Bodyguard: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (Snake Eyes Book 1) by Tabatha Kiss Page B

someone were following us, we would probably know by now.”
    “That’s not necessarily true.”
    “How so?”
    “Dani, please just sit quietly and let me do what I do.”
    She laughs, throwing her head back. “Damn, Fox…”
    “What?”
    “So serious.” Her laughter continues.
    “How you find this so amusing, I’ll never understand.”
    “I’m sorry…” She tries to stop laughing but her lips twitch. “I don’t know why I’m laughing… This is all just so…”
    “Surreal?” I suggest.
    “Fun.”
    I look at her with wide eyes. “Fun?”
    “Not fun ,” she says, biting her lip. “Just… I don’t know what I mean. I guess that says something about my life, though, doesn’t it? Having a near-death experience is what it takes for me to have fun .”
    “Oh, come on. You have access to everything in the world. Any girl would kill to be in your shoes.”
    Her smile drops. “I can’t argue with that.” She falls silent and looks out the window. The setting sun casts an orange glow on her face, but I catch the darkness hiding behind her blue eyes.
    I look back to the road and my stomach lurches with hunger. Has it really been eight hours? I’ve forgotten how quickly time flies when all my senses are on full alert. “You hungry?” I ask.
    “Starving.”
    I smile. “Okay. We’ll stop soon.”
    “How much further do we have?”
    “We’re about halfway to Denver,” I answer. “We should get there around two or three in the morning—”
    “Can we stop for the night?”
    I shake my head. “We should continue through the night, Dani.”
    “You’re exhausted, Fox.”
    “I’m fine.”
    “Fox…” she leans over and points at her face, “look at who you’re talking to. I’m Roxie Roberts. I know a little something about exhaustion and even more, I know what it looks like when you try to hide it. The only difference is that I have a fully-staffed cosmetic team to hide the dark circles under my eyes.” Her finger swoops around her face, drawing little ovals beneath her lashes.
    I glance up at the rearview mirror. She’s right. I might not feel it now but once the buzz in my nerves wears off, I’m sure I will. “We’ll see how I feel after we eat.”
    “Or you can just let me drive.”
    “No.”
    She laughs. “Damn, I thought that would work…”
    I smile and look over at her again. She lays her head back with her eyes drifting out the window. Her lips stay locked in an upturned grin, almost like she doesn’t even realizing she’s smiling. I’m scared to look away, knowing that sooner or later it’ll fade along with this moment.
    Fun, eh? It’s been a while since I’ve had it. I almost didn’t recognize it myself.
     
    ***
     
    “Pancakes , please.” Dani’s eyes grow wide as she says it, displaying a powerful desire hidden behind her shades.
    “Coming right up.” The waitress flashes a strategic, tip-bait smile and walks away to put our order in.
    I take a long sip of coffee, relishing in the caffeine boost. “Pancakes, eh?”
    Dani slides her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose. “Dad rarely lets me have carbs,” she explains. “I might as well have them while I still can.”
    I lean back in the booth. “Why do you let Bennett control you so much?”
    Her eyes fall. “ Let is a pretty strong word.”
    “Dani, you have more than enough means to cut him off. It’s not like either of you will be on the street if you do.”
    “I just…” Her teeth scratch her bottom lip. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”
    “No, tell me,” I urge.
    She takes her time. Her elbows bend and move as she slides her palms along her thighs beneath the table. “I don’t know anything else. He’s all I have and… he’s done a pretty good job at reminding me of that fact.”
    Classic Bennett. What better way is there to keep a leash on her than to give her no other alternative than to follow? “You’ll adapt,” I say. “The world isn’t as scary as he makes it out to