Barefoot With a Bodyguard Read Online Free

thick lock of auburn hair over her shoulder, looking past Alec at the villa, then around the patio, as if searching for an escape route that wasn’t there.
    Realizing that, she stayed planted, her gaze darting this way and that, to his face, then away again. “Can I get another villa, please?” she asked, tapping her foot exactly like a fallen fighter using the universal signal of submission. “Or a hotel room? Hell, I’ll take a cabana on the beach, but I have to be alone.”
    Alec gave himself a swift mental hammerfist for agreeing to this stupid plan. He had enough shit on his brain and didn’t need some green-eyed goddess looking down her perfect nose at him.
    “And you are not my husband,” she added with a bite in her voice. “Real, pretend, or otherwise. No husband. Let’s just get that clear right now.”
    Alec crossed his arms, hiding his hands, hearing her revulsion at the idea of being married to him.
    Nino put a hand on the woman’s back. “Mathilda.”
    She gave the old man a withering look.
    “ Tilly ,” Nino corrected, not that the nickname seemed to make her any happier. “A tremendous amount of time, money, and thought has gone into this arrangement, and I assure you we only have your best interests at heart.”
    She closed her eyes for a second, like she needed to scoop up some inner peace and came up empty-handed. “My father.” She shook her head. “He means well.”
    Nino jumped on the opportunity, flicking his hand toward the villa. “Please, why don’t you go inside?”
    She looked from one to the other, the tornado in her eyes fading. After a slight nudge from Nino, she headed inside, disappearing through French doors.
    Alec stayed back for a few seconds, centering himself. “That went well.”
    Nino smile was shaky. “You know what they say? Happy wife, happy life.”
    Alec almost laughed. “So now what?”
    Nino lifted his shoulder. “I’ll go talk to Gabriel. And you make nice.” He turned and left the way he came, through the side yard, the gate clanging behind him.
    Taking one more breath, Alec braced for this new opponent, who, despite her slender size, was obviously going to give him the fight of his life. He suddenly wished he were anywhere other than in a one-bedroom honeymoon villa with a woman who would probably choose solitary in an outhouse over being stuck here with him. He’d rather be anywhere…
    Except on the receiving end of Vlitnik’s knife or pistol. How bad could one beautiful woman be? All he had to do was pretend to be a professional bodyguard, pretend to be her husband, and pretend it didn’t bother him that she seemed to draw back in displeasure every time she accidentally looked at him.
    Damn lot of pretending, so he’d better start practicing.
    Taking her suitcases, he stepped through into the living area, where his new responsibility sat perched on the edge of a sofa, madly tapping at her phone.
    “My name isn’t really Mathilda,” she said.
    “I know. Mine isn’t Benjamin.”
    That got her attention. “What is it?”
    “For security purposes, we’re only going to use our cover names. They didn’t even tell me your real name. I’ll call you Mathilda.”
    “My name is Kate Kingston.” She stared at him, the longest she’d looked at him yet, eyes sparking like crushed emeralds. “I see no intelligent reason to call me anything else.”
    He set the suitcases on the floor with a soft thud. “Except that I’ve been instructed not to. Mathilda .”
    She merely pointed at the suitcases. “Don’t take them too far.” Then, into the phone, “Hello, Jennifer? It’s Kate. Is my father available?”
    Kate Kingston. The name suited her. A classy, clean, pretty name that matched her flawless skin and hair the color of a wild sorrel pony. The name of a woman who was attractive and sophisticated and smart and, when she wasn’t mad as a cat, probably very nice.
    But she was pissed now.
    She fidgeted for a second, fluttering her hair, then