Read Friends and Lovers Trilogy 02 - Charmed for Free Online

deadbolt.
    “You’re paranoid,” she said when he reentered the room.
    “Comes with the job.”
    “Speaking of …” She collapsed on the couch and plucked out the hairpins grounding her tiara. “So what are you? A screenwriter? A director?”
    He contemplated skirting the issue and then glanced at the mysterious white package and nixed the idea. “I’m a protection specialist.” He pushed aside a stuffed purple dragon and sat down beside her. “Executive and personal.”
    Her movements slowed, and her voice took on a wary quality. “Sounds like a fancy term for bodyguard.”
    “It is.”
    She studied him with those beguiling eyes. “You don’t look like a bodyguard. Aren’t they usually built like football players? Big as a barn and mean-looking. Kind of like a thug? You don’t look like a thug.”
    “That’s good.”
    “Why is that good?” she asked, dumping a handful of hairpins into a fairy-shaped container. “Aren’t you supposed to scare people away from whomever you’re protecting?”
    “I’m supposed to protect the principal, the client,” he clarified when she looked at him quizzically, “without drawing attention to him. Believe it or not, I’m actually good at my job.” He smiled. “For a wimp.”
    “Boy, did I have you pegged wrong.” She sounded disappointed. “But it makes more sense. I mean I’m sure Sofie considers your profession sexy. Most women would.”
    “Most women,” he repeated, increasingly intrigued. “But not you.”
    Blushing, she took off her crown and set it on a stack of celebrity magazines, her gaze lingering on the covers. “So you protect movie stars?”
    “Celebrities, politicians, corporate executives, diplomats.”
    “Famous people,” she said, removing two decorative rhinestone combs and giving her head a shake.
    “And not-so-famous people.” White-hot desire shocked his system as her hair tumbled to her shoulders, framing her face in a golden halo of sexy, tousled curls. How was it possible to look like both a mischievous imp and a guileless angel? The combination ignited a firestorm of X-rated images.
Well, hell.
He looked away and pointed to the package. “How do you know that’s for Sofie and not you?”
    She flopped back on the worn cushions, her thick shoulder-length curls a riot of shining gold and tawny brown against the drab blue upholstery. “Right. Like I’m the girl of someone’s dreams. Besides,” she said, before he could comment, “Sofie has been receiving a string of deliveries lately. Flowers, chocolates …” She lazed forward, snapped up the package and studied it with pursed lips. “Is that what this is about? All the gifts she’s been receiving?
Girl of My Dreams
.” She slowly turned toward Murphy, eyes wary. “You’re not one of Sofie’s boyfriends, are you?”
    “No, I’m not.”
    “This is a professional visit.”
    She was smarter than she looked. He gently pried the package from her hands. “Yes, it is.”
    She folded her arms over her middle and regarded him with a combination of worry and disgust. “Did her agent hire you? She told me Chaz is a little overprotective and not too happy about her move back home. Of course, his concern could easily translate to obsession. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s smitten with her too. Does he want you to scare away her admirers? Are you here to interrogate me? If you are,” she said, jabbing a stern finger in his direction, “I’ll have to ask you to leave. I’m not going to provide you with a list of her boyfriends’ names so that you can break their legs or whatever.”
    “You have a hell of an imagination.”
    “Comes with the job,” she said, still frowning.
    “I’m not a hired thug,” he reminded her. “I’m a protection specialist. I don’t care about Sofie’s boyfriends. Right now I’m concerned with that package. Mind if I open it?”
    Her eyes rounded, and he couldn’t help noticing that they weren’t just brown. They were