| BOOK SIX | THE LONDON CRIME KING | A DARK MAFIA ROMANCE NOVEL |
This book contains adult language and subject matter, including graphic violence, drugs and explicit sex that may be disturbing to some readers.
This series is NOT a typical romance...
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After only five minutes of walking through the hotel's majestic hallways, I can already feel the burn between my thighs.
Shorter steps did not alleviate the agony and the ecstasy of sex. I am achy, sore and waddling like a penguin. Not that I cared. I had one of the best nights of my life.
Terrence is not overly talkative this morning. He looked dispirited and tired, too, with deep-cut furrows of stress on his forehead and dark circles under his unfocused eyes.
"I need a quick shower. An espresso shot or two." Keys jangling in his clumsy fingers, Terrence unlocked the door to the room directly opposite mine. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Guilt burrowed deeper. I felt sorry for the bodyguard. Terrence was not glued to my hip, but he seldom got five minutes for himself. He worked the maximum weekly hours with no days off or vacations.
I should speak to Big Guy about alternative security. Even if he assigned someone else on weekends, Terrence could catch up on some sleep or spend his free time with dates. I am sure he never signed up for a sex ban when agreeing to the assignment of protecting a certain individual from the threat of stalkers.
Stalker. Singular. Not plural.
A creepy dude who likes to eat takeout food in spider-infested tunnels.
"No, I am okay." Smiling benignantly at the man, I unzipped the clutch purse and fossicked through random items—cheap cosmetics, loose change and a stick of bubble gum—to find the room key. "Actually, yes. I need to swing by a pharmacy on the way back to London. If that's okay."
"I am aware." A knowing look etched across his face, the key going into the back pocket of his smart trousers for later. "You need the morning-after pill."
My spine straightened in frozen rigidness. "How do you know?"
A slight smile curved his lips. "For reasons that I cannot disclose."
"You received a text from Command," I spoke with mechanical formality, and the bodyguard made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat, which was the only confirmation I required. "So, emergency contraception?"
He hesitated in the hallway. "I can take you after brunch, Miss Emma."
"Thank you, Terrence."
Clicking open the door to my room, I headed inside for a hot shower and decent outfit change.
I had barely stepped foot on the vintage-style carpet when something, someone, moved by the window and scared the living daylights out of me.
Fight-or-flight activated. I jumped back, hand slapping over my chest, heart skyrocketing to my throat, when Hugo, wearing yesterday's suit, white shirt sharply creased and liquor-stained, locked eyes with me from across the room.
"Hugo?" My heart rate doubled in tempo. He should be next door, either sleeping or getting ready for brunch. "Why are you in my room?"
"You disappeared last night. You just vanished into thin air. I have been worried sick," he chastised with a grim expression. "I roamed the halls and searched the gardens, just in case you decided to go for a random jog. I even asked the main desk to check the surveillance. I thought something bad had happened to you. But I was wrong. You are perfectly fine." His breaths were heavy and raspy. "A little heads up next time, huh?"
