Author: Zoe Chant
Category: Paranormal
Go to read content：https://readnovelfree.com/p/36647_8
“I swear, I’ll keep you safe,” Hal said, willing her to believe it.
Ellie let out a sigh and leaned into his hand, as if she liked having it there. Then, to his disappointment, she pulled away. “So, do we go to a hotel?”
“No. We’re going to my place. I have a guest bedroom.”
“Why not a hotel? Security, again?”
Because I want to welcome you into my home, Hal thought. Because it’ll make me feel safe knowing that you’re in my lair, where I can protect you.
Whispers: Interactive StoriesMake your own choices and decide what happens next!
Fishing for a reason that would make sense to her, he said, “Yeah, security. And...” His gaze fell on the empty coffee cup. “It’s got a cappuccino machine.”
For the first time, Ellie smiled. It was like the first bright burst of sunlight on a cloudy day. Sure, it was at the promise of coffee rather than at him, but he’d take it. “Cappuccino, huh? Lead on.”
Chapter Three
Ellie
Ellie was so exhausted that she dozed off in the passenger seat of Hal’s car. She woke up while he was still driving, and looked in confusion at the rain-streaked windshield and the city streets. Why was she in a car? Where was she? And who was that man in the driver’s seat beside her?
Then memory returned in a rush. Fluffy baby Ricky. The murder. Her entire life turned upside down. Hal Brennan, the hot bodyguard.
She stole a glance at Hal. He drove steadily, not seeming to notice that she was awake. His ruggedly handsome face was intent on the streets, his hazel eyes seeming to take in everything. She was sure that he was scanning for danger, alert but cool.
She relaxed in her seat. Hal seemed like the kind of guy who could handle anything— the opposite of the creepy mall cop she’d imagined. It wasn’t just that he was something like six foot five of solid muscle. She’d met lots of big guys who were useless in a crisis. It was his attitude. He radiated competence and courage.
He also radiated heat. Literally. They sat close enough that she could feel his body heat against her side, comforting... and arousing.
Ellie stifled a sigh, telling herself, You are not going to sleep with the hot bodyguard.
He was a professional, and she was his job. There was nothing more between them than that, and no matter how close he stuck to her side until she could testify, there never would be. She could look, but not touch.
With that in mind, she took a good long look. Her first impression of Hal had been a sleepy, startled blur of tall and burly and whoa, gorgeous eyes. But now that she was slightly more rested, she had time to savor the details.
He was big all over, built like a football player or weightlifter, but perfectly proportioned. He had none of the overly chiseled, vein-bulging grotesqueness of a ‘roid rage bodybuilder; his impressive musculature looked like he’d gotten it the hard way, from regular exercise and a physical job. She especially like the swelling muscles of his shoulders and forearms, covered in smooth tanned skin.
His features were masculine, good-looking and a little rough-edged. Strong jaw. Broad nose. He would have looked hard and intimidating, except for the cute cleft in his chin and the soft depths of his eyes. His eyes... she could look at his eyes for hours. They were hazel, halfway between green and brown, framed by long eyelashes. In the bright lights of the police station, they had looked green as summer leaves; walking to the car under dim parking lot lights, they had seemed mahogany brown.
Hal glanced at her, catching her looking. A hot blush rose up beneath her skin, making her face burn from ear to ear.
“We’re almost there,” he said.
“No one followed the car?” She was half-joking, torn between fear and feeling like she was in some action movie she could turn off if she got bored with it.
Hal replied as seriously as if that had been a completely reasonable question. “No. Believe me, I’d notice.”
I bet you would, she thought.
He pulled up before an underground parking lot, punched in a code to open the gate, drove in, and parked. Ellie was so tired that she had barely registered that they had arrived before Hal had walked around, opened her door, and offered her his hand.
She knew he was only doing it because she was visibly exhausted, but it felt like the sort of sweetly old-fashioned gesture an especially gentlemanly man might make on a first date. No one had opened a car door for her in years.
Ellie gratefully took his hand, trying to hide her smile. Maybe she’d pretend she was on a date with Hal. It felt better than facing the reality that he was only there because the most powerful criminal in the city wanted her dead.
Hal’s hand closed over hers. It was huge and warm, completely enveloping hers. He easily lifted her to her feet. She swayed. Her feet had fallen asleep, and her legs felt like jelly. He caught her around the waist, supporting her.
“Sorry,” Ellie muttered, embarrassed. She tried to stand straight, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull away from him. His solid strength was so comforting.
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Hal said. “You worked all night, you witnessed a murder, you got shot at, you had to run for your life, and then you spent the next eight hours being interrogated in a police station. Anyone would be a little shaky after that.”