Page 68 of The Rebel Billionaire

"She got her revenge with your Macallan," I said, not hiding my grin when his glare turned into a scowl. "That was the best whiskey I've ever had. If you want to buy another bottle and then piss her off again, let me know so I can make sure I'maround."

"God damn, Charlie knows how to twist the knife. That was a fifteen thousand-dollar bottle of whiskey." Aiden saluted me with his half-full coffee cup. "Pay attention, Jackson, so you know what you've got coming when you eventually piss her off. You'll have to stay on your toes withCharlie."

Shit.

I thought he was coming over here to warn me off, and instead he was giving me his blessing. A problem because Charlie and I weren't dating. We weren’t together. She wasn't mygirlfriend.

Shit.

"I don't think you understand," I tried. "Charlie and I aren't . . . we're not . . . she doesn't—" I shut my mouth. There's no good way to tell a man that you're just fucking hissister.

"I really don't need to know the details," Aiden said with a grimace. "Charlie is a grown woman. She can figure this shit out on her own. If she needs advice, she's got Maggie. If you fuck her over and she wants your ass kicked, that's a differentstory."

He eyed me, tracking me from my toes to the top of my head before he grinned into hiscoffeecup.

"You've got a good four inches on me, so I might have to call forbackup."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said,amused.

Aiden looked like he was in good shape, and he was no lightweight, but I'd been trained by the best. He'd need a lot of backup if he thought he was going to takemedown.

I wasn't worried about it. By the time things ended with Charlie, she'd probably be happy to seemego.

"Cooper says you don't take jobs like this very often anymore, but I want tohireyou."

"Jobs like what?" I asked, pretty sure I knew what wascoming.

"Security. Bodyguard. I want to hire you to guardCharlie."

I didn't bother to cover my laugh. "No fucking way," I said once I had myself under control. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not scared of your sister, but I'm not going out of my way to give her an excuse to put my balls in a vise.Jesus."

"I know you can keep your mouth shut. And I know you have other work on your plate, but I want you to watch over Charlie full-time and I'm willing to make it worth yourwhile."

"Why me? Why not get someone from the Sinclair team? They have a whole division trained for exactly this kind ofthing."

"You're already with her most of the time, anyway. And if I try to put a bodyguard on her, she'll go ballistic. Anyway, do you really want one of the Sinclair guys on her twenty-four seven? Sleeping in her house? Driving heraround?"

Fuck, he had a point. I most definitely did not want one of the Sinclair team attached to Charlie at the hip twenty-four seven. That would put a serious crimp in myplans.

Goddammit.

An unwelcome thought occurred to me. Charlie had invited me into her bed, so I knew she liked my type. Big, rough, dangerous. Sinclair had a diverse team, but I could guess that the guy he'd put on Charlie would be muscle. Meaning, a lotlikeme.

Charlie was mine. This wasn't long-term, but for now, she was mine, and I wasn't sharing her with some fucking meathead, with a gun, that Sinclair thought was good enough to keephersafe.

Fuckthat.

Making a decision, I said, "I have a job running that I can finish today if I put in a few more hours. Everything else is flexible for the next two weeks. I'll be on her around-the-clock as soon as I get this jobwrappedup."

"That works," Aiden said. "Just send me an invoice when it's done, and I'll take careofit."

I resisted the urge to chuck my coffee cup at his head. "I'm not sending you a fucking invoice. You're not paying me to watch Charlie. I'm watching Charlie to keep her safe from the psychoafterher."

"I'd rather you didn't tell Charlie about this conversation,"Aidensaid.

This guy just kept getting funnier and funnier. I shookmyhead.

"No fucking way. I'm not setting myself up for that. And tell your friend William Davis to get offhercase."