Free One Night With the Billionaire: Book Three by Cassie Cross Page B

dips her spoon into the fresh pint of ice cream that Kaia brought home from the bodega around the corner. “I’m not sure I’m hearing you correctly. He had people following you?”  
    “A ‘security detail,’” she says, obnoxiously using air quotes. “A security detail that I didn’t know about, so…stalkers, maybe? I don’t know what they are in this particular situation.” Stalkers seems an appropriate name for a bunch of guys she didn’t know following her every move.  
    Kaia digs out a chunk of chocolate chip cookie dough, then pops it into her mouth. She was shaking with anger when she left the park this afternoon, after everything had settled between Clark and the security guys who accosted him. She needed something to occupy her mind, and picking up something that was sure to give her a sugar rush seemed like a really good idea.  
    As the sweet ice cream slid across her tongue, she was glad she made that decision earlier.  
    Janine narrows her eyes. “A security detail for what ?”  
    “I don’t know,” Kaia replies with a shrug.
    “Isn’t that the very first question you asked him?”  
    Kaia sighs. “It’s probably the first question I would’ve asked him if I had actually spoken to him.”  
    “What?” Janine asks incredulously. “You haven’t even spoken to him?”  
    “After everything happened, I was busy dealing with Clark and trying to get him to calm down. And I knew that if I talked to Jason while I was angry, I was going to wind up saying something that I could never take back. Angry as I am at him, I’m not sure that’s how I want to end things.” She leans forward to get another scoop of ice cream. “Or if I want to end things.”  
    That was the crux of the emotional turmoil she was feeling. She felt like this should be a deal breaker, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted it to be one.  
    Either way, it seems like Janine understands where she’s coming from. If not, she’s doing a good job of pretending.  
    “It’s better to give yourself some time to process, rather than making a rash decision you might regret later.”  
    “Yeah,” Kaia replies absentmindedly.  
    “Is Clark okay?”  
    Kai nods. “He is. He got a few scrapes, but he wasn’t hurt. He was more angry than anything.”  
    “Rightfully so.” Janine slides the back of her spoon across her tongue, licking off the remaining ice cream.  
    “Right? He comes to meet me thinking we’re going to go for coffee and catch up, and then out of nowhere he gets tackled in the middle of a park.”  
    Just recounting the events of the day makes a fresh wave of anger course through Kia’s veins. How could Jason do this without telling her? She knew he had his secrets that he’d share with her in due time, but she never thought he’d hire security for her without telling her what was going on.  
    Is her life in danger? Is he just being cautious? Does it have something to do with his scars? These are all questions she both wants and needs answers to, she’s just not ready to ask them yet.  
    Like Janine is reading her mind, she asks, “Any idea why he did this? I mean, he’s a businessman…is it a front for the mafia or something? Or is he just one of those paranoid types?”  
    Kaia wants to tell Janine that she’s being ridiculous. The mafia? Really? But the truth is, she doesn’t know if Janine is being ridiculous.  
    For all she knows, Jason’s reluctance to share with her could have everything to do with not wanting her to get involved in whatever it is that he has going on. She’s realizing now that she hardly knows the man she’s been sleeping with and…well, falling in love with.  
    She’s falling in love with Jason, and what happened this afternoon put a screeching stop to the whole thing.
    “He’s not one of those paranoid types.” That she knows.  
    “You are going to talk to him, though, right? You said you weren’t sure if you wanted to end things, but…you’re