Journey To Fortune

She looked at him. My God, she thought, close up he was even more incredibly good looking. Her breasts swelled and his arm grazed them as he reached up and gave the belt a tug. It came undone and he brought it across her. She reached for the seatbelt, touched his hand, and holy shit, did she feel a bolt of desire. He locked gazes with her.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. He chuckled and then pulled back into his seat, put his seatbelt on, and then started to reverse. The man knew he was hot. How many women sat in this passenger seat and were put under his spell? How many women inhaled his scent, kissed his lips, felt his touch against their skin and swooned over him? Jesus, Rose. Breathe.

She watched his hands move the shift stick and even that turned her on. The size of his hands, the scent of his cologne, the sight of the gun on his hip. She looked away as he exited the parking lot.

“Where do you live?” he asked.

“Burbank Street, a few blocks from the Galleria shopping center, but you can drop me there, at the Galleria.”

“Don’t be silly, I’ll drive you home and make sure that you’re okay.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Her cell phone buzzed and she reached into her bag to look at it. She felt a mix of emotions. Happy and embarrassed. It was her sister Georgia texting her. She went to the University forty minutes from here. She had gotten together with her last week and spent her last forty dollars buying lunch, having some fun and pretending that Rose wasn’t struggling to make ends meet. Rose was embarrassed.

“Who was that?”

She turned quickly to look at Rylan. “What?”

“The text message. You look upset,” he pushed. He was observant. Had to be from being a soldier and a security person or whatever he was. Louisa mentioned a hint of the James brothers’ capabilities and even knowing that dangerous aspect of their lives didn’t bother her. In fact, it sounded empowering.

“Oh, not upset, it was my sister.”

“You have a sister? She live around here, too?” he asked.

“She attends USC and is in her junior year of college there.”

“Nice. It’s not that far, so do you get to see her?”

“I spent time with her last week. She’s busy with school and friends.”

“That’s nice. Any other family?” he asked.

“My mom lives in North Carolina. How about you? Parents, other siblings besides your five brothers?” she asked.

He smiled at her and then pulled out of the parking lot.

“Our parents live in Florida. I think six sons was enough for my mom and three dads.”

“Three dads?” she asked and then swallowed hard as her mind processed that.

“Yup. We don’t see them as often as we would like.”

“I know what you mean. I haven’t seen my mom in almost a year.”

“A year? That is a long time.”

She had been struggling month after month and splurging for a bus ticket wasn’t even an option. Not when she was barely eating a meal a day.

“How come so long?”

“A bus ticket is expensive. So, how did you get into the security business?” she asked him, changing the subject.

“It’s in the family. I was a Green Beret for ten years, got into some specialized operations, and then retired to help out with Merk Enterprises.”

“It must be nice to work with your brothers and have a family business.”

“It has its moments, but for the most part we agree on things. So, how did you get hooked up with this gig today and with Mulgoff?” he asked, changing the subject and speeding down the road.

The car was super cool and she didn’t have any idea how much something like this cost. The leather seats were a burnt orange color like nothing she had ever seen before.

“I was bartending for a private party for a friend when I met Mr. Lenotz. We just started talking and he asked if I did any modeling, then talked about my hands and my neck and ears and how perfect they were to show off his jewelry collection,” she said and put her hand out in front of her and showed it as she spoke, still looking at it like it appeared to be a normal hand. When Rylan reached for it and stroked it, she looked at him. He glanced at her hand and the road then to her real quick before he looked back at the road.