“All right.” He suddenly sounds very reasonable. I don’t trust it. “I’ll be out of your hair in two minutes.”
Just like that, he’s giving up on me. On us.
Of course he is. There was never any “us” to start with.
“Good.” I try not to cry.
I’ll probably love Rush forever. Or the idea of him, anyway. The man I thought he was. It will take me a while to mourn his loss. But this sex god in a skimpy white towel—no, I mean this asshole—in front of me? I’ll forget him in no time. Like, I’ve already forgotten him. He’s just a memory. I’m ready for the next man.
And you called him a liar?
Telling the voice in my head to shut up, I disappear into the powder bath with my clothes, toss them on, and emerge in time to find Rush completely dressed, keys in hand, looking both pissed and determined.
But his dark eyes are still pleading with me. “This is a bad idea. Whatever you think is going on between us—”
“Nothing.”
“You’re wrong, but besides that, someone broke into your place yesterday. I need to figure out what’s happening, secure your cottage, and keep you safe.”
“Do your job, you mean. You can do it outside.” I stomp down the hall and straight to the front door, pulling it wide open for Rush.
He sighs as he walks out. “You’re making a mistake. It’s still dangerous—”
“If something happens, I’ll call the police. They won’t work their way inside my panties in the name of ‘protecting’ me. Besides, if you’ve been watching me every moment of every day for the last seven months, then I doubt you’ll go far. Just forget what I look like naked.”
Rush grabs me by the nape and pulls me so close I can smell the scent of soap on his skin and see his long, black lashes spiked from the shower spray. I get weak-kneed. “That is never going to happen. I’m going to fix this clusterfuck of a misunderstanding. By tonight, I’ll be back in your bed, deep inside your body, little girl. You’re not getting rid of me.”
The low taunt of his voice twists my heart on its way down to my pussy and claws me with need. God, even knowing he deceived me, why can’t I stop wanting him?
Stubbornly, I press my mouth into a militant line, then give his chest a good shove. He stumbles onto the porch, giving me just enough time to lock the front door.
And next time he comes knocking, I swear I’ll have whipped up plenty of anger and fortitude so that I won’t be the least bit tempted to let him in.
As I stare through the peephole at him marching down my walkway, his brawny arms swinging and his long legs eating up the ground—as his fine ass moves with confidence—I’m not convinced this is a promise I can keep.
Rush
Well, that was an unmitigated disaster. Now what?
A thousand plans jet through my head, most of which are centered around winning Vanessa back. But first? I’ve got to do damage control.
She doesn’t know that the minute she called the burner phone her father shoved in my hand the day he left me her official protector, it sent a text to his device. Right now, Douglas Hartley thinks there’s an emergency and that Vanessa is in danger.
That’s not good.
I need to call the man pronto and assure him that his daughter is alive and in one piece before he hunts me down, barking about his baby girl’s safety, and tears my head off. Once he’s calm…I’ll break the news that I’m going to marry her—with or without his blessing.
I’d better have bullets handy.
Sighing, I tug the car keys from my pocket, then reach for my cell. I’m scrolling through my contacts as quickly as I can, but the fucking thing rings in my hand.
Busted.
“Douglas—”
“What the fuck is going on?”
I head for my car and try to find reassuring words. I’m drawing a blank because my brain has one track now: Vanessa. I’m fixated. No, obsessed. She can’t get away from me. I won’t let another man put his hands on her. I have to make things right between us.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” I slide into my car across the street from Vanessa’s cottage, watching her.
But she glares at me through the window, arms crossed over her chest. Yep, she’s furious. I had strict orders not to tell anyone that my job at the hotel and my life in St. Augustine were a front. As soon as this mission is over, Douglas will assign me elsewhere—for God knows how long. I really hope it’s not Russia. It sucks there this time of year…
And I would be so far from Vanessa.
On the other hand, she wants space now and I can’t completely piss her off. If I want to win her back, I shouldn’t look like the stalker I’ve become. Sure, I was assigned to her—for a good cause. But honestly, I love this part of my job.