Read Nothing Left to Lose for Free Online Page B

I burst out laughing. He
turned back to me and smiled, seeming almost proud of himself. “So
I’d better get pacing, it may take a while.” He smiled at me
apologetically.
    I sat back
against the headboard and watched him walking around my room.
Starting at the door, he would pace to the bed, then the door to
the closet, the door to the window, bed to the window, bed to the
closet. He went on and on for about twenty minutes. I watched him
silently the whole time, just resting my chin on my knees. He was
very methodical, but I had no idea why he was doing it.
    “Okay, I’m
done. I just need to ask you a few questions, then I’ll let you get
back to hating me or whatever you were doing before I came in,” he
said, smiling.
    I rolled my
eyes. “Fine, Pretty Boy, what do you want to know?”
    “What side of
the bed do you sleep on?”
    “What the hell
does that have to do with anything?” My temper was rising again, I
could feel it.
    He shrugged
innocently. “I need to know so that if I have to come in and get
you, I’ll know where you’ll be.”
    “Oh for
goodness’ sake! None of the other guards have done anything like
this or asked stupid questions! No one can get in the house. We
have security, dumbass,” I spat acidly.
    A smile tugged
at one corner of his mouth. “Just humour me, please. I need all the
information so I can keep you safe. I don’t care what other guards
have done; I’m here to stay, so at least you’ll only have to go
through this once.”
    I laughed
humourlessly. “You’ll quit, Pretty Boy, trust me, they all do.
Everyone leaves me eventually,” I stated confidently.
    His cocky smile
fell from his face immediately at my words. “Please just answer the
questions so I can keep you safe.” He pouted, looking like a lost
puppy.
    I gulped as I
realised that he’d just used the cute puppy dog face on me, Jack
used to pull that trick all the time. “Ugh fine, I tend to sleep in
the middle of the bed.”
    “Okay. Do you
have any weapons in your room?” he asked, looking round as if he
could see anything. I shook my head in response. He nodded. “Can
you shoot a gun?”
    I recoiled at
the word. I hated guns, I’d seen too many of them in my lifetime
already. “No,” I croaked, my mouth suddenly dry.
    He pursed his
lips before nodding. “I’ll teach you to shoot. Just in case. You
can never be too prepared for anything.”
    Needing this
conversation to be over and for him to leave the only place I
considered a sanctuary, I shrugged in agreement. “Are you done
now?” I asked, nodding towards the door, signalling for him to
leave.
    “Er… I just
have one more thing, but I don’t want to upset you or anything,” he
said quietly. I took a deep breath and waited for him to continue.
“I’m supposed to be your boyfriend. For people to believe that lie,
I’m going to have to touch you from time to time.”
    Instantly, my
heart slammed in my chest and a wave of nausea rolled over me. He
scooted closer to me on the bed. I flinched at his closeness and
jumped up quickly, holding my hands in front of me in protest.
“Don’t, just don’t,” I muttered, looking at him pleadingly. My
lunch was threatening to come back up.
    “I’m not going
to touch you. I just… Anna, to pull this off I’m going to have to
be able to touch you in public. Maybe just hold your hand,” he
suggested, standing too but making no moves to come near me.
    “Why don’t we
just say we’re friends?” I offered.
    He shook his
head. “No. The reason they want me as your boyfriend is to keep the
guys away from you. Apparently it’s always the guys that get you
kicked out,” he countered, chuckling at something.
    “No, actually
it’s always my temper that gets me kicked out,” I corrected,
smiling weakly as I backed up another step. “Hey, we could say I’m
a lesbian,” I bargained, praying he’d agree.
    He chuckled,
watching me as I backed up again. “Let’s just stick to the brief. I
just need