Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)

After she looked around the back of the building, they doubled back towards the entrance. Evening was beginning to fall, and darkness had started to blanket the city.

Suddenly, Heather gasped and reached for his arm. “Simon!”

Simon followed her gaze, his eyes landing on a man standing a few feet away from them, a camera strapped around his neck.

He didn’t recognize the man, but instinct told him the guy was a reporter. And right now, the reporter was rifling through his trash.

Chapter 7

“What the hell are you doing?” Simon stomped over to the man looming over the garbage bin.

“Simon, wait!” she cried, terrified of what the stranger might do to him. Too late—Simon had already gotten in the guy’s face.

Her heart started to hammer. What if the guy had already snapped a picture of them together? What if he got a shot of Simon being aggressive? Worst of all, what if the guy hurt Simon? That would only add fuel to the fire.

The photographer held his hands up. “Hey, buddy, I don’t want any trouble. I’m just doing my job.”

Simon reached for the guy, but in the blink of an eye the photographer managed to slip out of his grasp and make a run for it.

She watched in horror as Simon started to race after him. She tried to chase him. “Simon, don’t! This is exactly what they want!”

The comment made him stop in his tracks and he spun around to look at her. The photographer was getting away, but she didn’t care. The thought of Simon getting hurt in a scuffle was already making her start to tremble.

He headed back over to her and stared deep into her eyes. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

“I thought he was going to hurt you,” she breathed.

What was wrong with her? Simon was fine. Neither of them had been hurt. However, she had thought he might get hurt for a moment, and that was making her break out into a cold sweat.

Her legs wobbled, and she felt them give out from under her. Before she hit the ground, Simon wrapped his strong arms around her to steady her. She collapsed against the solid weight of his hard body.

Dizziness was making her head spin.

“Let’s get you back inside,” he said firmly.

She didn’t argue. All she could do was nod and let him help her back into the lobby, where he quickly warned the concierge about the reporter, and then continued to help her until they stepped back into his apartment.

Once inside, he eased her down onto one of the sofas in the living room. He got her a glass of water and then took a seat beside her.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked. “Do you need to lie down?”

She shook her head. “No. I just need to catch my breath.” She shut her eyes, trying to make the room stop spinning. When she opened them again she found Simon looking intently at her, a serious expression on his face.

How was she going to explain to him that she had freaked out thinking that photographer might hurt Simon? This wasn’t a normal reaction to being worried about her boss. It was the kind of reaction she had over people she cared about.

Cared about.

Oh, shit. No. She couldn’t care about Simon. Not now. Not ever. A silly schoolgirl crush was one thing, but anything more would destroy everything. With Gary trying to take Finn away from her, she couldn’t afford to have strong feelings.

He pressed his hand to her forehead. “You’re shaking.”

“I thought that guy might hurt you. Us, I mean,” she said. The truth was, she had been far more worried about that photographer hurting Simon than she had been for her own safety. But admitting that to Simon would lead to a world of trouble neither of them could afford.

“Not while I’m around.” He captured her chin in his hands, forcing her to look at him. His touch was already soothing her. Making her heart rate begin to slow down. Chasing her fears away. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. Not now. Not ever.”

His words made her heart start to race all over again. No! a voice inside her head was shouting at her. Warning her not to give in to her feelings or desires this time. Not to fall into his arms and let him kiss her senseless.

The media was already invading their lives. The least she could do was try to protect Finn from that. If she didn’t have the strength to protect her own heart, she would protect her son.