“Don’t be like that, CoCo,” he chastised her as he tried to nuzzle her neck, abrading her tender skin with his chin stubble. “You and I are like two mirroring souls, destiny and all that. It’s a shame to let all that hot tail go to waste, baby. I got what you need right here.”
“Poetic and total shit. You’re drunk. Let me go,” she said. “Don’t make me toss you out. I’m in no mood for your crap tonight.”
Drake ignored her threat and squeezed her ass, eliciting a squeak of alarm as he pressed her against the stainless-steel refrigerator. “Here’s how I see this going down... You and I are going to go to your room for a little privacy and we’re going to relive some good times. Sound like a plan?”
“Sounds like a nightmare. You’re a selfish lover and you slobber like a dog,” she said coolly, trying to remain calm even though Drake was freaking her out. Maybe she’d underestimated Drake’s feelings for her. Wouldn’t be the first time a man fell in love with her after sex.
She pushed at him but he stuck like glue, the alcohol dulling his good sense. “You’re embarrassing yourself,” she said, mildly alarmed that Drake seemed deaf to her blatant answer of hell no. “Drake, stop it.” But he continued to nuzzle her neck and slobber all over her as if she were an ice cream cone, which only brought back the unfortunate memory of sleeping with him. What had she been thinking? If she could go back in time... She shoved at him again, trying to put some space between them. “What are you doing, you idiot! I swear I’ll scream and bring this whole party rushing in if you don’t stop.”
“Now you’re talking. Let’s do it in front of everyone. Kinky!”
Ugh! What a pervert! Was she going to have to scream to get him off her? Why’d she let Stella invite him? CoCo kicked up her struggle but just as she opened her mouth to yell for help, Drake was suddenly ripped away from her and tossed to the floor like a rag doll, and CoCo found herself staring at the hot stranger she’d talked to earlier.
“You really should pick better friends,” he said, picking Drake up from the floor and manhandling him straight to the door before tossing him out. “Let him sleep it off on the front lawn.”
Oh, thank God. That could’ve been embarrassing. CoCo’s relief was short-lived as she realized he’d just vaguely insulted her. “Excuse me?” she bristled. “Do I even know you? How’d you get into my party?”
“You have a funny way of showing gratitude,” he said. “A simple thank-you would be just fine.”
“I don’t recall asking for your help. I can handle Drake on my own. He’s basically harmless.”
“Yeah, it looked like you were doing a bang-up job of handling things. Tell me, at what point were you going to admit that you were in over your head? About the point when he started ripping your clothes off?”
“Don’t be such an alarmist. That wouldn’t have happened. Drake isn’t a rapey kind of guy.”
“Could’ve fooled me. In my world, when a woman says no, it means exactly that. Didn’t seem that your friend was getting the message.”
Her cheeks burned at the mere possibility that Drake might’ve taken things too far. Drake was pretty drunk. He probably wouldn’t even remember getting tossed outside.
“Still choking on that thank-you?”
Smart-ass. “If I had something to be thankful for, I wouldn’t have a problem saying it. But as I said, I had things under control,” she maintained stubbornly, even if there was a niggling doubt that maybe Drake might’ve been a little too jacked up to listen to reason. “However, since you seem stuck on the need to hear it...thanks for handling a mildly embarrassing situation,” she said stiffly. “Now answer my question... Just who are you?”
He sighed as if she’d just responded exactly as expected and found it disappointing, then said, “Glad you asked.” He produced credentials and a business card, which she accepted with open confusion. Elite Protection Services, Rian Dalton. She regarded him with a faint frown as he continued. “Your father has hired me to watch over you for the next couple of days while the FBI figures out who’s been threatening him.”
She returned the card with an irritated exhale. “Chill out on the panic button. Your services aren’t required. I don’t need a babysitter. My father is just being overly protective.”
“Your father started receiving death threats about a week ago. In the interest of your safety, your father has hired me to make sure that no one gets any bright ideas about kidnapping his only heir for ransom.”
“As if that would happen,” CoCo said, bored. “People don’t get kidnapped. That happens on television and in the movies but not in real life.”
“And here I thought you were smarter than that but apparently, you’re pretty comfortable with the blonde stereotype.”
She stared. Okay, that was definitely an insult. What a jerk. When her father had told her about the threats, she’d tried to reassure him that it was nothing but he’d been so freaked out. Now it seemed she should’ve worked harder to talk some sense into him. But first, she needed to send this prick packing. “As I said, your services aren’t required. Thank you for your assistance earlier but I think we’re done here.”
“I don’t work for you, sassy pants. I work for your father.”
“Well, I’ll call my father tomorrow and let him know that I can take care of myself.”
“Fine by me, but until then, I’m your shadow.”
She narrowed her gaze. “And just what does that mean?”
“Exactly what you think it means.”
CoCo shook her head. There was no way she was going to be trailed by this man for the next few days. He was already stomping on her nerves. “That’s not going to happen. I refuse. What then?”
“Then the next few days will be awkward and uncomfortable for us both. The fact is, your daddy paid me a shit-ton of money to watch over your spoiled ass and, pardon me, frankly I’m not sure you’re worth the money, but it’s his dime so here I stay.”
“How dare you!” She’d never been so boldly dissed in her life and she didn’t like it. “You don’t have the right to talk to me like that.”
Rian smirked. “Yeah, I call ’em as I see ’em and that’s a fact. I know all about you, CoCo Abelli. For that matter, who doesn’t? You’re a spoiled heiress with daddy issues and you’re always in the spotlight for doing something dumb. Usually getting drunk and falling all over yourself or something like that. Made quite a reputation for yourself and, to be honest, I didn’t want this job. In fact, I tried to refuse, but your daddy seems to think that his daughter deserves the best so here I am. Far be it from me to refuse good money even if I think it’s a fool’s errand. So do us both a favor and march your butt into your room and stay there for the rest of the night, because this party is a security nightmare. You don’t really think all these people are your friends, right?”
CoCo could only stare. No one spoke to her like that. No one! And it hurt. She was more than just a paparazzi payday. “Are you finished?” she asked. When Rian simply folded his arms across his chest and waited, she stared him down with all the European disdain she had flowing through her veins and said, “Not only are you finished with this job... I’m going to see to it that you never work in this town again.”
“Good luck, honey. Better people than you have tried—and failed. But don’t do me no favors. Being let go from this detail would be the biggest blessing of the year.”
What could she say to that? He wasn’t pulling any punches and she had no doubt that he was being truthful. He truly didn’t want the job, which only made her feel like a boil on someone’s butt. She wasn’t going to win any arguments with him at the moment and she wasn’t