can’t stop myself from thinking about is some asshole running his hands over her body. She deserves better than anything Limit-X can offer her.

Penny deserves to be worshipped and not in a semi-private setting.

Fuck!

So many horrible things could have gone wrong tonight. What would have happened if our paths didn’t cross?

It’s my fault I took a night off. So much for attempting to have a relaxing time blowing off some steam. Instead, I got an even more jacked-up situation with a passionate blonde girl, who knows exactly how to push every single one of my buttons.

I mean, I do see her point over Limit-X. It’s hard for me to scold her for being there, when I went for my own reasons as well.

For her to think I would tell her brothers is also frustrating. I’m not some type of middleman. I’m simply her bodyguard—and turning out to be a lousy one at that.

If she would just do as she’s told…

When my body can no longer handle her dismissal, I follow after her, gently taking her hand in mine and halting her retreat. Her skin feels warm and smooth, probably from living a pampered princess lifestyle.

Turning her body, Penny moves until she is standing before me. Her bottom lip is tucked into her mouth. I imagine her tongue running over the soft tissue, and the tremor running through my lower half at the mental image lets me know that was a bad decision.

“What?” she asks defiantly. “You plan to snoop through my bedroom nightstand while you’re here? Confiscate anything that doesn’t meet your standards? You can disguise it under the subtitle of not-breaking-and-entering. You know, a technicality, since the door will still be intact? Here, I’ll help you out,” she rants, moving erratically to the side of her bed and using her foot to pull open the bottom drawer. Bending down, she grabs an item and tosses it onto her bed. “I haven’t even used it yet. So no need to gather any potential DNA evidence to ensure it’s mine.”

Her smart mouth sparks excitement up my spine, as I stare blankly at the tiny box that contains a little bullet vibrator.

I can feel my lips curling up into a smile. For starters, that device would barely be a whisper along her clit. I highly doubt something so small could bring her to orgasm without a ton of other types of stimulation.

If she is going to invest in a toy, she better immerse herself in a little research—and get something that is waterproof and with a decent motor.

“Don’t you dare do that.”

My eyes move to hers. “What?” I genuinely want to know.

“That smirk thing you do. We are having a fight, so play fair.”

I can’t help but shake my head at her. She is something. “This isn’t a fight, Penny.”

Propping her hands on her hips, she straightens her posture. “Oh no? Then what is it?”

“A discussion,” I say simply.

“Then let’s discuss how you are violating all sorts of boundaries.”

“And let’s discuss how you are not going to make any more lists, Penelope. No more silly games. No more?—”

She rounds the bed and shoves me against my chest, catching me off guard. “You may be my bodyguard, but you sure as hell aren’t my boss! I will fuck whomever I want and kiss the face off any man I?—”

My hand tugs hers until her core is pressed up against mine. Warm breath expels from her lungs and hits against my neck.

Jealousy floods through me, making me livid and irrational. I’m tired of her bragging about her future conquests before they even happen. She did it at the Japanese Gardens and she’s doing it again now. Those imaginative scenarios she concocted in her head won’t happen anyway—at least not while I’m standing there watching.

Hell, no.

“Maybe I haven’t made myself clear,” I growl. “The games stop tonight. I’m done listening to you challenge me with all the reckless behavior you can dream up. I’m done, Penny.”

Her eyes twitch and her lips part. I can tell she wants to say something, but like I’ve felt many times before, she doesn’t know how to communicate her thoughts. There’s no need really. I’m not open to negotiations—at least not on this subject.

“You don’t even like me, so why are you so invested? Seems a bit extreme if you ask me. Are you bored? I imagine my brothers don’t consider me in danger right now, so why all of the obsessive attention?”

Penny has some valid questions, I’ll give her that. Sure, guarding her is different than when I was watching Angie and Claire. Penny’s right; there’s no immediate danger and my job should simply be maintenance really. However, there’s something deep inside me that can’t see her self-destruct and sit back and watch.

I know Penny is trying to be independent. However, sometimes that drive to break free from those who care could put her in a position to be taken advantage of.

This past year has been hell on her and her entire family. I can’t allow her to fall into the trap of believing in the wrong people and potentially end up in an equally tragic situation.

She may have trust issues. But so do I.

“I wouldn’t have to interfere as much as I do, if you would stop putting yourself in harm’s way.”

Her hands toss up into the air. “Oh, yeah, the highly guarded, members-only club was very dangerous .” Her fingers make air quotes around the last word, wiggling them above her head.

“Stop mocking me.” My voice goes an octave deeper, as I try to deal with her constant sass.

“Fine.”

The Penny I encountered a year ago is vastly different from the one I am seeing in front of me today. Maybe she hasn’t changed at all. Maybe she is just starting to shift back into the person she always was.

“You don’t belong in a place like Limit-X, Pen.”

“Oh, and you do?” She lets out a huff, turning her shoulder to me.

“Girls like”—I pause, not knowing how to complete the sentence without adding more kindling to the fire already blazing inside of her—“you, Penny, shouldn’t be prowling the floors of a place like that. Trouble will find you. Trust me. Membership or not, the innocent girls always seem to get swallowed whole by the snakes.”

I watch in silence as her body whips back around, while stomping predatorily toward me. I can see the heat in her eyes, the way her chest rises with each breath, and how her jaw tics.

She is radiant.

If her temper wasn’t directed at me, I might be able to enjoy it more. Except right now, my only focus is on what her next move will be.

“Look at me, Collins,” she demands. “Look at me, dammit!”

My eyes search hers. I am looking at her. Why does she think otherwise? “I see you.”

“Do you? Because from everything that just spewed out of your mouth right now, you don’t see me at all. You see some fragile girl who you were hired to protect. And I’m sick of it. I don’t blame my brothers for being detached from reality. But you? I expect someone as neutral as you should be to have some type of realization and rational thinking happening to understand that this is my life we are talking about.” She takes a step closer, making my heart stop for a beat. Stretching up on her tiptoes, she places a single hand on my chest for balance, as her lips move to my ears. “And I’ll let you in on a little secret,” she whispers.

Her warm breath tickles my neck, as the smell of strawberries permeates my senses, with such an intensity that I swear she bathed herself in the ripened fruit. I stand as stiff as a board as her upper body molds to mine. I can feel her pert nipples graze against the fabric of my shirt. She is a freaking temptress.

For fuck’s sake, don’t move your hips .

“I’m going to shatter your misinformed view of me. You just watch and see.”

She takes a step back, running her hands down the hourglass form of her body, from her chest to her hips. Biting her bottom lip, she gives me a smirk. This is where something indeterminable has changed. I can see it in her eyes. I can tell from the way her body hums with the knowledge that she is now in control.

And I’ll be damned, but will admit—it turns me on.

“Penny…”

“Remember this moment, Collins.” She marches out of her room and over to the ripped-out piece of paper that holds her goals. Taking a pen off the counter, she jots something down onto it. “Here,” she says, passing me the note.

Staring down at her elegant script, I mumble the words she added to the bottom of the list. “Become a member of Limit-X.” I look over at Penny, who looks absolutely smitten with herself. “Maybe I’ll make a friend there.”

Oh, hell.

Penny is definitely speaking in code, and I’m hearing her euphemism loud and clear.

“If you expect me to stand back and watch you self-destruct, then you obviously have underestimated me.”

“If you expect me to be locked in this”—she waves a hand through the air—“gilded cage and play the sweet girl in this story, then you obviously don’t understand that the harder you try to stop me, the more reckless I’ll be.”

My jaw twitches as I allow her words to soak in.

I can tell by the gleam of commitment in her eyes that this isn’t a bluff. If I’m going to continue guarding Penny— and how can I even stop now given her declaration ?—then I have to act like what she’s planning to do won’t affect me. Maybe if she thinks she has some control, then she won’t be hell-bent on trying to dangle herself in front of the first available taker.

This is something happening psychologically within Penny. She fears that every time she gets close to a man she’ll see Tanner, so she’s planning to counterbalance it by flooding her system with as many men as she can to desensitize herself.

It is reckless.

And it won’t work in her favor.

Someone is going to go too far with her, thinking she is “asking for it,” and I’ll have to come up with a burial plan for the unsuspecting idiot.

I can talk with the staff at Limit-X. A lot know me from my days of working there. Now is about the right time to call in a few of the favors owed to me.

I feign a casual shrug. “Listen, Pen,” I say casually. “Your brothers gave me strict orders to watch out for you, not dictate what you do every second of the day.” Although if I were to give them any hints as to where little sister wants to spend all of her energy, they would for sure construct that gilded cage and conveniently lose the key.

Her lips curl into a Cheshire cat smile. “Good.” Wiggling her fingers, she waves goodbye. “Have a good night, Collins.”

I watch her obedient facade, not buying the act at all. Every part of me wants to jerk her toward me and make her promise that she’ll be a good girl. I refuse to back down—but neither will Penny.

I walk to the door backward, watching as Penny retreats deeper into her apartment. Is she going to lock herself in? Hell, I guess I can use the spare key I made. There’s no way in hell I’ll walk out of here and not even provide some level of security to her unit.

Running a hand through my hair, I exit, turn the lock into place, and then rest my back against the door.

How in the world am I going to survive the next few months when Penny Hoffman has a choke hold on my self-control and my libido?

I can no longer keep things professional, and I doubt anything could happen to make me flip the switch.

And in this moment, I know that I won’t be able to voluntarily let Penelope Hoffman go.