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Instead of letting her get her own door, I escorted her around to her side of the car then blocked her body with my own as she slid in, a habit ingrained in me by my mother. Some might think that just because I enjoy beating the fuck out of people for a living, I’m a savage, but I’m not—thanks to my mother. Say what you will about Judith Cordova, but she tried her best to civilize me and my brothers. It wasn’t easy, because all three of us inherited both her brains and her crazy streak, but between her and my father, I knew how to treat a lady.
I’d just never bothered to do this for any woman but Joy.
While I may rile her up, yanking her chain just so I could kiss the anger off her pouty little lips, I would never disrespect her in public.
I wanted to lean forward and steal a kiss. Instead, I gently brushed my lips over the delicate hinge of her jaw then her bruised cheek, and wished I could kill the motherfuckers who’d hurt her all over again.
As I slid into the driver’s seat, two black, highly modified street bikes slowly rolled up behind us. I wanted for the hand sign from each of them that would confirm they were my men before turning my car on. The deep, rumbling purr of the engine vibrated the cream leather seats slightly as I pulled out of our spot.
Looking behind us, Joy absently took off her sunglasses, “So, you have at least two guards following you at all times?”
Actually, I had four guards following us at all times. Two for me and two for her, but she wasn’t ready for that truth yet. I held her hand in my own and reveled in softness of her skin. So smooth and lightly tanned, with her golden hair and skin, she radiated light that was strong enough to banish even my darkness. I was so fucking lucky to have her in my life, and I couldn’t imagine living in a world where I didn’t own every inch of her beautiful mind and body.
She turned back around and sighed before rubbing her temples. “I don’t know how you can live like this, with everyone watching you all the time. It’s so weird.”
“Weird for you, but normal for me. I’ve always had bodyguards. Hell, my nanny was a former highly decorated Russian soldier and a complete badass. When I was seven, someone tried to kidnap me, and she took a bullet in the leg protecting me.”
“Holy shit. Was she okay?”
I nodded. “Yes, and she works for my family to this day. She’s in her seventies now, but she helps run our charitable organizations. You should meet her. I know she’d be interested to hear your views on the different programs we sponsor. You’re wicked smart, and I know Ula, my former nanny, would enjoy the help. We can even call it an internship.”
“I’m not working for you,” she said in a cold voice.
While I loved her temper, she did tend to jump to the wrong conclusions a lot. “No, you’re not. You’d be working beneath my mother’s branch of the company, not mine. She doesn’t play favorites when it comes to the welfare of the family dynasty.”
“Dynasty, huh?”
I shrugged. “Fine, my parent’s empire.”
Giggling, she leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, entrancing me with her half smile. “I’m not sure if the Cordova empire any better than dynasty.”
The big engine hummed as I passed a slow moving car, my attention once again on the road. “Whatever you want to call it, I know you’d be an asset to the company. We’d be lucky to have you.”
I darted a glance at her as we came to a stop sign, more people watching us from the sidewalks as we rolled past.
She slipped her glasses down so I could see those lovely green eyes of hers, and the hesitate hope filling them hurt my heart. “Really?”
“Absolutely. You’re very smart, Joy, and compassionate as well as being honest. That’s a hard combination to find, a once in a lifetime type of thing. I’m known for my ability to recognize talent and you, sweetheart, are about as talented as they come.”
It bothered me that her first reaction was to deflect the praise. “Ramón, I’m not that special.”
I reached over and gave her hip a little pinch, hard enough to make her squeak. “Stop it.”
Smacking my arm, she growled at me. “What the hell?”
“Every time you put yourself down, I’m going to pinch somewhere on that curvy body of yours.”
I didn’t miss the way her nipples hardened as we merged into slow moving traffic, my guards easily keeping up with us. “I wasn’t putting myself down.”
“Joy, you just said you weren’t anything special. That’s bullshit.”
