Yet for some reason he didn’t mind, and he knew it was because he was attracted to her. He was going to have to pull back on the attraction and do his damn job, quit letting his dick rule the mission.
“That’s better.” She came out in a white tank top with some skimpy other strappy thing underneath it in pink, and some black yoga pants that came to her knee. The whole ensemble shouldn’t have been sexy, but it was, because when she went into the kitchen and rose up on her toes to grab for paper plates, her top rode up and gave him a glimpse of tanned, flat stomach.
And his cock noticed.
His cock could just damn well remember that Elena was a mission, not a potential fuck buddy.
He went to the window instead of ogling her.
“Something interesting out there?”
“Yeah. The pizza guy. I’ll be right back.”
After he fetched the pizza, they sat at the kitchen bar. He liked watching her eat. She didn’t put much dressing on her salad, but dove into her pizza like she was starving. He liked a woman who ate actual food as opposed to pushing food around on the plate and pretending to eat. He’d dated women like that before—the stick-thin variety who thought men liked to date women with the figure of a twelve-year-old boy. He wasn’t that kind of a guy—he liked a woman to look like a woman. He never understood the whole starvation thing.
“So how’s business going?” she asked.
“Uh, good.”
“Did you make some contacts from the business association?”
He hadn’t called any of those people. Didn’t intend to. And she could verify that. “Not yet. I had some other people I’d gotten in touch with, so I have some alarm installs I’m working on with them first.”
“Oh. That’s great. Sounds like you’re pretty busy.”
“Yeah.” He bit into his pizza and tried not to say too much. He was going to have to dance around his cover and hope she wouldn’t send anyone else his way.
Her phone rang. “It’s Marco.”
She answered it, and filled Marco in on what happened at the store while she ate and reassured him that Jed was there with her and she was safe. He listened to the dynamic.
“No, don’t come over. Jed’s here and I’m fine . . . Yes, I was scared, but I swear I would have taken one of Bondino’s corals and beaned him with it.”
She laughed. “I know how much it’s worth, but it’s not like I carry a gun, and even if I did, I wouldn’t shoot them . . . Well, okay, maybe if it was him or me, I would shoot him . . . No, you absolutely will not increase your hours at the shop. You have school, and you have Torrance. You have a life, too.”
Then she handed the phone to Jed. “He wants to talk to you.”
Jed arched a brow and took the phone. “Hey, Marco.”
“Is she all right? I mean is she really all right? She’s trying to make me feel better because I wasn’t there, but I need to know.”
Jed met Elena’s gaze. “She’s fine.”
“I’m afraid for her. This is the second time something has happened while I wasn’t there.”
“I know.”
“Don’t say anything to her, but I’m thinking someone’s targeting her.”
Marco was pretty perceptive. “Maybe. I’ll check it out.”
“Thank you. I feel better knowing you’re there with her. You’ll stay the night?”
He smiled at Elena. “If she’ll let me.”
“Use your charm, man. Coerce her. I won’t sleep if I don’t think she’s safe.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.”