One Night With the Billionaire (Men of the Zodiac) by Sarah Ballance Page A

laughed. Hard. “And you’re a bodyguard?”
    “Which is precisely why I felt a civic responsibility to guard my body from additional pain.”
    She leaned into him, taking a closer look. “That’s not how they do it. Not one part, then the other. Isn’t there supposed to be an outline of the whole thing before they fill it in?”
    “Says who?”
    “I think I saw it on TV.”
    Again, he laughed. “Fair enough, though I must say I’m intrigued that a straight-laced…decorator watches people tattoo things on TV.”
    Yeah, that was her. Boring, straight-laced attorney. She couldn’t blame him for seeing her that way—after all, the first brush with excitement she’d had in years sent her running—but she was also inexplicably disappointed by his assessment. He’d want someone sexy. Dangerous.
    Someone who didn’t stun him by watching The Learning Channel.
    Definitely someone other than her.
    “So what happened?” she asked.
    “I wasn’t sure how I wanted the archer, I told them to start with the horse, and I’d figure it out after I saw how it looked. All I actually figured out was that I wasn’t going back there.” He shook his head. “I’ve been shot. I’ve been hit by a car. I took a dive out of a helicopter—low flying, mind you—and I’d take any one of them again before I’d take another hit from that tattoo gun.”
    “You fell out of a helicopter?”
    “Yeah, but I’ve hit the ground harder.”
    “When?”
    He took a long drink before he answered. “Twice. Once when I took a dive down a flight of stairs.”
    “And the other?”
    Another long silence. Laughter rang across the pool. Aggie was in the thick of the other three men, no doubt giving them a run for their money. Zoe caught Ryder watching them, a hint of a smile shaping his lips.
    “Want to go for a walk?” he asked when he noticed Zoe looking at him.
    “You’re going to duck out on your own party?” To say nothing of her question.
    “They’re here for the bar, not me.”
    At the rate the drinks were flowing, it was a convincing argument.
    “If you’re not comfortable with me,” he said, “don’t feel like you have to say yes. I hope you’ve realized by now that I’m harmless, but if you’re not convinced” —he pointed to a long, faded scar she hadn’t noticed running the length of his leg— “aim there. I’ll go down like a sack.”
    “What happened?”
    “What happened is I thought you’d look damned beautiful standing on the beach, so I asked you to go for a walk.” As dismissive as his words were, his tone was gentle. Almost playful.
    “I’d like that,” she said.
    He took her glass and walked over to get it refilled.
    Realizing she was about to leave without speaking the first word to his friends, she followed him, finding herself inexplicably nervous to meet them. After a few years in the courtroom, very few people rattled her. Ryder’s friends weren’t exactly intimidating, with their riotous laughter and ready smiles, but worry skated her spine. If they didn’t like her, then Ryder…hell. He was the one she was worried about. Thus far, she and the guys had only exchanged polite waves through windows, as they hadn’t any reason to toil around the guest rooms where she had spent the past two days.
    He shot her a mildly sympathetic, predominately amused look, then turned to the little group by the bar. “I guess I couldn’t keep you to myself forever. Michelle Elliot, please meet Neil, Hector, and Carson. Neil is our charter boat captain and water sports guy. Hector is a pilot, and he’s into extreme adventure, which usually translates into some kind of trouble. Carson is one hell of a bartender, but overqualified. And Miss Elliot was just about to see the beach.”
    Neil grinned. With sandy light brown hair and a deep tan, he looked like he belonged on the water. “I know you like to be in the middle of everything, Nash, so if you want to stay here and babysit these miscreants, I’d be