The Billionaire Next Door (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Collection) by Judy Angelo Page A

the
picture.
    As she thought about their past wrangles she could only
marvel.  Who would have thought she’d be in the man’s kitchen, making him tea,
bossing him around in his own home?  So far he’d complied…grudgingly…but she
knew it wouldn’t last.  As soon as the headaches disappeared he’d have her out
of his house and banned from his doorstep.  No problem.  She would climb over
the hedge and sneak in through the back door.  As long as she felt he needed
monitoring she would be there.  She and Trevor, her new buddy, had an agreement
and she was not about to let him down.
    Still, that day she’d bullied him, barged in and taken
control she didn’t know what came over her.  As mild-mannered and gentle as she
always was, such behavior was really not like her.  She almost grinned at the
thought.  Okay, so maybe she wasn’t all that gentle or mild-mannered.  But anyway,
she had to admit she’d been a bit rough that day.  It was probably because,
deep down, she knew what would work.  She understood his personality.  She’d
threatened him because she’d known it was the only way he would give in.
    All the tea things now tucked away, Solie decided it was
time to check on Ransom one last time and then head back home.  It was early
evening yet but she would have a long shift tomorrow and she wanted to rest up
for it.  She gave an inward sigh.  No rest for the weary, or was it no rest for
the wicked?  She couldn’t remember how the popular phrase went but either way,
where rest was concerned, she could do with a whole lot more than she’d been
getting lately.
    When she got to the end of the hallway and turned the
corner she found Ransom sprawled on the massive sofa, his eyes glued to the big
screen television.  A basketball game was on and by now she’d come to learn
that when the Miami Heat basketball team was on the court you kept your mouth
shut and stayed out of his way.
    She didn’t mind.  His absorption in the game gave her
the perfect opportunity to get an eyeful of the man who, strangely, had crept
his way into her life.  Or was it the other way around?  Maybe she was the one
who’d done the creeping or more accurately, the barreling in.  Whatever.  It
didn’t matter.  What did matter was that she was here, in his house, getting
her fill of some Ransom Kent eye candy.
    Even as he relaxed on the sofa she could see the power
in his lean, muscled body.  He was almost as tall as a few of the basketball
players on the court, at least an inch or two over six feet, and looked just as
fit.  There was a six o’clock shadow on his jaw that made him look too sexy for
any red-blooded woman to be around.  All she wanted to do right then was climb
onto the sofa where he lay, straddle his hips and reach down to cup that
ruggedly sensual face in her hands.  Then she would lean forward and press her
lips to his…
    “Did you see that shot?  Damn, LeBron’s good.”
    Startled, Solie’s head jerked up at Ransom’s triumphant
shout.  When she saw his jubilant grin she couldn’t help but smile back,
confident that he had no idea what she’d just been thinking.  What was it with
men and sports?  Outside of sex, that was the one thing guaranteed to keep them
happy.
    “So who’s leading?” she asked as she went to perch on
the armchair across from him.  She didn’t want to get too comfortable.  That
would make it too easy to be tempted to stay longer.  “Your team?”
    He laughed.  “What do you think?  These guys are the
best.”  His eyes flashed with mirth as he settled back into the cushions.
    Solie had never seen Ransom so relaxed and she liked
it.  “So do you think they’ll make it to the finals?”
    The look Ransom gave her told her she should never have
asked such a stupid question.  “You know who’s on this team, right?  We’ve got
Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh-”
    “And the great LeBron James,” she said drily, finishing
the statement for him.  She might not