Royal Line by Carrie Ryan (online e book reading txt) 📕

Because you’re a masochist.

I pressed the bandage over the cut and sealed it and then cleared my throat. “Okay, you’re good to go.”

“Thanks,” he said, softly. Then he stood, and I staggered back. His body and his presence took up so much space. “New plan. We’re heading out in the morning. Get settled for the night.”

I looked at him and nodded, at a loss for words and hating myself for it. “Oh. Okay. Um…thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me for doing my job, princess.”

And with that last shot, he stalked off, leaving me standing there like an idiot.

His job.

Got it.

That’s what I was to him. A job. Nothing less and nothing more. And that’s exactly what I wanted.

Chapter 8 Kannon

It was only supposed to be a job.

Just a simple job, they said. It’ll be easy, they said.

But that simple job of watching a debutante had led me to the far-from-simple princess. Why in the name of God had I kissed her? Worse, why had I told her she was just a job? That wasn’t the way I ran Kannon Security at all.

I scrubbed my hand down my face as I chugged down my coffee. The faster I ate, the less likely I’d be to linger over breakfast with her.

The only saving grace was that Sparrow wasn’t around to give me shit. Marcus either. The two of them were the biggest shit talkers on the team. Or more like they never let me get away with shit. Marcus had been on escort duty for Little Miss Debutante who was safely back home in Los Angeles now. I’d assigned him to deal with our case load while I handled this job.

I figured between Olly, Sparrow, and me we could provide accurate coverage until we knew who was trying to hurt her. The two of them were mapping out escape routes and weapons. I had Sparrow kitting out a safe house just in case. It paid to be prepared.

The good news was that London hadn’t said another word about our kiss.

More like mistake. 

That morning she’d woken up and headed straight for the shower, where she’d taken goddamn forever. Not that I was paying more attention than necessary.

When she came out with a towel wrapped around her head wearing a T-shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms I’d given her, she looked…good enough to eat.

That’s not helpful, man.

No, it wasn’t helpful. Especially since I kept thinking about how soft her lips felt against mine. Her shocked gasp. The way she’d melted into the kiss and the surge of electricity I’d felt throughout my whole body. Like I’d been zapped.

None of that shit was helpful. I tried to stick to the important things. “Listen, I had some room service brought up. There’s coffee, some juice, and pastries.”

She practically moaned as she ran over to the tray. “Oh my God, I could eat a horse.” She jammed a strawberry into her mouth and the juice trickled down her chin. I wanted to lick it.

Stop looking at her, or this is going to be a fucking problem.

The issue was the taste of her was still on my tongue. I turned away and finished packing up my things. I preferred to unpack methodically whenever I went somewhere. Putting things away like I would at home helped me settle quickly. It was part of the routine. Maybe I was just anal.

London, it seemed, was far less methodical.

She’d tossed her T-shirt over a chair. Dropped her shoes where they were. For a woman who had barely anything on her when I found her, she’d found a way to somehow expand.

“Listen, it’s probably not safe to stay here much longer. There are CCTVs all over the city, and very likely, a camera caught the two of us walking in here night before last. I’ve arranged for a safe house.”

She wiped her chin with the back of her hand and spoke around a mouthful of chocolate croissant. “No, that won’t be necessary. I told you, my friend Rian is expecting me to stay at her house in the country.”

She had to be kidding. “With all due respect, your friend won’t have the kind of security that I can provide.”

“From the look on your face, it seems that you’re insistent on staying with me. You’ll see that she’s got a security system and alarms. There’s no reason I can’t stay at her place.”

I glowered at her. “I haven’t scoped out the place yet, so right now I say it’s not safe.”

“I’m not a prisoner, am I? Roman hired you to keep me safe, not to keep me prisoner.”

I frowned at that. “It’s for your own safety.”

“You can’t just force me to do what you want because my brother hired you. I said I’d follow your orders, but I still want to know where you plan to take me. I can get a cab outside the hotel right now and head over to Rian’s without you.” She paused. “And I have a stop to make before I get there.”

My brows lifted as a chuckle tore out of my chest. “A stop? You’re joking. No.”

“I know there is a safety concern. If anyone thought to check, you’d realize I’m no idiot. I know how to be careful. But I promise you I will not play princess in distress.”

I studied her. “What’s the stop?”

Her eyes went wide. “You’re not going to try to stop me?”

I sighed. “Tell me what it is?”

“Oh, uh, my editor, she wanted me to take photos of some youth environmental activists and the art they’re making. I can be fast and take most of them from the car. I won’t be in the open for too long. And it’s on the way.”

Her voice was pleading and her eyes soft. An invisible hand squeezed my heart, and I knew I would regret saying yes. But she did have a point. She could get in a cab right now. But that wouldn’t be safe. In fact, that