Free Freed (Bad Boy Hitman Romance) by Terry Towers, Stella Noir Page B

exception.”
     
    “You need to have more faith in the world and the people in it, Rebecca. You’d be a much happier person.”
     
    I shrugged and then looked down at the screen of my smartphone. No reply. With a huff, I tossed the phone onto the night side table. “I’m happy enough,” I mumbled more to myself than to her.
     
    I was just starting to get into the book I was reading, a new Dean Koontz novel, when there came a knock on the door. Vanessa now had her headphones on and didn’t even realize there was someone knocking.
     
    With a sigh, I slid from the bed and made my way to the door. Opening it up, I was only halfway surprised to see Kyle standing there with that grin on his face that both angered me and made me swoon at the same time.
     
    Crossing my arms over my chest, I hit him with a glare. “What are you doing here, Kyle?”
     
    Leaning one shoulder against the door jamb, he reached out and twirled a strand of my hair around his index finger. “Well, I received a nasty gram from a certain someone and thought I had better get my ass over here.”
     
    “It’s a matter of courtesy.”
     
    “Courtesy?” He cocked a brow up at me, and his grin widened.
     
    “Yes, courtesy. If I’m a booty call then so be it, but we should make sure that is clear here and now so we know where things stand.” Damn, I cringed inwardly, I was sounding like a teenage girl with a crush.
     
    “Uh-huh.” He nodded. He was humoring me. “So, you want to define what we have going on here?”
     
    “Ye- Umm. No. What I’m saying is that I want transparency.”
     
    “Okay. How about this? How about you get your shoes on, and we go for a walk? We can chat and see where we stand, for the sake of transparency.”
     
    Kyle was trouble. Big trouble. I knew it. The sirens were going off in my head, and one thing my father drilled into me was   you always listen to your intuition. But, at the same time, I felt some sort of connection that ran deeper than the physical. Like this man might have insight into who and what I was.
     
    Another thing… How in the hell did he get here so quickly? I only sent the message maybe 5 minutes prior?
     
    Something just wasn’t sitting right with me. Tilting my head to the side, I eyed him, hoping to get the answers just from staring at him. I couldn’t.
     
    After a moment’s hesitation, I agreed.
     

     

 

     
    Chapter 9
     

     
    Grabbing a pair of sneakers, I slipped them on. As I walked past the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, I cringed. In a pair of jogging pants and sweatshirt two sizes too big for me – something I borrowed and never returned from a previous boyfriend – and my hair in a ponytail, I looked like I’d just crawled out of bed after a weekend bender. Okay, perhaps not that bad, but there certainly was plenty of room for improvement.
     
    “You look amazing.”
     
    Huh? I shifted my focus to Kyle, and my cheeks grew warm at being caught checking myself out. “I’m not exactly dressed to be out.” I motioned towards him. He was wearing a black, v-neck knit shirt, jeans and a black leather jacket. He looked hot. “Especially compared to you.” Men were so damned lucky. A pair of jeans and a form fitting t-shirt over a decent body was all they needed. Women, on the other hand, had to fuss with make-up, ill-fitted dresses, and heels to achieve the same height of sexiness.
     
    He chuckled. “Hardly. Come on.”
     
    Grabbing my keys and not bothering with my purse, I exited the room with him, closing the door behind me.
     
    “So, what would you like to talk about?” I asked as we walked down the corridor.
     
    “How about family?”
     
    “Family?” I sighed. It was the last topic I wanted to discuss, but I could lie to him just as well as anyone.
     
    “Yeah, our chat at the restaurant was a little hectic, and I thought we could just have a nice conversation. Get to know each other. If we’re going to pursue a