Levi realized he was sweating while writing some magnificent poem about her in his mind.
What was wrong with him? No woman had affected him like that before, no matter how attractive she was or how close they got ... which, admittedly, was never that close.
“I need to call my boss,” she said, staring at the road as she pressed the Bluetooth button on the front dashboard.
Levi remained quiet, dazed within his aroused state of mind.
“Nick, here,” a voice from the dashboard said.
“Nick,” Hannah said sternly. “It’s Hannah. I’ve got the subject out safely.”
“Good work,” Nick said. “You work fast, Hannah. We’ve reinstated you as Levi’s bodyguard for the time being. His life may still be in danger.”
Hannah’s saucer-wide eyes flicked at Levi, and they locked for a millisecond. Levi felt a glow inside his stomach. He would be beyond thrilled to have her around longer, even if it meant that his life was in jeopardy.
“Hannah?” Nick said over the speaker.
“Yes, here, sorry.” Hannah cleared her throat. “How long do you think I’ll be assigned?”
The glow in Levi’s tummy dimmed a little, reminding himself that yes, it was probably just a job to her, and she would be looking to do something more enticing than protecting some tech billionaire like him.
But there was something about the way her fingers tapped against the steering wheel that made him wonder if there was something else surging inside her.
“For the time being,” Nick replied. “Until the threat dies down. We will keep you updated.”
The hum of the car jetting through the streets filled the awkward silence between them. Hannah accepted, albeit reluctantly, then hung up the phone.
“How did you find me?” Levi asked, the words blurting out a bit like a belch.
Hannah remained indifferent, razor-focused on the road. “Lincoln called the agency,” she said. “The man you signed a contract with, I presume. Your team is smart. They found you unlikely to split.”
Levi found himself relaxing in the passenger’s seat, her odd euphemism making him melt and smile.
“They are good at what they do,” he said. “Do you know how?”
Hannah flicked an irritated look at him, then aptly turned back to the road. Levi wanted to hear the sound of her voice. No matter what she was saying, it was like listening to the rain fall on a cold, cozy night.
“The activists don’t know how to keep their mouths shut,” Hannah said, half of her mouth curling into a grin. “They bragged about bagging their first billionaire on some forum Lincoln knew about. Your people dug into their finances, found a warehouse they had been renting, then bam, there you were.”
“And then, there you were,” Levi said.
He shut his mouth quickly, unsure how and why the flirtatious statement had flown out so easily. She looked at him, though, for a long moment, lingering, the smirk remaining. He could have sworn that he saw a hungry, desiring look in her magical eyes.
“Yes,” she said, turning back. “And thank God I was.”
Levi instructed her where to go to reach his giant mansion. It was on a large acreage of land just outside of town, almost an hour away from where he had been saved. He found himself thinking aloud, even though he had just met her.
She was that spellbinding, that interesting. He wanted to know what she thought about anything and everything.
“Maybe I should just never leave my house again. It would be much safer with the alarms and security guards, just to stay inside forever.”
There was a beat between her reply and Levi worried that he had finally said too much.
“I don’t blame you,” she finally said. “There is a lot of safety in just staying in. Never put yourself out there.”
Levi looked at her. How the hell could someone like her ever be afraid?
“You get afraid?”