We rode the elevator down to the ground floor. “I’m in the parking garage across the way,” I said, pointing to the structure. “If you want to wait here, I can—”
Adrianne huffed and rolled those warm brown eyes. “I am more than capable of walking across a street with you.” A look must have passed over my face because she frowned, and even then, she was beautiful. “You’re all going to have to stop thinking about me in whatever way you are right now,” she said.
Her words were a challenge, and I couldn’t stop the smirk that turned up the corner of my mouth. “And how do I think of you?” I asked. My voice came out low and husky.
Adrianne shivered, and her eyes went round. Almost instinctively, she tipped her head up to me. This was a woman who wanted to be kissed, and she wanted me to kiss her.
I was so screwed.
“I’m not made of glass, and I don’t want to be treated that way,” she said. “I didn’t grow up as some kind of Hollywood Hills princess.”
I studied her. Half-defiant, half-yearning was written all over her face. “What if I wanted to treat you like a princess?” I asked.
It was a dangerous game to go against Ethan’s direct orders, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “You look like a woman who needs a little spoiling.”
Her eyes hardened a bit now, and she stood up straighter with her shoulders squared. “I don'twantto be spoiled.” She pushed the glass door and was out on the busy sidewalk before I could stop her.
Panic sizzled down my spine, and I bolted after her. She had made it all of three steps, but she had no idea what could happen in the blink of an eye. I wrapped my hand around her arm and tugged, swinging her around so that her back was pressed flat against the building. “What the hell do you think you're doing?” I barked at her.
Adrianne was just as pissed. She wrenched her arm out of my grip. “What the hell do you thinkyou'redoing?” she hissed back. “You can't put your hands on me!”
“I wouldn't have to if you hadn’t run into a potentially dangerous situation.”
“Potentially dangerous?" She scoffed. "The sidewalk is dangerous?”
“When you have a stalker, yes!” I was shouting, but I couldn't stop myself. “That's why we tell clients not to ditch us... because we could end up ass-deep in alligators in a second.”
Her eyes softened as comprehension dawned on her face. My chest loosened, and I realized I had all but smashed her into the building, and I backed off. “You hired us as bodyguards, Adrianne. You've got to let us guard your body, or we can't do our jobs.”
She ducked her head. “I'm sorry,” she said. “That wasn't my intention.”
I deflated. “I'm sorry for grabbing you,” I said. “That wasn't professional of me in the slightest. I would understand if you'd rather Ethan or Foster took you home.”
Adrianne stared at me, hard, for a moment before she shook her head. “Let's just get out of here.”
I tipped my head. “Yes, ma'am.”
We crossed the street to the park structure. Her footsteps echoed off the concrete as we walked halfway up the ramp to where my truck was parked. It was a brand-new Ford F150, but Adrianne looked out of place standing next to a pickup. “If I ask you for help, will you respect me more or less?” she asked.
I took the key fob from my pocket and unlocked the truck, and then I moved around and pulled the passenger door open. I held out my hand for her. “More,” I said. “Definitely more.”
She rolled her eyes, but still, she put her hand in mine, and I braced her while she climbed the running board to get into the truck. As she stepped up, her dress rose and exposed a long line of luscious thigh. I snapped my eyes to the car parked across the way.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. I looked back. She’d settled herself—and pulled her dress back down—in my passenger seat. “Callan?”
I like her saying my name, I thought dazedly. “Nothing’s wrong,” I promised and grabbed for the door. “Watch out, now.” She kept her hands out of the way, and I was able to shut the door for her.
I threw my bag into the bed of the truck and went around to climb behind the wheel. As soon as I turned the truck on, Adrianne reached over and started adjusting the dials on the radio. “You’re not shy at all, are you?”
She shot me a glowing smile. “Job hazard,” she retorted. “I hope you don’t mind.”
I didn’t, and I told her so. “I do need one thing, though.”
She looked at me. “What?”
“Your address.”
“Oh!” She flushed. “Duh, that makes sense.” Adrianne gave me her address. I put it into the GPS on my phone, and then we were off toward Mulholland Drive. We weren’t more than five minutes away from the firm when Adrianne started singing with the radio.