The Hill by Carol Ericson Page A

up his hand. “Former wild ways.”
    â€œThat’s just it.” She blew a strand of hair from her face for about the hundredth time that morning. “He loves my former wild ways. He used to pretend my antics frustrated him, but that was an act. My mishaps allowed him to be paternal toward me, correcting and chastising me.”
    â€œThat sounds like a seriously creepy dynamic.”
    â€œPart of it has to do with all this.” She spread her arms wide. “If I keep screwing up, it gives him greater control over me and BGE—at least he thinks so.”
    â€œDoes he want it enough to kill for it?”
    â€œRoger? I don’t see him as a killer, but he wants it enough to marry me for it.”
    Judd’s blue eyes glittered, almost slicing through her. “And that would be a great hardship for him?”
    The warmth started in her belly and made a fast approach to her face. She snorted and made a beeline to her desk, ducking into one of the drawers. “For him, I think it would be, but I’m going to spare him the sacrifice.”
    She retrieved a pad of paper from the drawer and smacked it on the desk. “You can work in here while I attend the meeting.”
    â€œHow long will you be?”
    â€œAbout two hours.” She couldn’t stop the grimace that twisted her lips. “Then I’m going to stop by the hospital and visit Theodore. Do you want to come along?”
    â€œAbsolutely. I’m your bodyguard, remember?”
    When he looked the way he did now, his raw power barely contained by his suit and his eyes hard and...possessive, she didn’t want to forget.
    She’d hardly gotten one wink of sleep last night with him downstairs on her couch. She could understand he wanted to keep their relationship professional. He must have all his female clients throwing themselves at him, and he couldn’t accept every offer.
    Hell, if he made good on the promise in his eyes, she’d be wondering if he bodyguarded everyone the same way.
    Celine’s tap on the door broke the spell between them.
    â€œC’mon in.”
    â€œMeeting in ten minutes. You probably want to be one of the first people there.”
    â€œThanks, Celine. Sorry about Roger.”
    â€œHe’s so annoying.”
    â€œI know. I’ll talk to him again.” She gestured to Judd, who had removed his suit jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. “Judd’s going to be working in my office while I’m in the meeting. After the meeting, I’m leaving for the rest of the day.”
    Celine’s eyes widened behind her trendy glasses as she took in the view of Judd stretching, his muscles shifting beneath his crisp white shirt. She swallowed. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything, Judd—more coffee, water, supplies.”
    A back rub. A soft place to rest your head. A mother for your children.
    The thoughts marching across Celine’s face could be London’s own.
    London dipped behind the desk and grabbed her briefcase. Might as well look as though she knew what she was doing, even if she was clueless.
    Judd looked up, oblivious to the drooling females before him. “Knock ’em dead.”
    London reached back, plucking the pins from her hair and shaking it free from the bun. “I will.”
    * * *
    J UDD   RUBBED   HIS   eyes and shifted his chair to take in the view out the window. Spectacular. It still couldn’t make up for being ensconced in an office in a suit all morning.
    The job of CEO of an international corporation did not suit London—and it had nothing to do with her intelligence, her ability or her crazy ways. Maybe a little to do with her crazy ways. She struck him as a free spirit. This job might as well have free spirits need not apply stamped across its letterhead.
    What had a hardheaded businessman like Spencer Breck been thinking when he’d left control of the company to her? Maybe