Pretty Packages (11 page)

Yet, when he thought about all those fatherless kids due to come to the
Hardy
Jones
Academy
in the fall, he knew he would go through with the Fabian assignment.
Kentucky
needed the
money . . . for them.

With his mind firmly made up,
Kentucky
went upstairs to take a shower. He needed a cold shower at that. Seeing Giada again today had him all hot and bothered on multiple levels.

Just as
Kentucky
was toweling off, he heard the doorbell ring. After slipping on a pair of gym shorts, he rushed downstairs to answer it.

Who can this be?
Kentucky
thought, looking at the mahogany wood clock on the wall as he descended the stairs. It read 9 p.m.

One look through the peephole answered his question. It was Giada.

* * * *

“What do you want?”
Kentucky
demanded as soon as he swung the door open.

Giada gasped as the sight of his bare chest snatched her breath clean away. “I want . . . I
want . . .” she began, trying to answer his question through the thick fog of desire clouding her brain.

Although sex was not her original intent when she came here, it was now. Thick lust was all over her. It oozed out of her pores, danced in her eyes as she stared ravenously at
Kentucky
’s chest, which he deliberately folded his arms across in order to break her stare.

“I want answers,” Giada finally squeezed out, dragging her gaze upwards to his scowling face.

“I want a few of those myself. Like how did you get my address? And does Fabian know you’re here?”

“I got your address from your resume in Fabian’s office. And no, he doesn’t know I’m here. He thinks I went back to the condo to get a few last-minute things,” Giada replied, looking downward again, this time at his bulging arms. They were even bigger than before. The flames of desire lapped upon her even higher. “Now are you going to let me in or what? Because I have a lot of questions for you, and it might take a while.”

“I can answer any question you have right here,”
Kentucky
said, blocking the doorway with his large frame.

Giada frowned at his deliberate movement. She’d been just about to squeeze past him and boldly enter his home unannounced. Dang. Now she couldn’t make the most of this visit by cornering him unchaperoned behind closed doors. Double dang.

“As you can see, my front porch is very private,”
Kentucky
continued, pointing to the tall shrubs aligning both sides and the front of that greeting space. He removed the lock from the door, stepped farther onto the porch, then closed the door behind him.

Giada narrowed her eyes at him. “Why can’t I come inside, Kenny? Do you have a woman in there?” Hot jealousy made her ears tingle with warmth as she stood akimbo style.

It gave her great pleasure to see desire instantly flare in
Kentucky
’s chocolate pools. Had her jealousy gotten to him? The sound of his nickname upon her lips?

“That’s none of your business, Giada. I said I
can
answer any question you may have, not that I would,”
Kentucky
said after quickly getting himself back under control.

Giada huffed in frustration. She’d forgotten just that fast that she couldn’t wrap
Kentucky
around her finger like other men. She’d forgotten that his will was even stronger than his body. Why did that both thrill and irritate her?

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were rich, Kenny?” Giada asked, continuing her line of questioning. “If you had, I would have dropped all my other men for you.” She moved closer. “
All
of them.” She slowly ran her hands up his large chest. “Oh, Kenny. We would have still been together now.” She embraced his neck and met his gaze again. “In every way.” Giada licked her lips with anticipation.

* * * *

Inhaling sharply at her unexpected touch,
Kentucky
realized in that moment that it wouldn’t take much effort to snatch her away from Fabian. One kiss and Giada would be his again. It was in her hungry look. That look became even more ravenous because she now knew about his money.

My money!
Kentucky
thought, forcing himself to focus on why Giada had really sought him out tonight. She didn’t really want him. She wanted his money.

Well, she’s not getting either.
Kentucky
frowned. Then he took two steps back, causing Giada’s hands to fall back to her sides.

Giada frowned at his clear rejection of her advances.

“I didn’t tell you I was rich, because I needed you to choose me for me,
not
my money,”
Kentucky
said, picking up the conversation where it left off. “And how long have you known about my wealth anyway? Did you set up this job as a way to get back into my life?”

“I found out that you were more than a bouncer just this morning after Fabian told me who his new bodyguard was going to be. I did some checking of my own afterward and discovered all kinds of interesting things about you.” Giada smiled, looking pleased that she now knew so many of his secrets.

“Interesting things like what?”
Kentucky
asked, not about to tell her anything she didn’t already know.

“One, like the fact that your net worth is greater than most of the clients you protect, including Fabian.” Giada looked especially pleased about that. “Two, that you’re getting ready to open some fancy boarding school for fatherless kids in
Georgia
.”

“Had you taken the time to check a little deeper, you might have found out that financing that fancy boarding school has rendered me asset rich, but cash poor,”
Kentucky
said, trying to deliberately deter her interest in him with a few true facts.

As expected, Giada frowned with disappointment. “You mean to tell me that you have
no
money?”

“I won’t starve, but I certainly don’t have enough for your expensive tastes,”
Kentucky
replied, not surprised, but still disappointed that she was that same impatient gold digger as before.

“But you will again in a few years, right?” Giada asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Kentucky
scowled, repelled by her renewed interest in him solely because he would one day be rich enough for her again. If she wanted him so badly, why hadn’t she tracked him down before now?

Why hadn’t she pursued him when she still thought he was among the working poor?

If she had tracked me down back then, I would have . . .

“It’s always about money with you, huh?”
Kentucky
said, interrupting his own thought pattern. He didn’t have time for what-ifs. “Bye, Giada. Go back to Fabian or some other sucker foolish enough to get mixed up with you.” Turning the doorknob behind him, he went back inside.

“You arrogant—” Giada didn’t get a chance to finish the rest of her sentence before he slammed the door in her face.

Kentucky
peeked out a nearby window in time to see her storm back to her car. Before Giada stepped off his porch, he heard her say, “Who does he think he is slamming the door in
my
face! Now that I know he needs this job, I’m going to make the next six weeks of his life a living hell!”

That’s what you think,
Kentucky
thought with flaring nostrils.

Chapter Ten

Kentucky
showed up for his first day of work all business. He’d been hired to protect Fabian on social outings, professional engagements, and to act as chauffeur on occasion, with Sundays off.

He was not hired to pay attention to Fabian’s girlfriend. As a result,
Kentucky
determinedly blended into the background and turned a blind eye to Giada’s attempts to make him jealous. She would never know how tormenting it was those first two weeks on the job when she dressed extra sexy and showered Fabian with too many kisses to count in front of
Kentucky
.

As a way to work off his frustration,
Kentucky
decided to amp up his exercise regiment. He wanted to be so physically tired that he went to sleep as soon as he hit the bed. That way he wouldn’t lie awake wondering what Giada and Fabian were doing down the hall.

Tonight was the Friday of week three.
Kentucky
was in full control of his mind, body, and soul. He’d convinced himself that Giada wasn’t the one for him. Every day she stayed with Fabian proved that.

It was a good thing
Kentucky
was so settled about the issue because Fabian decided to change things up at the last minute tonight. Instead of going straight back to the boat after the concert, the singer wanted to go to an after-party that was being held on the
island
of
Barbados
. Ticket sales had been through the roof tonight, and Fabian was in the mood to celebrate.

Because
Kentucky
would appear as one of Fabian’s entourage members, he dressed a bit differently than usual. Though still dressed in black, he left his black jeans and boots on the boat.

Tonight he wore a dress shirt, black trousers, and black dress shoes. All were made of the finest material.
Kentucky
’s weapons of choice were a Taser and a small revolver since he was still on duty, no matter how casual he looked. The Taser was in his pocket, and the gun was attached to his calf by a sturdy strap.
Kentucky
could retrieve either within seconds if the need arose.

At the upscale nightclub, Bartley immediately took the seat right beside Fabian, leaving Giada to sit on the other side with
Kentucky
to her left. It was their usual seating arrangement during the rare times they went out to socialize in public.

Kentucky
stilled himself against the alluring scent of Giada’s perfume as he sat beside her. He tried very hard not to look at her voluptuous frame in the blue crisscross halter dress she wore with its rhinestone trimmings and bare back.

“I know you don’t drink, baby, but tonight you have to make an exception,” Fabian told Giada as he sat with an arm possessively behind her head. “Tonight we have a milestone to celebrate. This is my highest grossing concert yet.”

“I . . .” Giada started, about to refuse the way she always did.

“I won’t take no for an answer,” Fabian insisted. “One glass of champagne is not going to hurt you.”

Kentucky
frowned, careful to keep his eyes staring toward the dance floor instead of on the couple beside him. He didn’t appreciate Fabian pressuring Giada to do something she vowed never to do on account of her mother. Though she swore off love, too, alcohol would likely do way more damage to her body.

Suddenly
Kentucky
found a way to help her out of the sticky situation. “Fabian, they serve a great non-alcoholic champagne here that bubbles like the real thing and tastes even better. Perhaps that might be more to Giada’s liking. I know that’s what I’m gonna have. Especially since I’m still on duty tonight and need to keep a clear head.”