Shameless (The Contemporary Collection) (37 page)
“Screaming, more likely.”
“You're certain?”
That he was not was plain in his voice. She said firmly, “When do we leave?”
He stared at her for a long moment with an odd look of reverent dread and yearning on his face. He took a sharp breath. “I left you for only a moment, a few hours back, and you almost died. Suppose I told you I came near to changing my mind then, when I saw your uncle with a rifle pointing at your heart? Suppose I said that I half decided in that single moment that you need a permanent bodyguard. Would you understand that I'm afraid to risk anything happening to you while I'm not around, because that would be my fault, too? Would you understand that if I'm to take on that duty anyway, it may as well be here.”
A slow smile curved her mouth, though she looked at the top button of his shirt. Her voice husky, she said, “It makes perfect sense to me.”
He caught her close against him, holding her fast while he whispered soft and incoherent words of love against her hair.
“Reid, your chest,” she protested, “I'll hurt you.”
“Never,” he said on a gasping laugh. Abruptly, he let her go, to hold her at arm's length. “But you, your stitches? Did I hurt you?”
She lifted her head to look at him with love shining warm in her eyes. “Never. We can never hurt each other.”
His features tightened a fraction. “We may, but it won't be physically, or on purpose, or for long.”
It was enough. Cammie said quietly, “Shall I take you home with me, then?”
“Or can I take you home, since you came in my Jeep.”
“Yes.” She paused. “You know we'll have to get married. Greenley will expect no less, and I can't — quite — see myself thumbing my nose at them that much, especially if we begin a Greenley-Sayers dynasty.”
“Or Sayers-Greenley. Either way, I like the sound of it. When? Tomorrow?”
She laughed, a strangled sound. “Next week is soon enough. Or next month.”
“Next week. I can't wait to begin my guard duties.”
She sent him a glance under her lashes that turned into a frown. “I can't believe you let me go on and on, asking you to stay, proposing like the most shameless female.”
“My favorite kind.”
“I should do something wicked to you for revenge.”
“Should you?” he said, his voice not quite steady. “Maybe I'm the one who needs a bodyguard.”
“You just may,” she said, slanting him a look of promise.
He met it, his smile rich with anticipation. “Now I really can't wait,” he said. “Let's go home.”
Since publishing her first book at age twenty-seven,
New York Times
bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over sixty-five historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her eighth-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.
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To find out more about Jennifer’s books, see the Steel Magnolia Press website at
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CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
THE ITALIAN BILLIONAIRES COLLECTION
Book 1 in Jennifer’s newest contemporary romance collection,
The Tuscan’s Revenge Wedding,
was an Amazon Top 100 bestseller in 2012.
Book 2,
The Venetian’s Daring Seduction
, will be available after May 1, 2013.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE COLLECTION
SWEETLY CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
THE LOVE AND ADVENTURE COLLECTION
The LOUISIANA PLANTATION COLLECTION
The LOUISIANA HISTORY COLLECTION
