Close Contact
Close Contact
Lori Foster
There's no resisting a desire like this… MMA fighter Miles Dartman's casual arrangement with personal shopper Maxi Nevar would be many men's fantasy. She seeks him out, they have mindblowing sex, she leaves. Rinse, repeat. Yet lately, Miles wants more. And when Maxi requests his services via the Body Armor security agency, he's ready to finally break through her defenses—and protect her day and night.Receiving a large inheritance has brought chaos and uncertainty into Maxi's life. Her ex has resurfaced, along with lots of former "friends," and someone is making mysterious threats. Then there's Miles, who doesn't ask for anything…except her trust. Pleasure is easy. Now Maxi has to give her heart as well as her body…or risk losing a man who could be everything she needs.
There’s no resisting a desire like this...
MMA fighter Miles Dartman’s casual arrangement with personal shopper Maxi Nevar would be many men’s fantasy. She seeks him out, they have mindblowing sex, she leaves. Rinse, repeat. Yet lately, Miles wants more. And when Maxi requests his services via the Body Armor security agency, he’s ready to finally break through her defenses—and protect her day and night.
Receiving a large inheritance has brought chaos and uncertainty into Maxi’s life. Her ex has resurfaced, along with lots of former “friends,” and someone is making mysterious threats. Then there’s Miles, who doesn’t ask for anything...except her trust. Pleasure is easy. Now Maxi has to give her heart as well as her body...or risk losing a man who could be everything she needs.
Praise for New York Times
bestselling author Lori Foster
“Teasing and humorous dialogue, sizzling sex scenes, tender moments, and overriding tension show Foster’s skill as a balanced storyteller.’’
—Publishers Weekly on Under Pressure (starred review)
“Best friends find hunky men and everlasting love in Foster’s latest charmer.... Her no-fail formula is sure to please her fans.”
—Publishers Weekly on Don’t Tempt Me
“Foster brings her signature blend of heat and sweet to her addictive third Ultimate martial arts contemporary.”
—Publishers Weekly on Tough Love (starred review)
“Emotionally spellbinding and wicked hot.”
—New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh on No Limits
“Storytelling at its best! Lori Foster should be on everyone’s auto-buy list.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon on No Limits
“Foster’s writing satisfies all appetites with plenty of searing sexual tension and page-turning action in this steamy, edgy, and surprisingly tender novel.”
—Publishers Weekly on Getting Rowdy
“A sexy, believable roller coaster of action and romance.”
—Kirkus Reviews on Run the Risk
“Steamy, edgy, and taut.”
—Library Journal on When You Dare
Close Contact
Lori Foster
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Dear Reader (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53),
I’m so excited to introduce the third book in my Body Armor series, featuring hot alpha males whose überprotective instincts are put to good use in their role as elite bodyguards.
Miles Dartman, the latest MMA fighter to join the elite Body Armor personal-security agency, has learned through his time as a heavyweight contender to always expect the unexpected. But he never imagined Maxi Nevar, the casual fling he can’t stop thinking about, would suddenly show up at Body Armor needing his help...or that getting to know her would only intensify their already sizzling connection. Now keeping her safe is more than just a job—and convincing her to trust him with her heart is the most important mission of his life.
I hope you enjoy Miles and Maxi’s romance. And of course, you’re always welcome to reach out to me. I’m active on most social media forums, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads, and my email address is listed on my website at www.lorifoster.com (http://www.lorifoster.com).
Happy reading!
Lori Foster
Contents
Cover (#u11f23ce7-02be-57fe-8260-731dc10da1b0)
Back Cover Text (#udd79b35c-521d-5f48-9202-e38ea18b2372)
Praise (#ub1454f13-325a-501e-b29e-761617316a83)
Title Page (#u313ac37e-f2f7-5421-8dd4-89f6dc1dc53b)
Dear Reader (#ue6706f32-d377-5bf6-bb30-6caf0e26f2d2)
CHAPTER ONE (#ucf01f607-08b3-56a7-8a90-15ddf80ac48e)
CHAPTER TWO (#u22c20998-be85-5828-b8af-8aba71dc0edc)
CHAPTER THREE (#u1e64260b-ffe6-5eb6-83e8-f0e1bfe0b983)
CHAPTER FOUR (#u4b590658-32c1-53e8-a48e-c2ff63c30654)
CHAPTER FIVE (#uf14f2d1a-7f07-553c-8a48-8269070fd912)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
MAXI OPENED HER eyes to a black velvet sky pierced with shimmering stars. A balmy breeze drifted over her skin. She frowned, her head aching horribly, her mouth as dry as cotton, her body heavy...every part of her hurt in one way or another. She stared at the sky, trying to make sense of it.
It took an extreme amount of effort, but she lifted up and winced at the sharp pain in her elbow and back. A strange sense of dread crawled over her.
What the hell? Gravel?
How was she on gravel? In dirt and clumps of dried grass... With her head now swimming and her stomach trying to revolt, she paused, closed her eyes and concentrated on not throwing up. When everything somewhat settled, she pried her eyes open again and slowly looked around.
Realization doused her in ice, followed by a wave of prickling heat.
Good God, she was outside, lying in a dry, rocky field.
Her heart rapped painfully hard, confusion gripping her so tightly that she couldn’t think. She didn’t know the time; she didn’t even know the day.
Where am I and why?
Past the confusion, expanding fear brought a sob up her throat. But sobbing would require sound, and she was too scared to make any noise.
Forcing her sluggish body to move, she shifted slightly and peered around. She recognized a tree, a fence... Okay, so she was on the farm that she’d inherited from her grandmother. The hard earth, dry from a long August drought, sent bristly weeds sticking into her skin.
She looked down at herself and recognized the sleep shirt and cutoff shorts she’d changed into after her shower. Each minuscule movement made her head throb in agony and sent acid burning through her stomach. She put a hand over her mouth to stave off the sickness.
Off to the side, something moved in the encircling darkness.
Frozen, her eyes wide in an effort to see, Maxi held her breath and waited. Another breeze moved the branches of the tree, allowing a splinter of moonlight to penetrate.
Yellow eyes came her way—and she realized it was a black cat strolling cautiously toward her.
Relief brought a rush of hot tears to her eyes. “Oh, baby, you scared me.” The cat, recognizing her voice, sat beside her. The moonlight slid away, but the cat’s yellow eyes remained visible, unblinking.
Because she needed to feel something real, Maxi pulled him into her lap and stroked his long back. “What am I doing out here?”
No answer. She heard only the rustling of the wind and a rumbling purr from the cat.
What should I do? How far away was she from the farmhouse? Trying to figure it out left her more frustrated. Tears spilled over to her cheeks and she dashed them away. Crying now wouldn’t help her.
She had to move.
With an effort, still clutching the cat, she got to her feet and turned a slow, clumsy circle. Once she moved away from the tree, the scant moonlight helped orient her. She was near the two-acre pond. Judging by the tall reeds that grew at the back of the pond, she needed to circle around to the dock, then go up the hill.
Tunnel vision distorted what the night didn’t hide, forcing her to feel her way in near blindness. It seemed every third step she found a rock or thistle that cut into her heel or tender arch. Once, she tripped and almost fell. She did drop the cat, but the dear thing didn’t leave her. In fact, she used him as a guide, following close behind as he meandered up the slight incline to the back porch. He, at least, had no problem seeing his way.
The house, dark inside and out, appeared as a looming gray structure that left her decidedly uneasy. She felt as if she approached danger rather than shelter.
The darkness didn’t make sense. She always left on the outside lights in the evening. A power outage? Maybe during a storm, but they hadn’t had one of those in a good long while.
Besides, an outage couldn’t explain why she’d awakened outside.
Nervousness and fear coalesced into real terror. While she gulped in the clear evening air, she belatedly realized why.
Someone did something to me.
How, she didn’t know. Thinking made her head hurt worse. She summoned only a vague memory of drinking a glass of wine on her sofa while reading a book. That had to have been hours ago. What had happened after that? Folding her arms around her stomach, she again fought the sickness.
Could there be an intruder in her house? Oh God, oh God, oh God.
Pausing near the back porch, she strained to listen for unfamiliar sounds, steadying her shaky limbs with a hand planted on the outer wall. More cats joined her. The isolated farmhouse her grandmother had left her came with too many cats to count—and a distinct lack of nearby neighbors. At about eight miles away, Mr. Barstow would be the closest, but at seventy-nine, he wouldn’t be much help if a threat remained.
She was too far from town to walk anywhere, and her car keys were in the house.
What to do?
Desperation decided for her.
Her chest tight with dread, she crept up the porch, carefully turned the doorknob and found the back door unlocked, then slipped inside while making sure to keep the cats out. The last thing she needed was to try to distinguish their movements from any other sound.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears and her blood rushed, making her dizzy.
The back of the house opened into a short hall. Stairs to her right led up to the bedroom she used, a small study and a bathroom. To her left was the main floor bedroom, but it had been her grandmother’s, and other than packing up the belongings and keeping it clean of dust, she didn’t intrude into that room.
Her keys hung in the kitchen straight ahead, but her purse, which had her wallet, would be in the living room on the desk. She couldn’t leave without money.
Each creeping step sharpened her nervousness until a scream built in her throat. Gasping each silent breath, she lacked her usual grace, moving like someone suffering a killer hangover. In the dark, she groped around, being as silent as possible. She didn’t dare turn on a light; what if she did and she found someone standing there? She shuddered at the thought.
When she finally located her purse, her knees almost gave out. She hooked the strap over her head and across her body to ensure she wouldn’t drop it. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness so that now she could make out vague shadows.
Somehow that seemed even eerier.
Anxious to escape, she made her way back through to the kitchen. Praying she wouldn’t drop them, or even rattle them, she grabbed the keys in her fist. Next, she slipped her feet into the rubber boots she wore when going to the barn and, because she couldn’t stop shaking, she snagged the flannel shirt off the hook. She felt sick with trepidation by the time she got back out the door.
And she still didn’t feel safe.
Dawn cast a gray hue over the horizon, telling her it was almost morning. How long had she been outside? No, she wouldn’t tax herself by thinking about that now. Her number one priority was getting away until she could figure out what had happened.
She wanted to run to her car, but not only was she unsteady on her feet, she feared that once she started to run, hysteria would set in. She needed to stay calm, so she took one deliberate step after another, constantly checking her surroundings.
At her car, she hesitated. If anyone was watching for her, the light when she opened her door would give her away.
As to that, what if someone was in the car?
She dug out her cell phone and, willing to risk it, used the softer light to look into the front and back seat.
Thankfully empty.
All but diving into the driver’s seat and then locking the doors, she fumbled until she got the key in the lock and started the engine.
Breath held, she turned on the headlights.
A dozen sets of cat eyes reflected back at her, but she saw nothing more sinister than that. She quickly looked behind her, too, but saw only shifting shadows that further intimidated her.
She put the car in Drive and, because she remained a little muddled, carefully pressed on the gas. Down the long drive to the main gravel road, she drove slowly, well aware that the cats often showed up out of nowhere.
As she cleared the property line, she knew what she had to do.
He might not appreciate seeing her again, not after such a long absence without a single word from her, but she could explain that if necessary.
She knew where he worked. She knew he was more than capable of helping.
And thanks to her recent inheritance, she could even afford him.
Miles Dartman, heavyweight MMA fighter turned bodyguard, the sexiest, and most sexual, man she’d ever known, was about to be in her employ.
It was the only upside to a very rough two months.
* * *
MILES RODE THE private elevator in the Body Armor agency to his boss’s very upscale office. The early-morning summons left him confused and he didn’t like it. He’d been in the shower when she’d called at 7:00 a.m. Her message said only that he was to get there as quickly as possible. She had a surprise for him.
Of course, he’d called her back, but she’d told him she’d explain everything once he made it to the office.
He’d finished his extensive training only a few weeks ago, learning enhanced computer skills and practicing his shot with a variety of guns. He’d settled on the Glock as his preferred weapon, but he carried a few other toys, as well.
So far, he’d had two cases, both of them pretty routine. He’d helped to control pushy fans at a sporting event for a baseball player during a PR stint, and then he’d escorted a big-time author with a new movie deal to some local signings around the area.
Easy peasy.
He missed competing, damn it. Missed the cage and the physical exertion. If fate hadn’t played him a dirty hand, he’d be at it still, fighting his way to a championship belt.
The loss of his fight career was only one of many regrets he suffered lately, and as usual, he shoved it from his mind, determined to live in the here and now.
The elevator opened and he stepped out, going straight to Sahara Silver’s posh office. As he passed Enoch Walker, Sahara’s personal assistant, he said, “She’s expecting me.”
“Indeed she is,” Enoch said without looking up from his PC screen. “Go right on in.”
Did he detect an unusual note in Enoch’s voice? Hard to tell when Enoch stayed focused on his task.
Miles liked Enoch a lot. He was a little dude with a will of iron and mad organizational skills. Always friendly, incredibly smart and damned reliable.
Because the door was closed, Miles knocked, and a mere second later it opened, almost as if Sahara had been waiting for him.
Oozing satisfaction, she smiled. “Miles.”
He paused, suddenly on guard. So far, his boss had been something of an enigma. On the outside, she was a real looker, a shapely five feet eight inches of sass with glossy mink-brown hair, direct blue eyes and the demeanor of an Amazon. On the inside, she probably wrestled alligators and won. Always polished, always in killer heels and always sporting attitude.
“That’s a different smile for you,” he noted. “Why do I feel like I’m about to be offered as a sacrifice to angry gods?”
The smile widened, then she stepped back to allow him to enter. “Thank you for getting here so quickly.”
“You didn’t leave me much choice with that cryptic message.”
“I’m never cryptic.”
“No? Then what was so urgent that I—” That was when Miles saw her. His eyes flared as he noted her huddled position in a padded chair, a steaming cup of coffee held in both hands. “Maxi?”
When he said her name, she straightened but didn’t look at him.
“What are you doing here?” For two months, he’d waited for her, hoping she’d get in touch again.
She hadn’t.
From the start, she’d made it clear that he was a convenient booty call and nothing more. That should have worked great for him, but instead it had driven him nuts.
He’d finally, well, almost, put her out of his mind with the job switch and move to a new apartment. Now here she was, at Body Armor of all places.
A slow burn started, making him blind to Sahara standing close, at least until she said, “Your friend has had something of an ordeal.”
“And she came to me?” Umbrage churned, made sharper by other losses at the same time. He fashioned a sarcastic grin. “Surprising, since she walked away without a goodbye.”
Maxi looked at him then. Those dark eyes he’d always found so mesmerizing were now glazed and somehow troubled.
And they stared at him like a lifeline.
It dawned on him that she looked terrible, when he hadn’t thought that possible. One of the very few things she’d ever revealed to him was her occupation as a personal stylist, a job that seemed to suit her, since the lady had always looked very put together.
Not this time, though. Dried leaves clung to her long, tangled blond hair. Gone were the trendy clothes, and instead she wore an oversize flannel shirt, faded cutoffs and bright green rubber boots dotted with yellow ducks. The ridiculous clothes made her look endearing.
Concern sharpened his tone. “What the hell happened to you?”
When she didn’t answer, he went to one knee in front of her, resting his hands on her slim thighs. A few months ago they’d been in a similar position, both naked. But she hadn’t looked wounded then. No, she’d been soft and hot, moaning his name.
Blocking that memory seemed imperative. His tone didn’t lose the edge. “Maxi?”
Pale slender fingers curled around the cup of steaming coffee. She swallowed audibly, met his gaze again and muttered, “I’m not sure.”
“What does that mean?”
Sahara strolled up behind him. “Sometime before dawn, Ms. Nevar woke up in her yard, feeling very sick and with no memory of how she got there.”
Miles looked back at Sahara, his voice stern with surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“She was a fair distance from her farmhouse but made it to the back porch. Needless to say, she wasn’t keen on going back inside, not without knowing what might await her. The house was dark and her property is isolated with no close neighbors.”
Miles sat back on his heels in disbelief. He didn’t know jack shit about her property, but he put that aside for the moment. “Drunk?” He hadn’t figured her for a big drinker, but then, what did he really know about her—except that, for a time, she’d enjoyed using him for sex.
As if to convince him, Maxi stared into his eyes. “I’d only had one glass of wine. At least, that’s all I can remember.”
All she remembered? “Could you have drunk enough to black out?”
She took that like a physical hit, flinching away from him and making him feel like an asshole.
Brisk now, Sahara said, “Despite being disoriented, she had the forethought, and guts I might add, to enter the unlit house to get her purse, car keys and those adorable boots.”
Adorable? They belonged on a ten-year-old, not a grown woman.
“Staying there was out of the question, and she wasn’t sure where else to go.” Sahara propped a hip on the desk. “Since she remembered that you work here, this is where she came.”
So she finally had a use for him again? No, he wouldn’t be that easy, not this time. But he had questions, a million of them.
Looking back at his boss, Miles said, “Give us a minute, will you?”
She smiled down at him. “Not on your life.”
He recognized that inflexible expression well enough. Sahara Silver did what she wanted, when she wanted. The lady was born to be a boss. In medieval times, she probably would have carried a whip. Still, he tried. “If she’s here to see me—”
“She’s here to hire you.”
Hire him? He turned back to Maxi and got her timid nod. Skeptical, he clarified, “As a bodyguard?”
“Yes.”
Since when did a woman need to be protected from a hangover? Did he want to be involved with that?
Now that he worked at the Body Armor agency, did he have a choice?
Sahara ruled with a small iron fist and she, at least, seemed taken with Maxi’s far-fetched tale. If Sahara took the contract, he might not have much say in it.
And who was he kidding? Much as he’d like to deny it, territorial tendencies had sparked back to life the second he saw Maxi again. In his gut, he knew he was happy—even relieved—to again have her within reach.
Maybe because she was the one who got away, or the one who hadn’t been all that hung up on him in the first place.
His ego was still stung, that was all.
It didn’t help that her disinterest had piled on at a low point in his life, making her rejection seem more important.
She’d come on to him hot and heavy, they’d gotten together three separate times, had phenomenal sex that, at least to him, had felt more than physical, and then she’d booked. She’d guarded her privacy more than her body, and other than her name and occupation, he hadn’t known much about her, not where she worked, or lived, or anything about her family...
As to that, maybe getting smashed and passing out in her yard were regular things for her. If so, he’d count himself lucky that she’d cut ties when she had.
Yet, somehow, that didn’t fit with his impressions of her.
First things first. He had to get a handle on what had actually happened. “Where is this farmhouse?”
“In Burlwood.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Few people have. It’s a really small town forty-five minutes south of here, close to the Kentucky border.”
With that answered, he went on to other details. “So you woke up outside?”
“Yes.”
“In your front yard?”
She shook her head. “A good distance away, on the far side of the pond.”
“Like a little decorative pond?”
“It’s two acres.”
Wow. Okay, so not close to the house, then. “How long were you out there?”
Her brows pinched together and her hands tightened. “I honestly don’t know. The last thing I remember is opening a book to read.” She drew in a deep, shaky breath. “That’s it. Just reading. Then I woke up with a splitting headache, some bug bites and gravel digging into my spine.”
“What were you doing before opening the book?”
Staring down at her hands, she gave it some thought. “I remember cleaning the kitchen.”
“Before that?”
She shook her head. “It was an all-day job.”
Who spent all day cleaning one room? He didn’t know Maxi’s habits, but maybe she’d never done any cleaning if tidying up dinner felt like a big chore to her. Hell, all he really knew about her was that she made him laugh, he enjoyed talking to her and she burned him up in bed.
Yeah, not a good time for that particular memory.
“Did you have company?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You don’t remember?”
“I can’t remember much of anything.”
“Then how do you know—”
“No one comes out to the farmhouse,” she snapped. “But I already told you, if someone did, I do not remember it.” Temper brought her forward in her seat. “I can’t remember anything. Especially not how I ended up sleeping on the ground in the middle of the night!”
Okay, so he had to admit, all in all that sounded like more than alcohol. Hell, had someone actually drugged her? If so, how and when? Most likely on a date.
Or had she trolled another bar?
Narrowing his eyes, Miles said, “I know you haven’t been to Rowdy’s lately.” Where they’d met. It was a nice place, small and with enough regulars that spiking a drink wouldn’t go unnoticed. That brought up another idea. “Switched to a less reputable bar?”
Still breathing hard from her rant, she settled back, and after visibly collecting herself, she shook her head. “No.”
That clipped voice didn’t deter him from his questions. “Any boyfriends been around?”
She gave another sharp shake of her head. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“No one?”
Glaring, she repeated, “No one.”
“Did you piss off your newest bed partner, then?”
“Miles,” Sahara chided mildly.
“It’s a legitimate question.”
Maxi scowled at him. “No bed partner.”
“You’re telling me that in the two months since I’ve seen you—”
“There’s been no one.” Belligerent now, she muttered, “Not since you, and you were a long shot. Sort of a last hurrah.”
She kept saying the craziest things. “I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.”
Sahara interrupted with “Look at yourself, Miles. With all her new obligations, she obviously didn’t mean to get involved, but then, I’m sure she didn’t expect to meet you.”
“Exactly,” Maxi stated, as if vindicated.
His temples started to throb. “Exactly what?”
Helpfully, Sahara explained, “Oh, sweetie, you were supposed to be a one-night stand. Not a repeat performance.”
Maxi nodded. “But what woman could resist coming back?”
Raising her hand, Sahara said, “I could, but then, I’m used to being surrounded by—” she flapped her hand at Miles as she searched for the words “—by temptation. Body Armor is the place to go for sexier protection, you know.” Then sotto voce, she added to Maxi, “I’m trying to cement that brand for the agency. So far, I’m meeting resistance.”
Sahara’s typical blunt approach might have insulted someone else; after all, she now knew something very personal and private about him. He couldn’t blame Maxi for sharing, not when Sahara had a way of getting the details out of people. Plus, Maxi was obviously out of sorts, therefore easily susceptible to Sahara’s not-so-subtle digging. At the moment, though, offense was the last thing he felt. Everyone at the agency was used to Sahara’s informal and often intrusive manner. It went hand in hand with a lot of caring, making her a most unusual but likable boss.
After rolling his eyes at Sahara, Miles turned to Maxi. He wanted to believe everything she said, he really did. He’d even admit that she looked sincere.
Problem was, he knew her sex drive matched his own, and he sure as hell hadn’t been celibate.
Maybe this time she’d hooked up with the wrong man. Had she played around and then tried to call it quits, but unlike Miles, the new guy knew where to find her and, in a sick way, had insisted?
He hated that thought. His natural instinct was to protect women, never to abuse them. His reaction to Maxi had honed that instinct to a razor’s edge.
Still, facts were facts. Why would a total stranger drug her only to leave her outside? That didn’t make any sense.
But a pissed-off lover? That at least explained a motive, if the guy had only wanted to fuck with her.
Miles gently lifted her chin. Caution filled her big dark eyes, but she didn’t pull away. Checking for any other signs of injury, he tipped her face first one way, then the other. He didn’t see any bruises, but that didn’t mean much. He hated to ask, but he had to know. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
Her tongue touched over her dry lips. “I don’t think so.”
Did she understand what he was asking? “I mean—”
“I know what you mean.” She spared a brief glance for Sahara, then lowered her voice. “I don’t think anyone...touched me. Not that way.”
Matching his voice to hers, he whispered, “You checked?”
She nodded. “As best I could. I mean, I was still wearing my shorts. And my...my panties weren’t twisted or anything.” She bit her bottom lip. “If anything like that did happen, I’d know, right?”
“I assume so.” Miles wanted to check for himself, but he could just imagine how that’d go over.
Sahara probably wouldn’t give him the privacy for it anyway.
So if she had been drugged—then what? She’d have to open up first instead of denying any involvement, but if he could find the guy, he’d annihilate him, no problem.
Because he didn’t want this to get personal, he told himself he’d feel the same for any woman. “You’re sure you don’t remember anything else? No other clues? No one I should check out?”
Nodding at Sahara, Maxi said, “Nothing that she hasn’t already told you.” Shivering again, she sipped the hot coffee.
It wasn’t cold in the office. In fact, beneath his hands her thighs felt warm. Reaction, then. To the upset of thinking she’d been roofied, or because she had been roofied?
The urge to gather her close strained him. Only the hard reminder that she’d left his life as quickly as she’d entered it kept him somewhat impersonal. “We’ll find out what happened.”
Relief washed over her, making her go limp. She looked down, gulped a few quivering breaths and nodded. “Thank you.”
The tears in her voice nearly undid him.
It must have affected Sahara, too, because even though she’d refused to give them privacy moments before, she now said softly, “I’ll be right back,” and then she slipped from the room, closing the door behind her.
Silence stretched out.
As Miles watched, Maxi banked the desperation and forced herself to calm. It surprised him when she said, “You’ve gotten bigger.”
He lifted a brow. Now that they had a moment alone, that was all she had to say to him? Or was she just hoping for a distraction? “I’m not fighting anymore. Now I eat what I want.”
“But you’re not heavy.” Her warm gaze moved over his shoulders. “You’re still as chiseled as ever. Just...bigger. Bulkier.”
He shrugged. “True.” He’d had plenty of time to exercise and lift weights, especially since the Body Armor agency kept a state-of-the-art gym with every type of equipment a fitness buff could want. After all, bodyguards had to stay in shape. Plus, beating a heavy bag helped rid him of his anger.
Or so he’d told himself.
At the moment, the anger seemed dangerously close to the surface. “A lot can change in two months.”
Guilt brought color to her face, so she didn’t appear as pale. She turned away before saying, “I should apologize—”
“You made it clear there was no commitment.” That was usually how he liked it. Just not this time.
“I know, but... It’s just that I had so much to deal with and...” She blew out a breath. “I was tempted to lean on you.”
He waited, but when she said nothing else, he frowned. “That would have been so bad?”
She choked. “You can’t tell me you’d have wanted that.”
“I don’t think you have a clue what I wanted.” Mostly because she’d never bothered to ask.
“Look at yourself,” she said, almost in accusation.
Sahara had said the same, and he still didn’t know what it meant.
“You can have anyone you want. I had no reason to think you’d want me, especially with all my...chaos.”
Chaos? He started to ask, but she cut him off.
“I figured it was better to go before I got rejected.”
With quiet anger, Miles said, “I wouldn’t have rejected you.”
“You can’t know that when you don’t understand what my life is like.”
He’d already said too much, more than he’d meant to, so Miles shook his head. “Suit yourself. But now that you’ve explained and had your coffee, you need to go to the hospital.”
She groaned.
“If what you said is true—”
Insulted, she asked, “You still doubt me?”
“—then you know someone probably roofied you.” Yeah, he had doubts. Too much of her story didn’t add up. If she claimed to have an angry ex, or if she’d been in a club, it’d make more sense. Either way, they’d know the truth soon enough.
Until then, he had an opportunity to turn the tables on her. He’d be accessible, he’d help her, but she’d be the one left wanting.
Sahara reentered with a soft throw blanket. Miles had no idea where she’d found it, but she handed it to Maxi.
Miles drew it over and around her shoulders. “Who would want to hurt you?”
She thanked him, then said, “I have no idea. I don’t have any close neighbors, no recent involvements.” Her gaze flashed to his. “Well, except for you.”
“That was months ago and we weren’t all that involved.”
She looked ready to toss the coffee in his face. “If I go to the hospital, someone will recognize my name and tell my brother.”
“Your brother?”
“He works in the ER. Nevar isn’t exactly a common last name, so he’ll know I’m there, and then he’s going to ask a lot of questions I can’t answer, and probably try to insist I should sell the house.”
Every word out of her mouth told him something new about her. Her definition of “chaos” was starting to make sense. “Maxi—”
“I’m feeling better.”
She wanted to avoid her brother that badly? Or maybe none of it was true and she didn’t want it proved.
Trying to be the voice of reason, Miles lifted her wrist to show her how her hands still trembled. “Better,” he agreed, because she was no longer curled in on herself, “but still pretty shaken. You haven’t regained all your color, and your eyes aren’t completely clear. You have to get checked.”
Sahara spoke up. “Miles is right, but I can offer an alternative. Body Armor has a private physician available to clients with special circumstances. I believe you qualify. You’d see her at a very secure, nearby location. Does that suit you?”
Nodding, Maxi said, “That would be so much better, thank you.”
Miles stared at Sahara. “You’re just full of surprises.”
“You’ll learn everything as we go along.” She strode around her desk to her seat, saying, “I assume you’re happy to take the case?”
“Happy?” He snorted. “No.”
She arched her brows. “But you’ll do it?”
Pretending to think about it, he gave Maxi a long look. “That depends.”
Exasperated, Maxi stood.
Since he didn’t move, she ended up very close to him, his face aligned with her hips.
As he slowly stood, too, he said, “You’ve probably figured out that we have a history together?”
“Yes,” Sahara said, her tone dry. “I did pick up on that.”
“An intimate history,” he unnecessarily stated.
Maxi stiffened. “This has nothing to do with that.”
“No?” Miles wouldn’t let her rile him. After two months of missing her, he’d finally resigned himself to never seeing her again. Yet here she was, not only seeking him out, but in trouble.
Sahara rolled her eyes. “I understand this situation is unique, so please, Miles, there’s no need to explain further.”
“Well, let me explain,” Maxi said. “I came here to hire him, not just to get him back in my bed.”
Not just to get him in bed? Bemused, Miles stared down at her. She said that as if she hoped to accomplish both. “Since you’re the one who kicked me out of it, I didn’t think you had.”
Her back went so straight she looked ready to crack. With a rush of heat flushing her face, she plunked the coffee cup down on the desk. “I didn’t kick you out,” she stated, her hands fisted. “We were casual at best—”
“By your insistence.” To Sahara, who had paused with a finger over the intercom button to listen to their byplay, he said, “I didn’t know she had a doctor for a brother, or lived in a farmhouse, or that she had property. Hell, I barely knew her name.”
Maxi gasped.
He continued anyway. “No personal questions were allowed.”
“I never heard you complain!”
He’d complained plenty...in his own head. From the beginning, Maxi had struck a chord. The sex was unparalleled, yet after having her only three times, she’d cut ties.
He’d wanted more.
Apparently she hadn’t.
On only one night had he managed to break down a few of her walls...and that was the last he’d heard from her. He’d awakened the next morning to an empty bed.
“If I’d wanted to see her again,” Miles said, keeping Maxi’s gaze trapped in his, “I had no way of getting hold of her. That was her plan, of course.”
Sahara smiled. “She’s here now. I imagine you’ll get to know her quite well during this assignment.” She pressed the button and said to Enoch, “Get hold of Dr. Brummel and tell her we need an appointment immediately. Let me know as soon as you have a time arranged.” With that done, she took her seat, steepled her fingers and looked at each of them. “As Miles put it, he already knows you intimately, and because this will be a job that requires him to stick close to you, that’s bound to be a benefit. Who’d want a complete stranger underfoot?”
Maxi looked away without replying.
“While it’s true I like to offer sexier agents, actual intimacy with the client is generally taboo—”
Miles snorted. “The horse is out of the barn on that one.”
“—but I’m feeling so much animosity that I’m not sure if it’d even be an issue.”
Still Maxi stayed silent, not issuing a single objection. So did she want him back in her bed?
Did he want to be there?
Damn straight. Knowing that this time it’d be on his terms only made the idea hotter.
Unaware of his mental ramblings, Sahara asked, “Is there going to be a problem with the two of you getting along?”
Now that he had the bare bones of a plan, Miles said with confidence, “Not for me,” as if he could be totally impartial.
Ha! He could deny it all he liked, but in his gut, he knew he’d already staked a claim to Maxi. Even though it appeared she’d gotten into trouble with another man, he still wanted her.
The chemistry was as strong as ever. He knew it. He felt it.
Given that she’d noted small changes in his physique, he suspected she felt it, too.
He hadn’t been good enough to continue seeing, but now she wanted him working for her, and possibly more. He was definitely the safer bet for her, since he’d never coerced a woman in his life, and he sure as hell wouldn’t drug anyone.
Not liking the idea of her with another man, he cut off that thought.
“I realize this is a horrible imposition,” Maxi said, staring up at him. “The thing is, I came to you specifically because I know you and I trust you—”
“There’s more about me that you don’t know,” he corrected. “But you’re right to trust me.”
She looked ready to argue that point, but instead she rested against him, her forehead on his sternum, her small body leaning into his.
CHAPTER TWO (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
SURPRISED BY THE sudden affection—or was it simple need for comfort?—Miles put his arms around her. She felt soft and warm, and damn, he couldn’t help but react. The stirring came from deep inside him, along with a need to coddle her. “Hey, you okay, babe?”
Nodding, she whispered, “Honest to God, Miles, I don’t have the energy to fight.” She moved even closer. “Someone did something to me. I don’t know who it was, or why, and it’s so blasted scary. All I know for sure is that it wasn’t you, because you would never hurt me.”
She’d rejected him, so why did her trust make him feel so damn good? “No, I wouldn’t.” He was glad she understood that, but he was also pissed at himself for upsetting her more after what she’d been through.
Even if she lied about seeing another guy or being at a bar, he couldn’t bear seeing her like this.
They’d hash out everything, but not until she was in fighting form. “I’m sorry.”
She tipped her face up to his. “That’s what I was going to say.”
He pulled a leaf from her hair. “I’ve never seen you messy before.” It made her somehow seem more vulnerable.
“Well, get used to it. I mean, I’m not usually this messy. But with the farmhouse now, and all those cats, it’s tough to stay stylish.”
“Farmhouse?” he asked. And cats?
“I inherited it from my grandmother.”
He wanted to know everything about her, and now he had his chance. It was a shitty situation, but it was all he had, so he’d work with it. “It’s a nice place?”
“Shoot no. It’s a pit.”
So she hadn’t wanted him to see it...yet some other guy knew where to find her? Leaning closer to her ear, he said, “You should have come to me privately. Body Armor isn’t cheap.”
“I know. I can afford it.”
“Yes, she can,” Sahara said, proving she hadn’t missed a thing. “I already discussed all that with her while we were waiting for you to arrive.”
With his arms still around Maxi, his hands moving up and down her narrow back, Miles glanced at Sahara. “All what?”
“Ms. Nevar not only inherited from her grandmother, but her mother, also.”
In one morning, Sahara had learned more about Maxi than he had after sleeping with her on three separate occasions. “Does that mean your mother passed away, too?”
“Yes.”
To lose two people so close together was truly tragic. “When did they die?”
“Not long before I met you.” She snuggled in again.
Damn, that felt right, always had, and for now at least, he had the excuse he needed to hold her. Sure, he was still pissed. She’d gotten him interested and then disappeared on him, and apparently had still been playing the field. Since he had, too, he’d feel like a hypocrite. Only, he hadn’t been the one to call it quits with her.
Given that she’d suffered the loss of two family members before hooking up with him, Miles wondered if he’d only been a distraction for her. A way to cope with her grief. That would explain why she’d been so withdrawn, why she’d given herself physically while holding back emotionally.
It didn’t explain why she’d jumped from his bed to the bed of some nameless asshole who’d doped her.
Sahara asked, “Were your mother and grandmother together when they...?”
Maxi shook her head. “Mom died under anesthesia during a procedure a few weeks before my grandma.”
“And your grandmother?” Miles asked.
“She fell down her steps and suffered a severe head injury. No one found her until it was too late.”
“Damn.” He stroked up and down her back, noticing that he could span her shoulder blades with one hand. The scents of earth, warm skin, shampoo and woman filled his head. “I’m sorry.”
She tilted back to look up at him again, her chocolate eyes bruised and worried. “There are reasons I didn’t tell you any of this.”
Right, because she hadn’t planned to stick around. Now that she needed him, would she finally open up? It wasn’t the time to press her. “We can talk about all that after we’ve gotten you settled.”
“But that’s just it. I’m not going to be settled for a while.” Stepping away from him, steadier now, she straightened the throw over her shoulders. “I don’t know what’s going on at the farmhouse, but I don’t think it’s going to be resolved in a day, or even a week. I’ve already had the county police out there for other incidents, and they’ve found nothing. I can’t keep pestering them when I have no proof of anything.”
Maybe the new house had spooked her. Unfamiliar places could do that. You heard and saw things that you didn’t recognize. So far her issues didn’t require a bodyguard, but he’d be happy to personally ensure her safety. “You didn’t need to go through the agency. I could just take a look around—”
Maxi put her shoulders back again. “I want to hire you to stay with me so that someone else is there when things happen. And something will happen. It always does. But I can’t ask you to do that unless I’m paying.”
Because she didn’t want to get personally involved? Too bad. It was his turn to set the tone of their relationship. “What kind of things?”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“Do you want to sit back down?” By the second, she looked stronger, but it still worried him. If what she said was true, every minute they waited to see the doctor could be critical.
“Not a bad idea,” Sahara said. “It shouldn’t be long before Dr. Brummel can see you, but you should rest until then.”
Maxi shook her head as she paced. “I need to keep moving.”
Staying out of her way, Miles leaned against Sahara’s desk and folded his arms. “Okay, then let’s start with what happened last night. You said other things had happened, but waking up outside, the loss of memory, that was a first?” God, he hoped so. If she’d gone through that before and hadn’t come to him—
“That’s the only time it happened or I’d have been here sooner.” She hugged her arms around herself. “I was dealing okay with everything else. Sort of, anyway. But last night... I don’t ever want to go through that again.”
“You won’t.” He’d see to it.
Sahara got up to refill Maxi’s coffee. “What kind of other things?”
She gratefully accepted the coffee. “I know some of it will sound odd, like I’m imagining things. I swear I’m not. There’ve been sounds that startled me in the middle of the night and left me spooked. Weird noises, not like the house settling. I know that happens. This was more like...someone was actually in the house, walking around. Only, when I check, I can never find anything, and the doors and windows are always still locked.”
He could think of a dozen ways to explain that. “Could be a raccoon in the attic.”
Maxi shook her head. “No, I have my fair share of issues with critters, believe me. But I’m pretty sure raccoons can’t drive.”
Sahara and Miles looked at each other.
Maxi started pacing again. “I woke up one morning and my car was parked in a different spot from where I’d left it. I know because I always park it in the same place.”
Houses made noises. He could discount that, especially since even she said she hadn’t found anything. But this? “Someone moved your car?”
“It didn’t move itself.”
“Could you have left it in gear or something?” Sahara asked. “Was it on a hill?”
“It was moved from the driveway facing the house to the side yard turned away from the pond. Not on a hill.”
“And you’re sure you didn’t—”
“What?” she challenged, glaring at Miles. “Stagger in drunk and park in a stupid place that didn’t make any sense and then—of course, because I was so drunk—not remember it?”
He’d have to see the area before he could come up with an explanation for that one. “I wasn’t accusing you of anything.”
“I think you were.” She glared a second more, then turned away. “Ever since then I’ve kept it locked.”
“You probably should have been doing that anyway.”
Another red-eyed glare. “Sometimes things in the barn are rearranged from how I put them. Equipment and stuff.” She paused by the window to look out. “One morning when I got up, I found the water turned on full blast in the kitchen sink. It had overflowed all over the floor.”
“That’s what you were cleaning?”
“No, that was a week ago. Last night I was doing a bigger job, scrubbing everything, including the oven. But I’m having a hard time getting ahead when a bunch of random, weird things keep happening.”
Sahara sat back in her chair. “Well, if I believed in the paranormal, I’d say you have a ghost.”
Maxi rubbed one eye tiredly. “I don’t believe in ghosts, so I need to find out what’s really going on. I didn’t know where to go. There’s no one else I trust. I didn’t want to bother you, Miles, but waking up on the ground, with everything so pitch-black I could barely figure out where I was, well, I don’t mind telling you, it scared me half to death.” She shuddered. “I haven’t been back to the house yet, but I do need to go there because the cats will be waiting to be fed.”
Miles slowly nodded. She’d said a lot, but he asked only one question. “Cats?”
* * *
AFTER ASKING ENOCH to take Maxi to the waiting area right outside her office, Sahara requested a private word with Miles.
“Business talk,” she told Maxi. “I’ll only keep him a moment.”
Miles waited, arms crossed, as Sahara closed the door, then sat her shapely tush on the edge of her desk, braced her hands flat behind her and crossed her long legs at the ankles.
After a lengthy, assessing look, she asked, “What do you think?”
He didn’t bother pretending to misunderstand. “That she’s leaving out major chunks of the story.”
Sahara nodded. “Not a lot of that makes sense, does it?”
“Almost none of it,” Miles agreed. “I think she was drugged, but the scenario she laid out is tough to swallow.”
“You don’t buy that a stranger came to the house, drugged her for reasons unbeknownst to her, carried her outside, laid her gently in the yard, then left without taking advantage of her vulnerable state?”
He snorted. “Do you?”
She gave it some thought before answering. “I don’t know. It’s almost too bizarre not to be true. She’s definitely scared. That’s genuine.”
Yeah, and he hated it. “I’ll figure out what’s going on. She’ll have to fess up, though.” Once she did, he’d take charge.
Of everything.
“You want her to ‘fess up’ about other men, I presume? She said she hasn’t been involved with anyone since you.”
Miles wasn’t buying it. “Why would a total stranger want to bother her?”
“Now, there’s the big question—motive.” After a thoughtful moment, Sahara said, “It’s hard to believe she kicked you out of bed.”
Shit. Stiffening, Miles grumbled, “I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
“I mean,” she continued, “look at you. You’re such a specimen.”
One thing he’d learned while working at Body Armor: Sahara Silver had a twisted sense of humor, and she didn’t mind bludgeoning others with it, even her employees. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Not a single blush, huh?” She feigned disappointment. “I suppose you have to realize the impact you have.”
Impact? He must not have had much, given that Maxi had walked away. “Knock it off already. This is serious.”
“Very serious, if what she’s said is true. What I find interesting is that you appear to be jealous of this other man that she may or may not have been involved with, and that shocks me. After all, she came to you.”
“To hire me.” Not just because she wanted him back in her bed.
Not because he’d had a damned impact.
“You don’t like those dynamics, with her being your employer of sorts? Well, consider this scenario. What if some psycho saw her at...say the grocery store? Or the gas station? She’s an attractive woman. Even in her ensemble today, I could see that.”
“She’s beautiful.” And sexy as sin, and hot, and—
“And what if our psycho followed her home and realized she lived all alone, with no close neighbors?”
His heart started beating harder. “You think that’s a possibility?”
“You know, my brother practically raised me here at the agency. I’ve seen so many wicked, unbelievable things that I know anything is possible.”
Everyone believed Sahara’s brother was dead—except Sahara. She’d taken over running the agency, but Miles didn’t think she’d ever give up looking for her brother. “You believe that scenario, even if the supposed psycho didn’t do anything more than move Maxi from inside to outside?” How did that make sense?
“Who knows what’s in the mind of a lunatic?” Sahara brushed back her long hair. “Perhaps that was just his first salvo. He could be building up to something, gaining courage as he goes along.”
“Fuck.” He really hated that idea.
“Perhaps,” she continued, “he’s hoping to weaken her resolve, and then he can swoop in to be her hero.”
“Not happening.” That’d be his first rule. As long as he was hanging around to play protector, no other dude would be horning in.
Eyeing his clenched hands and aggressive stance, Sahara smiled with approval. “I think you care for her, Miles, or you wouldn’t be all grumpy instead of your usual jovial self. More than that, I think she cares for you or she wouldn’t have come to you when she needed help. I think,” she stressed, “that she has a rather fantastical story to tell, one that many people wouldn’t believe, but she’s trusting you with it and that should count for a lot.” She straightened and walked around to her chair in a clear dismissal. “But then, what do I know? I just run this place.”
* * *
“PRIVATE,” MILES STATED as he steered down the long, bumpy gravel drive lined by concealing trees and shrubs. The woods hid the house until you turned the last curve where the cleared land spread out in all its lacking glory.
He parked where she indicated, his gaze scouring the house, barn and pond. Without comment, he came around to open her door. She’d already stepped out, and of course, the cats knew it.
Miles stared in awe as the animals converged from everywhere. They dropped out of trees, crawled out from under bushes, ran up from the pond. There had to be thirty of them currently fascinated by having a new face around. As she’d told him, she didn’t get visitors.
The majority of the cats were black, a few white, a few mixed and a few yellow. Some were huge, others petite. Long and lean, chubby and squat. They were all adorable.
They’d been her grandmother’s beloved pets and now they depended on her.
Many were feral, coming only close enough to eat the food put out for them twice a day. Others would twine around her legs, and some insisted on being held.
As Miles gazed around at the property, he drew a deep breath. “The air smells really good here.”
“Fresh country air.” She enjoyed it, too. But now?
She looked over at the small farmhouse she’d inherited. One and a half stories with a painted deck off the upstairs bedroom that created a cover for the front porch below. Every morning she had her coffee on that porch and listened to the birds singing, watched the deer at the pond, and of course, she petted cats. Despite the work that needed to be done, she could truly love it here.
If it weren’t for the menace.
Staring at the house now, she felt dread go up her spine. No one will drive me away. Her grandmother had trusted her, and by God, she wouldn’t let her down.
Of course, she felt a lot safer now with Miles at her side. She gestured toward the barn. “The cat food is in there in a big barrel. I should take care of that first.”
He nodded, his critical gaze going over her as if looking for signs of exhaustion or illness. “You want to wait here?”
“Nope.” Determined as she might be to stand her ground, for now she didn’t want to be alone.
He looked divided, his gaze going back to the dark barn. “It might be better—”
“I go where you go.”
The way he studied her face again, she almost squirmed. “All right.” He offered his hand. “Let’s go.”
She hesitated. Being close to him did crazy things to her. His hands, especially, sparked memories of all the ways he’d touched her, encouraged her, driven her wild. She caught her breath, feeling heat blossom.
She still couldn’t believe she’d forced herself on him in the office, making him hold her when he’d been clear that he was angry with her.
But, God, she’d needed his touch. She’d needed to feel safe. So she’d swallowed her pride and, despite his obvious—and justified—annoyance with her, she’d borrowed his strength.
And he’d let her. Even clearly irritated with her, he’d been supportive, going with her to the doctor’s, treating her gently.
Much as he’d always treated her before she’d run away.
Hopefully, once she explained to him, he’d understand. Not that she could recapture what she’d lost...
With his hand still outstretched, Miles said, “It’s not an invitation to get naked, Maxi. It’s just holding hands.”
No, for her and her sensitized nerve endings, it was so much more.
Grumbling to herself for being a fool, she slipped her hand into his, and all those amazing contrasts converged on her. She was of average height for a woman, but Miles was such a big guy, so ripped and solid and capable that she felt petite in comparison.
The way his strong fingers curved so warmly around hers seemed so blasted right. He shortened his long stride to match hers, considerate without having to think about it.
Being here with him, she could almost convince herself that things would be okay. He was that type of guy, always upbeat with a crooked smile that melted a person’s heart.
Until today, she’d never seen him annoyed.
“You’re quiet,” he said, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. “Holding up okay?”
“Yes.” After Dr. Brummel confirmed that she’d been drugged, she’d been badly shaken. She’d known, but still, she’d been hoping for another explanation.
There hadn’t been one—and she still didn’t know why.
“It’s okay if you’re not, you know. The doc said you could be feeling the effects another twenty-four hours.”
“My head’s clearer by the minute.” They’d driven back to her farm with the windows open and the rush of fresh air entering Miles’s SUV had helped to clear out the cobwebs.
Most of her recovery, however, had to do with having Miles at her side. Fear, she’d quickly learned, was debilitating.
“Okay, then,” he said. “Cats first, then the house, and then we talk.”
She dreaded going back inside, but because she knew she’d have to, she only nodded. I’m not alone now.
From the day she’d met Miles, she’d wanted him. It was like a craving. He’d smiled at her across the bar, and she’d been ready to say a resounding “yes!” to a question he hadn’t yet asked. In fact, only a few hours after their first hello, she was the one to ask, “Want to go someplace more private?”
Luckily his apartment hadn’t been far from the bar.
She didn’t blame herself for falling hard at the first sight of him. Late twenties, with dark brown hair, green eyes showcased by thick dark lashes, and that endearing smile... What woman wouldn’t go after him?
Even better than his face was his body. Tall, broad in the chest and shoulders, carved with muscle. It boggled her mind that one man could be so incredibly perfect. He used to be a professional athlete and it showed. In the two months since she’d last seen him, he’d bulked up even more. Now he looked downright imposing.
But it was his personality that had really done her in. She’d wanted, needed, a physical distraction from her troubles.
Miles had turned out to be so much more.
“What are you thinking?”
That I was a fool for walking away. She couldn’t tell him that, though. “Just wondering what you must think, seeing all the cats and dead grass and the repairs that need to be made.”
“I’m thinking you have a lot to tell me. But if you need to nap, I can wait until tonight.”
“No, I don’t want to sleep.” She didn’t know how she’d ever sleep peacefully again.
Someone drugged me.
It kept popping up in her brain, kick-starting the paralyzing panic all over again. As if he understood, Miles tightened his fingers around hers, and that helped her shake it off. She concentrated on looking around the grounds while leading him to the barn.
The building sat a good distance behind the house, opposite of the pond, still sturdy but in need of paint. “Grandma used to keep a horse, cow and two goats in here. The farm animals were gone before I inherited the property, though.”
“And a bunch of cats took their place?”
“Seems like. That’s how I got the house, you know. My grandmother knew no one else would stay and take care of them. She left me a letter with her will, saying she was counting on me to do my duty.”
“Your duty, huh?”
She didn’t want to think about that either. “I’ve been catching them and getting them fixed. See the cats with notched ears? That means they’ve either been spayed or neutered, and they get a general checkup at the same time so they get their shots and checked for ear mites and fleas.”
“Must be expensive.”
“It just takes a lot of time. Dr. Miller, the vet, is giving me a discount, since I have so many cats here. He said my grandma would bring them in every so often, but it was a losing battle. She’d catch three, and at the same time another would have a litter of four.”
Miles turned thoughtful. “You take the cats to him, or he comes here?”
“I take them to him. I told you, no one comes here.”
“How far away is he?”
“It’s a twenty-minute drive. Once you get on the main road, it’s not far at all.” She pointed in the distance. “Opposite direction of how we came, and it’s the nearest civilization.”
“Not sure any of this feels all that civilized.”
She grinned. “Right. There’s a grocery and hardware store, a bank. The vet. Things like that. If you want to go to a movie theater or do any real shopping, it’s forty minutes back the way we came.”
“The cats are everywhere,” Miles noted, but not with disgust, not like he thought she ought to run them all off, or worse, destroy them.
She saw that he, too, was busy looking around for signs of danger. Neither of them saw anything but the beautiful trees and the brown grass in need of rain, the pond and the birds.
It was so beautiful.
And somehow treacherous.
The barn door stood ajar. Before Miles could wonder about it, she explained. “I leave it like that. Some of the cats get in there to sleep.” When she reached for the door, Miles held her back.
“Let me.” He gave it a good pull. As the heavy door swung out, sunlight poured in, slanting across golden straw, sending the shadows to recede. Dust motes floated in the air and earthy scents escaped. He stepped in cautiously, giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the dimmer interior.
They both jumped when a feral cat leaped from the loft and shot out past them.
Hand to her heart, Maxi said, “Blast, they get me every time.”
He laughed but said, “You have reason to be nervous and I’m not used to cats.”
“They appear at the darnedest times.” Like when she was trying to sneak into her own house.
Maxi sighed. She was tired, frazzled and ravenous. More than anything, she wanted breakfast—even though it was now time for lunch—and then she wanted a shower. Knowing someone had touched her made her feel dirty. She wanted to scrub from head to toes in hot water.
Yet nothing would get done until she’d taken care of the cats. They depended on her, and they looked disappointed that she hadn’t yet fed them. “There’s the barrel. I have to screw the lid on tight or the raccoons open it and it’s a free-for-all. Every bit of the food would be gone in one day.”
Grinning, Miles said, “I never pictured you on a farm dealing with a herd of cats and raccoons.”
She waved a hand down at her hideous outfit. “Yeah, I never pictured it either.”
“Actually, you look cute.”
Her incredulous gaze shot to his, but he didn’t notice as he wrestled the lid off the barrel. He managed it a whole lot easier than she usually did, but then, he was made of muscle.
Cats had followed them in, and now more gathered as he opened their food source. Meows filled the air. It was tough to move with so many animals twining around their legs.
After he almost tripped, Miles said, “Impatient, aren’t they?”
“I’m late.”
“What time do you usually feed them?”
“By seven thirty or so at the latest. Generally I feed them, then get my coffee and sit on the porch to enjoy the morning before I get started on chores.”
“Somehow, that doesn’t sound awful.”
“No,” she agreed. “It was actually a nice routine.” If it weren’t for so many different things conspiring against her, she’d be loving life right about now.
Several of the cats were trying to stretch up to the top of the barrel. Smiling, Maxi pointed to the long metal channel against the wall behind the barrel. “I use the large scoop inside to fill that trough.”
He laughed. “A trough for cats.”
“Hey, it was the only thing I could think of to get them all fed at the same time.”
“You’re resourceful.”
Was that two compliments in a row? Maybe he wasn’t as angry as he’d seemed. More likely, it was his compassionate nature trying to make her more at ease.
But...she couldn’t be the only one feeling the sexual tension. Around Miles, it hit her like a tsunami. Even under the awful circumstances, she wasn’t immune to his appeal. In fact, because of everything she’d just gone through, she felt even more drawn to him and his strength.
Watching as he loaded the scoop, she said, “It’s actually a pig trough, but when you see them eating...well, let’s just say it fits.”
The cats carried on as if they hadn’t eaten in days, instead of just being late for breakfast. By the time Miles filled the trough, the cats had lined up side by side and were devouring their chow.
“That has to be half of a bag right there.”
“I buy in bulk,” she said. “I have to store the extra bags in the house, though, or the raccoons—”
“Throw a party?” Miles grinned down at her.
“They do!”
He laughed, but slowly, as his gaze roamed her face, the grin faded. He removed a dried weed from her hair, tucked a wayward lock behind her ear, then brushed his thumb over her cheek. He leaned toward her.
Her toes curled in the rubber boots. God, she’d missed his kiss so much, the taste of him, the feel of his firm lips and his clever tongue and—
“Wait.” She flattened a hand to his chest.
Expression enigmatic, Miles cleaned a smudge off her cheek. “You’re exhausted.”
Oh God. She’d freaked out over nothing.
Get a grip, Maxi.
After clearing her throat, she said, “Yes, and it shows.”
He flicked the end of her nose. “You still look cute.”
He’d said it again! Frazzled from the mixed signals, she propped her hands on her hips. “You’re either super horny or just trying to make me feel better.”
“How about a little of both?”
Shivering with awareness, Maxi took a safe step back before she thought too much about that big, hard body of his settling over her. “The thing is, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet this morning. In fact, not since yesterday morning. I would have last night before I went to bed, if I’d had a normal night. But normal nights around here are hard to come by.”
“I wasn’t coming on to you, babe. Your teeth are safe from me, so relax, okay?”
“Trying.” Unsuccessfully. On top of the dull headache still crowding the back of her skull, too many conflicting emotions bombarded her. “The reason I stopped you—”
“You were clear enough on why I’m here. I won’t be pressuring you, so stop worrying about that.”
Blast. If she was honest with herself, and she probably should be, the reason she’d thought of Miles the second she realized she needed help was because she wanted the closeness unique to him, not only his overpowering sex appeal, but the sense of security he gave her when he focused on her so intimately.
Sure, she’d sworn off guys. Her track record made that the sensible thing to do. But then she’d gotten to know Miles...
She might have expected him to be antagonistic after the way she’d ended things, but she hadn’t figured on him actually caring, had assumed she’d be only one in a line of women he knew. Obviously it had bothered him, probably because he wasn’t used to any type of rejection, and now this was going wrong fast.
Trying to recover a little ground, she explained, “I wasn’t exactly worried.” Hopeful, maybe, but not worried.
Staring up at the sky, Miles watched a turkey vulture, wings spread wide as it glided overhead with little effort. “The thing is, we do know each other.” This time he took her hand, folding it securely in his, and started them on their way. “Granted it was only those three times, but I can’t treat you like a stranger.”
No, they definitely weren’t strangers. In many ways, Miles knew her body better than she did. “I wouldn’t expect you to.” She’d specifically gone to him because she did know him—and odd as it seemed, she was completely at ease with him.
Always had been.
That first time with him had been nothing short of amazing. She hadn’t guessed that sex could be like that, so intense and incredibly hot, yet also tender, too. In comparison, what she’d known before Miles was just rutting.
She’d expected one thing and gotten something entirely different. Something so much better. Lights on. Inhibitions gone. He’d served the purpose of making her forget her worries. But he’d also made her hungry for more.
The second time she’d given in and looked for him had turned out even better, and when she hadn’t been able to resist seeing him a third time, she’d known she was getting in too deep.
“How about you show me the house, let me look things over, then we can grab some food before I head home to get supplies?”
Her feet stopped working. So did her heart.
When his arm stretched out—his hand still holding hers—Miles turned back to face her. “What?”
“You’re leaving?” Renewed panic clawed through her.
He tugged her up alongside him, then slipped his arm over her shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. “Yes, and you’re going with me.”
He said that as if that had been the plan all along. “I am?” Well, then, she could handle that. Tucked against his lean body with his muscled arm encircling her, the panic eased away as quickly as it had come.
“We came straight here from the doctor’s so you could feed the cats and take care of yourself. But I need my things, since I’m going to be staying here, right?”
Of course he did. She nodded.
“I’m guessing we need several security cameras and alarms, too. It’s still early enough, so I’d like to get everything done today.”
She kept thinking she was dealing okay—until something else set her off, then she went to pieces. Weakness sucked.
Hard as she tried, insults kept coming back to her, all the expectations for failure. She had a lot to prove, all to herself. Miles, hopefully, would help her with that.
He, at least, wasn’t weak. “Of course.”
“You’re safe now, Maxi.” His arm tightened in an affectionate hug that brought her into brief contact with his hard, hot body. “You know that, right?”
She knew he still had the power to help her forget everything but her need of him. Like now, with her thoughts all focused on his ripped body.
“Maxi?”
Even though she wasn’t convinced, she nodded. “Before we go, I have an unusual favor to ask.”
“You’re paying me. Ask away.”
Hmm. She didn’t appreciate how he’d put that, as if he was only here for the money. She didn’t buy that. As he’d said, she could have come to him directly and he’d have helped.
If that was how he wanted to play it, though, she wouldn’t debate it with him. Not yet.
Tonight would be soon enough.
She looked up at him. “After we eat, do you think you could keep watch while I shower and make myself presentable?”
Surprise lit his eyes before he gave a slow nod. “Yeah, I think I can manage that.” This time as they walked, it was without tripping over cats, since they were all still eating. “Maybe now’s a good time for you to tell me how you want this to work.”
How it should work? If she had her way, he’d be with her 24/7, including in the shower and while she slept.
If she could sleep.
Instead, she lied, saying, “I thought you could use the downstairs bedroom and bath, and I’d use them upstairs.”
“Hell.”
She jumped on that. “What? That doesn’t work for you? You had something else in mind?”
He was silent for a bit, his jaw flexing. “Let’s see the house first, then I’ll make recommendations.”
Recommendations, her butt. Had he hoped for an entirely separate place to stay? An apartment over the barn? She almost snorted. If he wanted to sleep with the cats in a pile of hay, let him.
Fat lot of good that would do her when something else happened.
Dejected, she followed along without saying anything. Before they got too far into this arrangement, she needed to clear the air about why she’d walked away from him, when everything in her had begged her to stay, to push for more.
Perhaps during the drive back to his place. For now, she’d take comfort in the fact he was here with her, and she wouldn’t have to face the next catastrophe alone.
Unfortunately, the next catastrophe happened almost as soon as she stepped into the house.
CHAPTER THREE (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
MILES STEPPED AHEAD of Maxi on the back porch and tried the door. It opened. “Not locked?”
“It’s how I got back in to get my purse. It wasn’t locked then either and you can bet I didn’t bother once I had what I needed. I just got away.”
“Understandable.” He stepped into the area and looked to the left at the small bedroom, then to the right up the stairs. Maxi’s room would be up there. He’d check that out in a minute.
Peeking past him, she asked, “You hear anything?”
“No.”
“Thank God.” She stepped in around him, saying, “The kitchen is this way. Let’s go there first and—”
The second she stepped around the wall onto the old-fashioned tiles in the kitchen, her feet came out from under her and she landed flat on her back with a thud. Her bottom half was in the kitchen, her head and shoulders visible from the hall.
With a curse, Miles jogged forward, glanced around for any signs of danger, saw nothing more than a hideous kitchen and knelt beside her. “Stay still,” he said, before she could move.
She wheezed, squeezing her eyes shut.
Of course, he saw the puddle of dark oil on the floor beneath her. He twisted around, looking into every corner that he could see, but the house was quiet, and they appeared to be alone. There were no remnants left behind, not even the empty can from where the oil had been poured.
“Hell of a spill.” He was so pissed he could have chewed nails, but he tried to sound calm. “You okay?”
Gulping air, her expression pained, she didn’t attempt to answer.
“You knocked the wind out of yourself.” He pulled her arms straight up and said, “Try to calm down. Breathe slowly.”
She caught her breath with a vengeance, hissing, “Blast.”
“Easy now.” He helped her to sit up...in the oil. “I’m guessing that wasn’t here when you came in for your purse and boots?”
“No.” Disgusted, she lifted her hands, now slick, and curled her lip. “It’s soaked into my shorts.”
Keeping a hand on her, Miles looked around. “I don’t see it anywhere else, and there are no tracks.” But good Lord, the house... Now that she was okay, he really saw it. “You actually live here?”
She shot him a deadly glare. “Yes.” And then, as if a dare, she asked, “Why?”
He wasn’t touching that. “Just doesn’t look like you.” Hell, it looked like a grandma’s place—from maybe a century ago. “I’m guessing everything is original?”
“Pretty much.” She started to stand, slipped to her butt again, and Miles stayed her.
“Wait.” He got to his feet first, saw a roll of paper towels on the counter and grabbed them. He ripped off several, giving them to her so she could clean her hands. Then, being sure to keep out of the oil, he caught her under her arms and lifted her upright. “Hold on to my shoulders and I’ll help you out of those boots.”
Grumbling, she said, “My feet are probably sweaty now. This sucks so badly.”
Trying to hide his smile, he promised, “I’ll hold my breath.”
“I’m going to ruin your shirt.”
“It’s a black T-shirt. You can’t ruin it.”
“Suit yourself.” Her small hands settled on him—and that put her breasts far too close to his face.
Forcing himself to look down, he tugged off first one boot, waiting as she put that foot to the side of the mess, then he removed the other. Her feet were small and narrow, yes, a little sweaty, and incredibly cute.
He glanced up the length of her long slim legs, pausing at the denim zipper in her soft, worn, body-hugging cutoffs. A drop of oil rolled down the outside of her left leg. “Your shorts are dripping.”
Letting out a tiny, shaky breath, she shifted her feet. “Yeah.”
Absurd the way lust bit into him. Hell, someone had terrorized her last night, they’d returned to a million hungry cats and another prank in her house, and all he could think about was leaning forward and pressing his face to her belly, going lower, breathing her in, tasting her.
He loved the sounds Maxi made while her climax built.
When he felt her hands tightening on his shoulders, he murmured, “Maybe you should drop them, too?” Somehow, he’d keep it together.
“Yeah.” But she didn’t move.
Up to him, then. Damn. “Let’s see if we can do this without getting the oil anywhere else.” He reached for the snap to her shorts.
Maxi drew in her breath and held it.
Trying to remember that he had a plan, he said as he slid down her zipper, “Maybe that shower should come first?” It wasn’t deliberate, but his knuckles grazed her.
“First?” she croaked.
He glanced up and got caught in her dark-eyed gaze. “Before we grab something to eat.”
“Oh. Eat. Right.”
What had she thought? That he meant sex? Hell of an idea, but the timing was all wrong.
And why was she thinking that anyway? He could understand how he got distracted, but she was terrified, and that should damn well keep her focused.
It was enough that he had to fight himself; he couldn’t fight her, too.
Tamping down natural urges, Miles worked the snug shorts over her hips.
Her fingers dug into his muscles as he bent to help her step out—and then she stood there in her panties.
The lady had a killer body, no doubt about it.
But he’d known other sexy women. There was just something special about Maxi.
Maybe the fact that she’d walked away from him so easily.
With that reminder in mind, Miles straightened back to his feet. “Stay put while I look around. I don’t see or hear anyone, but I want to make sure whoever dumped the oil isn’t still here.”
“No one is.” She clutched at his arm. “Every inch of this old house creaks if someone moves, even in the basement.”
Miles gently pried her hands away. “I’m going to look anyway.” He wouldn’t take chances, and it’d give him a minute to get his urges under control. “Don’t move.”
She swallowed hard and nodded, already glancing back at the front door.
Would she do as he asked, or would he find her in the SUV, in her panties, ready to go?
Staying alert to any other booby traps, Miles went into the kitchen. That room was the biggest time warp, with a white cast-iron sink top, a stove that had to be antique and a small refrigerator...on legs. He’d never seen anything like it.
An old ruffled curtain hung under the sink instead of a door, and the yellow linoleum floor was a bit bright, especially since it ran into yellow tile that came halfway up the wall.
Directly to the left was an equally dated bathroom. A row of open shelving divided the kitchen from the dining room, which opened into a small living room. The front door, locked, led to a trellis-enclosed covered porch.
He briefly went through each room, not surprised to find them very tidy, but shocked all the same that Maxi Nevar now called this place home. Nothing he knew about her fit in the setting. Then again, seeing her with chipped nails, rubber ducky boots and tangled hair didn’t fit either.
As he passed back through, he saw a book and wineglass on the end table next to the puffy floral couch. The glass was empty, the book closed.
Well, hell.
He returned to where he’d left her, standing there wearing an oversize flannel shirt, pink panties and a load of uncertainty. More than anything, he wanted to draw her close, hug her, reassure her.
Then do nasty, hot, sweaty things with her.
He shook his head and, indicting the door next to the stairs, asked, “Basement?”
“Yes. But it should be locked.”
He tried it. “You’re right.” There was even a dead bolt on it.
“Cat food is stored down there, but otherwise, I don’t use the basement.”
“I can see that.” She had it locked up tight. Later, he’d explore down there. “I’ll look upstairs now.”
“Sure, why not.” She turned to go.
Much as he’d enjoy trailing behind her, getting a great view of her ass on the stairs, he had to put safety first. “You wait here.”
“I hired you for a reason. I go where you go.”
He saw she was serious, and probably with good reason, so he nodded. “Stay behind me, then.”
“Not a problem.”
He had to duck to get under the lowered ceiling at the base of the narrow stairs. He suspected someone had converted the attic to living space years ago. “Are these the stairs where your grandmother fell?”
“Yes.”
She said nothing else, so he didn’t press her. God knew she’d been through enough for one day.
The stairs turned a sharp corner and then opened into a small study with a desk, chair and file cabinet. The only window in that room was a skylight overhead.
From there he went into a more updated bathroom, which meant it wasn’t more than a few decades old, yet no one would call it modern either. Her bedroom was next, a rectangular room barely big enough for a bed and nightstand. The lure would be the double doors that opened to a balcony above the porch below.
“Where do you keep your clothes?”
“In here.” She slid back a pocket door to show a big walk-in closet nearly the same size as the bedroom.
“I take it you put this in?”
“First thing.”
She’d spared no expense. Bright lights showed off detailed shelving, multiple wardrobes and niches for things like shoes and scarves, with a dressing table in the middle. She’d filled every inch except for a mirrored door in the back of the room that, Miles discovered, opened into yet another room.
Ducking down again, he stepped through to a clichéd attic space. Bare rafters loomed overhead, plywood flooring squeaked under his weight and air whistled through a single skinny window in the center of the back wall. Boxes, trunks and random pieces of old furniture cast long shadows over the cluttered floor. A single bare bulb swung from the ceiling, but when he pulled the long string, it didn’t work.
Miles didn’t say it, but given everything that had happened, it was creepy as hell.
Soon as they were back in the main room, he asked, “Why do you sleep up here?”
“The bedroom downstairs was my grandmother’s. It didn’t feel right, taking it over.”
But she wanted him to sleep there?
“Don’t worry,” she said, maybe reading his thoughts. “Everything has been packed away and the bedding is freshly washed.”
Great. It was still Granny’s. “Should I look under the bed?”
Her smile didn’t hide her exhaustion. “If you want, but I’ve got so many storage bins under there, nothing more than a mouse could fit, and mice aren’t brave enough to come around with so many cats.”
Unable to help himself, he touched her cheek. Her eyes were heavy and smudged with fatigue. “You need a nap.”
“I need a shower.” Glancing over her shoulder at her own butt, she wiggled. “That oil soaked through.”
A dozen inappropriate comments came to mind, but Miles banked them all. “I can either go down and get food started—” although how he’d find his way around that kitchen, he didn’t know “—or I can wait right here while you get cleaned up.”
“You won’t mind giving me ten minutes?”
“You’re the boss.” As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He’d meant it to be teasing, but damn it, she looked wounded.
Maxi being Maxi, she rallied and said, “Don’t you forget it.” She gestured to the bed. “Get comfortable if you want. I’ll hurry.”
Settle on her bed? Breathe her scent in the pillows? Not a good idea. “You can take your time.”
“If you heard my stomach grumbling, you’d know I can’t.”
He stood in the doorway while she went through the closet and pulled faded jeans from a shelf, a peachy bra and panties from a drawer, and a white tank top off a hanger.
Crazy that seeing her like this hit him so hard. She kept the flannel pulled down in back to hide her rounded behind, but she had beautiful legs, and her long dark blond hair, even uncombed, looked sexy as hell.
He moved as she stepped out again and started for the bathroom.
At the door, she paused. “If anything happens, I want you to be able to come in, so I won’t lock it.”
It took him a second to find his voice, then he went for teasing again. “Planning on screaming?”
She held the pile of clothes close to her chest. “Someone was in my house again. How, I don’t know. But the oil wasn’t there when I left or I would have stepped in it.”
He nodded, acknowledging that. “We’ll buy new locks today, too.” Going one further, he whispered, “I promise it’s going to be okay.” Somehow, he’d make it so.
She managed a strained smile. “In case I haven’t said it yet...thank you for being here with me.”
Before he could answer, she closed the door. Seconds later, he heard the creaking of pipes.
With nothing else to do, his gaze went to her bed. In no time at all, his thoughts were out of control, focused on things they shouldn’t be—like how much he wanted her.
Again.
Still.
And here he’d started to think that working at Body Armor would be a piece of cake.
* * *
“THIS,” MAXI SAID, licking her lips with a groan, “was a much better idea than food at home.”
Miles smiled while sinking his white teeth into a loaded burger. “Quicker, for sure.”
They sat in his roomy SUV, him half-turned to face her, one arm loosely draped over the steering wheel, a bag of fast food between them. He’d found a recreation area near the store they were going to and parked beneath a shade tree to keep the sun from reflecting off the black exterior. From their position, they could see kids playing on swings, people walking dogs and couples holding hands. With the windows down, a summer breeze kept it from being too hot.
Maxi felt much better now that she was clean and dressed, her hair braided down her back. Before they’d left the house, she’d cleaned up the mess and put her clothes in the wash, but she didn’t have hopes of the oil coming out. The shorts would no doubt join her growing pile of “work” clothes, meaning they’d be appropriate for the farm, but nowhere else.
Miles had been silent as she’d put her book back on the shelf and washed her wineglass. She didn’t know if he believed her about what had happened, and she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to know. He was with her, and for now, that was more than enough.
When she glanced at him, she found him watching her in that intense, very intimate way of his that made her breath catch in her chest.
It would be nice to know what he was thinking, but instead she asked, “Should we make a list of what we need?”
“I already did.”
“When?”
“While you were in the shower. I found a pen and paper in your study.”
He hadn’t left her. He’d stayed right there, very close, as promised.
It was ridiculous to react, given nothing had happened; she’d finished her shower without a single disturbance.
But knowing that she could trust him not to budge mattered. A lot. “It’s too bad we couldn’t find what we needed in the little town closer by.”
“I had to come this way for my stuff anyway. We’ll go to my apartment last, then head back to your house. I should still have time to get a few things set up.”
“How extensive is our list? I know you mentioned locks and a security camera.”
“I’m thinking several, actually. Someone is sneaking onto your property. I want to know who.”
“How do you think they’re getting in?”
“No idea. But that reminds me. I called my friend Leese.”
“Who?”
“Leese Phelps. He used to be a fighter, too, but he was the first one to move to Body Armor. It seems to be a good fit for him.”
“You called him while I was in the shower?”
“Yeah. I explained your situation. Thought it couldn’t hurt to get an unbiased perspective on things.”
Meaning he considered his own perspective biased—because they’d slept together?
Embarrassment disturbed her peaceful moment. His friend probably thought she was crazy or, like Miles, assumed she’d been drunk and imagined it all. “Aren’t you the busy beaver.”
After putting the last fry in his mouth, Miles said, “You were only a few feet away, buck naked and wet. It seemed like a good idea to keep busy.”
Maxi blinked at him, the embarrassment forgotten. He kept saying things that she didn’t know how to take. Was he mad at her or not? Did he want her as much as she wanted him?
Or were comments like that supposed to be jokes?
Since she didn’t have any answers, she steered the topic back to his friend. “What did Leese have to say?”
“He took it seriously, if that’s what you’re asking. You’d have to know Leese. He was made for this shit. Being analytical about danger suits him way better than professional fighting ever did.”
“So he made suggestions?”
Miles nodded. “I’ll get security lights put up today, enough to light up the barn and down to the pond. Anyone sneaking around will be easily seen. I’ll add extra locks to the windows and doors—anywhere someone might be able to get in. Oh, and we’ll throw out all your food, especially your wine.”
“Throw out all my food?”
“Well, I’m not eating it. Think about it. If what you told me was accurate—”
Accurate? At least he hadn’t outright accused her of lying.
“—then someone might’ve drugged whatever you ate or drank. I assume you don’t want to chance it?”
“Of course not.” Now she couldn’t even trust her food? “How would someone have—”
“No idea how it works. Leese is looking into it for me. By the way, he and Justice might come out tomorrow.”
She was just about to take her last bite of hamburger when he said that. “Tomorrow?” She lowered the burger. “To my farmhouse?”
“Yeah. Leese trained me for Body Armor, and Justice is great with security systems. Assuming you can afford a decent one, he’ll help with that. I know what to buy, and how to set it up, but again, it’s good to have fresh eyes looking over things.”
“So I’m going to be paying for three of you?”
Miles snorted. “No, they’re friends. I’m the only one on the clock, and only because you went to Sahara.”
“Well, I wanted to be fair.” Done eating, Maxi put the trash into the bag. “Your Ms. Silver is an impressive lady.”
“Yeah, she is, and she knows it. If you looked up confidence in the dictionary, you’d find Sahara smiling back at you.”
Maxi laughed. “She did give that impression.”
“You made an impression on her, too.”
“A lousy one.” It made her shudder to remember the horrid reflection looking back at her in the mirror right before her shower. And Miles’s boss, that classy lady, had seen her.
“Not so. Sahara had only nice things to say about you.”
Deciding to test the waters a little, Maxi asked, “Does that mean she, at least, didn’t think I was making it up?”
Unfazed, Miles shrugged. “Neither of us is quite sure what to think, to be honest. But I’m telling you right now, this will be easier if you tell me about any guys you’ve been involved with.”
Even though she’d suspected he didn’t believe her, his blasé confession still annoyed her. “Sure.”
A little more alert, Miles waited.
“Let’s see. There was...” She met his gaze. “None.”
His slight tension eased into frustration. “Seriously? No one?”
“I can only say it so many ways.”
“Okay, forget involvement.” He slashed a hand through the air. “Whether you were sleeping with anyone or not—”
“I wasn’t.”
“—there has to have been a guy. A casual date? Someone you only talked to?”
“Why won’t you believe me?”
He leveled a look on her. “Because I can’t bend my brain around the idea of you being alone. With the way you look, you must’ve had a dozen men after you.”
Warmed by the compliment, she pretended to think about it again. “Now that you mention it, I have talked to Woody a few times.”
His back went straight. “Woody?”
“Woody Barstow. Nice guy. Very laid-back, friendly. Kind to the cats.”
Brows coming down, Miles said, “Maybe I need to check up on Woody.”
“Sure. He’s my nearest neighbor at about eight miles away.”
“Why didn’t you mention him before?”
“Because I’m not involved with him.” She took a final sip of her cola, then added, “Plus, he’s almost eighty.”
The most comical look came over Miles’s face, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m trying to be serious.” When she continued to snicker, he muttered, “It’s not that funny.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” A different expression entered his eyes. “You really haven’t been with anyone?”
That sobered her real quick. “I need to explain, don’t I?”
“Wouldn’t hurt.”
That was what he thought. So, where to start? “I sort of have to go...well, way back. Be patient, okay?”
“I’m all ears.”
“When I was eighteen, I thought I was in love.”
Expression arrested, he repeated, “Eighteen?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “Seven years ago, but it matters.”
“Okay.”
“Anyway, I was dating this older guy and I thought I was in love. My family didn’t like him. They thought he was trouble.”
Miles waited.
“And he was. Big trouble. It’s a long, hideous story, but the shortened version is that one night, while we were all on vacation, he and his friends came in uninvited. They robbed us, did a lot of damage to irreplaceable heirlooms, destroyed and vandalized just for the fun of it.” She looked down at her hands, now clasped together. Shame closed her throat, but she forced herself to finish. “He’d gotten the entry code from me.”
Without censure, Miles asked, “You gave it to him?”
“No. But he watched when I punched it in.”
“How do you know it was him?”
“Security cameras. They...did disgusting things on my sister’s bed. Even on my mother’s bed.”
“On your bed?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.” But as her family had said, she’d brought that on herself. They, however, hadn’t. “You can imagine how my family reacted. They’d told me not to see him, told me he was no good, and I didn’t listen. I argued, dramatically claimed we were in love, and then he proved them right and I was so ashamed, I didn’t even know what to say.”
Miles reached over one long arm to tweak her braid. “You were eighteen, Maxi. No one listens at eighteen. Sometimes we have to learn things the hard way.”
“Well, I thought I had learned. I went a long time avoiding guys after that. Romance and guilt didn’t mix so great.” She drew a deep breath. “And then I met another guy a year ago.”
“Wait.” Miles shifted. “You went how long without getting serious?”
“Five years.”
“So only casual dating—”
“You don’t understand. My first boyfriend destroyed an antique my mother had inherited from her great-grandmother. My sister, who is fanatical about everything, wouldn’t even go back in her room because of what he did in there. She moved out.”
“Your dad?”
“He died when I was younger. It was just my mom, sister and me. My brother, who’s eight years older, had already gone out on his own.”
“Well, maybe your sis was just ready to move on, too.”
“No, she rightly blamed me.”
“Bullshit. There’s nothing right about that.”
“They would disagree.”
“You were a victim, same as them.”
“No, I’d set that fire. Getting burned was my own fault. Unfortunately, they got burned, too, and that’s unforgivable.”
Miles shook his head. “Let’s get back to this new guy you’re involved with.”
“Used to be involved with,” she corrected. “It fell apart when I caught him cheating.” She gave him a stern frown. “I despise cheaters.”
“Any intelligent, moral person would.”
Mollified, she explained, “He didn’t want it to end and continually made a pest of himself.”
“If he didn’t want it to end, he should have kept it in his pants.”
Maxi snorted. “Yeah, that’s basically what I told him. But while I was trying to deal with that, my mother passed away during a procedure.”
“You said that once before. What type of procedure?”
Lord, she hated explaining it. “Mom was beautiful. She didn’t need cosmetic surgery, but she liked it all the same. Seemed like every six months she was having something else done, always tweaking this and tightening that. She got it in her head that she wanted this extreme makeover, and I guess it was just too much. She died of cardiac arrest under anesthesia.”
“Damn. So unnecessary.”
She nodded. Very unnecessary. “My mom and I weren’t really close, not since...well, since I was eighteen and everything happened.”
A disapproving frown creased his brow. “Was she close with your sister?”
“Yes.”
The frown darkened more. “That has to be tough.”
“Not really. I mean, I’m used to it.”
One fingertip brushed her cheek. “No one gets used to that.”
That rough whisper teased over her senses. “There’s so much you don’t know about me.” Things she needed to confess. “Even though that’s the way I wanted it, at least with you, it wasn’t the norm. Usually I’m an open book.” She hadn’t hidden from her failings. No, like a fool, she flaunted them.
“So flip a few pages for me.”
She smiled with his jest. “I’ll start with family.” He needed to understand the many ways she’d disappointed them. “My sister is a fitness buff. She owns her own boutique gym for trendy people. Very exclusive, and very pricey. Harlow is one of those hard bodies...well, I guess like you.” Maxi turned her head to stare out the window at the kids playing. That made it easier than looking at Miles. “I already told you about my brother. He was one of those ‘top of the class’ guys his whole life. Mom is a dynamo. There was no challenge that seemed too big to her.” And then there was Maxi. A disappointment.
Miles waited, occasionally drifting his fingers over her bare shoulder in a way that felt comforting more than seductive.
“You should probably know,” she finally said, “I’m the odd duck in my family. I love them and they love me, but we don’t really fit together. I’m the underachiever. I was never super motivated about anything.” Except the farmhouse, and that had turned into a living nightmare.
“You had a good job,” Miles said. “That is, if you were really a personal shopper?”
God, it hurt, knowing he didn’t believe anything about her. Not that she blamed him after she’d been deliberately elusive. But now...now she needed him to believe, to trust her as much as she trusted him. “I never lied to you about anything, I promise. I just didn’t share much.”
“Want to tell me why?”
“Gary—my ex—was all about trying to get back with me, especially after my grandma died and he knew I’d had two inheritances. With my dad already gone, everything came to Harlow, Neil and me. But there wasn’t a lot of equity in how it was done and my sister and brother were...are furious with me for financial reasons.”
She could feel Miles staring at her. She knew he had a lot of questions.
Instead of asking any of them, he cupped her shoulder in his big, warm hand and just waited quietly for her to continue.
This was why Miles had scared her so badly. He seemed too blasted perfect. The last two times she’d been drawn to a guy, she’d been horribly wrong. She no longer trusted her own judgment, but she also wasn’t a fool. Being around Miles would mean falling hard and fast. If he turned out to be a creep, then what?
And even if he didn’t, the last thing she needed was another complication in her life. Deep down to her bones, she knew that this was her chance for redemption.
But to accomplish that, she had to be strong.
Of course, she’d never counted on being harassed, terrorized and assaulted.
CHAPTER FOUR (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
GETTING BACK TO her explanations, Maxi said, “The financial mess happened when my mother mostly cut me out of her will to motivate me.” Her mouth twisted with the memory. “I not only screwed up when it came to men, I often failed at life, too.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“If Mom was alive, she’d explain it all to you, believe me. I was her big disappointment in so many ways. She had Neil and Harlow and they excelled at everything.” She gave a small, deceptive shrug of acceptance. “And then she had me.”
“Everyone is different. It’s not fair to compare.”
Maxi laughed, but she didn’t feel any humor. “Trust me, there was no comparison. Neil and Harlow always strived for perfection. Looking back, I think I strived to be contrary.”
“Well,” he murmured, “I can confirm the contrary part. But that’s not always bad.”
“I was a screwup and I know it.” She couldn’t deny it. “Wrong boyfriend, wrong attitude, wrong focus. I had mediocre grades and didn’t care. I blew off college. Took an apartment in a terrible part of town. It drove Mom nuts. She decided the best way to make an impact on me was to leave all her business interests evenly divided between my brother and sister. She didn’t cut me out entirely, though. She left me an old patch of rental property that wasn’t worth much.”
In a carefully neutral tone, Miles said, “That sounds more like punishment than positive motivation.”
She shrugged. “I figured it was a small price to pay for how I’d disappointed her. But it all backfired anyway.” Guilt always tightened her throat whenever she thought of her mother’s thwarted plans. “For as long as I can remember, Mom always bought property. She got started with the rental property she gave to me, but throughout my lifetime, she grew her holdings until she could purchase a posh resort. It was her pride and joy, and by all appearances, it was a thriving, lucrative business.”
After a brief pause, Miles said, “By all appearances?”
Maxi still couldn’t believe that her mother had kept the business problems private. From her, sure. She and her mother didn’t talk business. Often they didn’t talk about anything.
But not confiding in Harlow and Neil? Incredible.
“After Mom passed, Harlow discovered that she’d filed bankruptcy. That’s bad enough, but from what I understand, she’d also transferred assets through a shell company to Harlow and Neil, which makes it look like she was trying to defraud her creditors.” Honestly, none of them could be sure she wasn’t. “Now, as the recipients of the transfers, they’re being sued. Heaven only knows when it’ll all get settled.”
Miles whistled. “Wow. Can’t say I understand all that either, but it sounds pretty nasty.”
“Very.” Because it was so ironic, Maxi laughed uneasily. “The property Mom left me? Turns out it was smack-dab in the middle of a big land deal. I made a killing off it.”
Eyes flaring, Miles said, “Holy shit. I bet your brother and sister aren’t happy about that.”
“They’d have been fine if it had gone the way originally intended. But for them to be on the short end? They’re livid. And then, of course, it wasn’t long after that my grandmother passed away, too. I was heartsick when Harlow and Neil jumped me at the funeral, demanding I do the right thing, which to them means selling the house and giving the profit to them.”
“Bad timing,” Miles muttered.
“Very bad. I was already hurt and angry, more so after Harlow claimed I could never take care of the farm, that I was in over my head. Neil agreed with her. They wanted me to be happy with a chunk of money and forget my grandmother’s wishes.”
“To care for her cats?”
She nodded. “I didn’t react well. I offered them each twenty grand to leave me alone, which admittedly won’t go far.”
“Sounds generous to me.”
At the time, it had sounded generous to her, too. But she hadn’t realized the financial tangle her mother had left behind. “They didn’t think so. Neither of them has been to the house, but I get plenty of texts and emails reminding me of my duty, and what I should do for them.”
“What about your duty to your grandmother?”
“Neil says they’re just a bunch of feral cats and don’t really matter, not when compared to my mother’s reputation.” She pressed a hand to her heart. “But they mattered to my grandma. You’ve seen the farm. She put her whole focus on those cats. They were her pets, her purpose. I can’t just ignore that.” One way or another, she was determined to finally do something right.
Miles pondered that for a moment. “Has it occurred to you that it might be your brother or sister causing the problems? If they want you to sell, what better way to convince you than to terrorize you into it? Money,” he added, “can be a powerful motivator.”
“No, they wouldn’t do that. Like I said, deep down they love me.” Sometimes she had to look really deep, but she knew the love was there.
Sympathy crept into his expression and tone. “That could explain why, after you were drugged, you were only moved outside and not actually hurt.”
Her throat tightened at the possibility, and she adamantly shook her head. “They wouldn’t scare me like that. This is just one of many battles that we’ve fought over the years.” They butted heads, her family got more fed up with her and she worked harder to hide her hurt. But they would never go this far.
Clearly unconvinced, Miles said, “All right. You know them and I don’t. Just keep it in mind, okay?”
Keep in mind that her own family would... No, she couldn’t believe it. To appease Miles, she said, “Sure. I’ll add it to my growing list of disturbing things to think about.”
With regret, he whispered, “I’m sorry you’re going through all this.”
“On the upside, I’ve been too busy juggling problems to wallow in grief.” She tried for a smile, but it eluded her.
“Grieving is important.” Miles slid his hand down her arm until he could twine his fingers with hers. “Maybe while I’m helping out, you could slow down and take the time to feel.”
Oh, she felt plenty around Miles. Too much. “We’ll see how it goes.” So far, she hadn’t wanted to think too much, not about losing her mom, not about losing her grandma and not about having her life turned upside down.
His thumb brushed over her knuckles. “So now I know everything you have on your plate. Want to tell me what it has to do with avoiding me?”
Even that simple touch from him did crazy things to her insides. Dropping her head back and closing her eyes, Maxi blew out a breath. “That first night I came to the bar...I just wanted to be me, you know? The person I was before I inherited a chunk of money and a farmhouse that needs a ton of work. I didn’t want to think about lost opportunities with my mother, or the new tension with my sister and brother. I didn’t want to dwell on how I’d once again completely misjudged a man. I wanted to escape for a while.”
“With a one-night stand?”
She opened her eyes to look at him. “That was the original plan, yes.”
“I wasn’t judging,” he promised, picking up on her sudden antagonism. “Just trying to get a handle on things.”
“Well...good.” She’d been judged enough lately.
His mouth quirked in that crooked grin she loved so much. “I was the beneficiary of your ‘escape.’ There’s nothing about it that I regret.”
He sounded so sincere, her hope rose. Twisting to face him, still very relaxed with her head resting back, Maxi whispered, “You mean that?”
“Yeah, I do.” He squeezed her hand, then withdrew. “The only thing I regret is how it ended.”
It kept coming back to that—not that she could blame him. “It didn’t exactly work out the way I’d planned either.”
“No?”
“I only wanted something for me, you know? My life was upside down, and I had so much to deal with, so many emotions pulling me in a dozen different directions. I wanted pure, hot sex—then I wanted to walk away with no strings attached. I had too many strings already.” And too many failures.
“I trust you got the hot sex?”
She grinned hugely. “Boy, that’s an understatement. You totally rocked my world.”
Her words brought a heated look to his eyes that almost singed her.
Softer now, she admitted, “I’d expected to have sex with a total stranger, and that’d be that. It was going to be my wicked splurge, my departure from reality.” As she searched his green-eyed gaze, her voice thickened. “Instead, I came back looking for you again.”
With satisfaction, he whispered, “And then a third time.”
“I knew if I let myself, I’d start a thing with you. But after striking out twice, it seemed really dumb to chance it, especially when I just plain didn’t have time or energy for it.”
“By thing, you mean a relationship?”
She nodded. After that third time, she’d felt not only physically hooked, but emotionally and romantically, too. That was dangerous.
“You’re assuming that’s what I wanted?”
“I wasn’t at all sure what you wanted. That last time, you were...well, I don’t want to say moody.”
Brows flattening, he groused, “Yeah, please don’t.”
His look of affront amused her. “You asked me so many questions, and you shared more of yourself, telling me that you might leave MMA and go into the bodyguard biz. The sex was just as phenomenal, but I was afraid we were getting too chatty.”
“And getting chatty spooked you?” Miles shook his head. “Aw, babe, you’re nuts, you know that, right?”
“Maybe.” Her family certainly thought so. “But for once, I thought I should be responsible and get my life in order. You saw the farmhouse. It was ten times worse when I first moved in. I’ve accomplished a lot in the time I’ve been there. I might’ve gotten more done if there weren’t so many strange things happening.” Her gaze moved over him. “Now I’m thankful you did tell me about your plans. Otherwise I’m not sure where I would’ve turned for help.”
“You could have come to me either way.”
Probably true. After all, as a professional fighter, Miles had the physical skills to handle most types of trouble. It continued to make her uncomfortable, knowing her departure from his life had angered him, so she did a topic switch. “I’m curious. You told me you were leaving MMA, but not why.”
“I had my reasons.”
She’d researched him online and knew he’d been a force to be reckoned with, a skilled fighter with a string of wins behind his name, respected by others in the industry, adored by rabid fans. Why would he have left all that?
When he said nothing else, she asked, “The reasons are a secret?”
His enigmatic gaze cut her way. “They have no bearing on me being your bodyguard.”
“Whoa,” she said, holding up her hands as if in surrender. “I didn’t know it was a touchy subject. This is me backing off.”
“And that,” Miles said, “is our cue to get moving if we want to have time left to get everything done.”
But...she’d been leading up to something there...something like an invite to share her bed again!
Soon as they’d started talking about it, she’d recalled all the ways he’d touched her, tasted her, the positions he’d favored, how frantic he’d made her feel—and then how fulfilled.
Blast him, he had her craving him all over again.
Who was she kidding? Soon as she’d laid eyes on him at the Body Armor agency, she’d suffered an explosion of need. Not just sexual, but all those special things Miles made her feel.
Sighing in very real frustration, Maxi gave up her slouched posture and handed him the bag with all their empty containers together. He left the vehicle to throw it away in a curbside trash can, then returned and started the engine.
“Is your new apartment anywhere near the agency?” she asked as she fastened her seat belt.
“Yeah, why?”
“I want to get my car.” When they’d left, Miles had been adamant that she not drive, never mind that she’d gotten there on her own. Given the fuzziness of her memory, she hadn’t argued too much. Since they’d be nearby again, it only made sense for her to drive it back.
“Leese and Justice will swing by tomorrow and get it before they come out.”
“They don’t have the keys.”
“They can get them from the office.”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “When you took them from me, I thought you put them in your pocket.”
“I left them with Sahara.”
Well, that was high-handed of him. “Don’t ever do that again.”
He pulled away from the curb, asking, “Do what?” as if he weren’t the least bit concerned.
“Make a decision for me.” Even though she knew it was mostly sexual frustration making her snippy, Maxi said, “Deliberately mislead me.”
His brows shot up and he spared her an incredulous glance before getting his attention back on the road. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
The accusatory tone only irked her more. “The pot is paying the kettle’s salary!”
He snorted. “Do you really think you were in any shape to make decisions this morning?”
“No, but you could have just said that you wanted someone else to bring my car to me.”
He rolled one big shoulder. “At the time, I didn’t even know if Leese would be free. Since he is, it works out.”
Maxi closed her mouth before she made an even bigger fool of herself. She’d blame the overreaction on the strain, but she knew that wasn’t it.
She wanted Miles, and so far, he wasn’t all that receptive to the idea.
Giving up for the moment, she noted the size of the security store where he pulled up and parked. “This place is immense.”
“They’re top-of-the-line and should have everything we need.” After he stepped out, he walked around to open her door.
Always the gentleman. Maxi left the SUV but didn’t go far. She put a hand on his chest—and even that, such a small touch, did crazy things to her. There was no give to his rock-hard body; how could she not react?
Reining in her haywire hormones, she said, “Promise me, Miles. I’m not an idiot. You don’t have to do things for my own good. Just tell me the plan, and I can be reasonable.”
He looked first at her hand on him, then into her eyes. He was so close, she breathed in the scents of soap and warm male skin.
A sultry expression narrowed his gaze. Voice low and rough, almost hypnotic, he said, “Since I don’t know you well enough to make that judgment, I can only promise to try.”
CHAPTER FIVE (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
IT TOOK LONGER than Miles had counted on to get all the supplies they needed, plus groceries. Because he knew Maxi wasn’t working on all cylinders yet, he made a point not to rush her.
For the most part, she held it together, but even at his apartment, she’d trailed him into every room, sticking close while he gathered up clothes, his laptop and overnight kit.
Apparently she was afraid to be more than a few feet away from him.
In one respect, he liked that. She wanted a protector? He’d gladly step up.
On the other hand, he didn’t like seeing her this way. When he’d first met her, she’d been all bold, up-front honesty. She’d wanted him, she’d said so, and they’d both enjoyed themselves.
Now she tiptoed around it. Sure, he’d caught the subtle hints she’d thrown out, picked up on her vibe.
He wanted more than that.
He wanted her outright admission so that this time they could start with a clean slate.
She claimed to have ended things because of poor choices in her past, and the mess of her life. Well, he wasn’t a poor choice, and her life was no less messy now. Hell, if his suspicions were right, it’d get worse before it got better.
He’d give her a day before he started digging for details. Right now, she was too exhausted.
The proof was on the drive home, when she conked out for the duration.
Not that he minded. With her asleep, he was free to look at her all he wanted. Half-curled in the seat next to him, only her seat belt keeping her upright, she had that boneless, utterly relaxed look about her.
Could be the first good sleep she’d had in a while, all because she knew he’d keep her safe.
He constantly glanced at her. The light tan and sun streaks in her golden hair told him she’d done plenty of work outside. Though still shapely, she’d lost a few pounds. Her nails, once perfectly manicured, were now short and buffed.
The changes didn’t detract from her appeal; she was still a nearly irresistible temptation.
But he would resist, because he had a plan, and by God, he’d stick to it, starting with giving her some time.
Miles began prioritizing in his mind. Making the farmhouse secure was top of the list. Soon as possible, he’d also get on his laptop to do some research.
That recent ex she’d mentioned... Miles wanted to know more about him, but he’d have to be careful how he asked.
Maxi couldn’t know how much it mattered to him.
Had she been in love? Was she still in love?
Didn’t seem so, but women could be funny about things like that, especially a woman scorned, as the saying went.
She claimed to want to avoid men now, so Gary, the cheating bastard, must have had some effect.
It’d be better, Miles decided, if he’d only hurt her pride, and not her heart.
Unfortunately, her ex wasn’t the only worry. Whether she liked it or not, he had to consider her siblings, too. By the minute, motives piled up, growing the list of suspects.
As the wheels of the SUV went from pavement to gravel, Maxi stirred, sitting up sluggishly and looking out the window as if trying to orient herself.
Stiffening, her gaze shot to him, and then she visibly relaxed.
“How do you feel?”
“Mmm, good.” Stretching—and looking sinfully sexy in the process—she mumbled, “Sorry about that.”
“You needed the sleep.”
“I don’t usually nap.”
“All things considered, you were due.”
“I guess.” She yawned widely behind her hand, rubbed her eyes and smiled at him.
That smile was so sweet, so innocent and trusting, he felt it clean through to his heart. “I want to get started on the floodlights today, but I think we should take care of the groceries first. Will we have to go into town to dump the old food?”
“No. I have a big locking Dumpster and the garbage gets picked up tomorrow.”
“Perfect timing.”
Her gaze shifted away. “We’d accomplish a lot more if I put away the food while you worked on the lights.”
Miles heard the unspoken but, so he held silent.
“But,” she whispered, “I’m still not ready to be alone.”
He wouldn’t mind if that attitude carried over to bedtime. “It’s not a problem.”
“Right. I’m afraid to be in my own home? It’s idiotic.”
“Actually, it’d be idiotic if you weren’t worried.”
As if he hadn’t spoken, she said, “And it’s not your job to play grocery shopper and light installer on top of being a bodyguard.”
“How many bodyguards have you hired?”
“I...” Stymied, she frowned. “Only you. Why?”
“My job is to ensure your safety. That involves making the farmhouse more secure and, when necessary, sticking close. Since I’m not the type to stand around idle while you do chores, you can damn well plan on me helping. With whatever. Got it?”
Gratitude curled her mouth and softened her tone. “Doesn’t sound like I have a choice.”
“It’s part of the bodyguard code.” The SUV bumped and bounced over potholes in the rough road. While he had her undivided attention, he decided to sneak in a little work. “This ex of yours. Does he know you moved out here?”
“I didn’t tell him. If he knows, he found out from someone else.”
“Like who?”
“Well, he works with my sister.”
Great. He really needed to do some research. Getting details in drips and drabs wasn’t working for him.
As neutrally as he could, Miles said, “Yeah? Doing what?”
“He’s a receptionist.” She made a face and added, “Gary is pretty. He looks good in a boutique joint that caters to other pretty people.”
Jealousy subsided. “Pretty, huh?” She said it with enough disdain to make him laugh.
“Yeah. Some would call him handsome—but not as handsome as you.”
Miles said nothing to that.
“He’s tall, too.” Then she quickly added, “But not as tall as you.”
Semi-amused, semi-annoyed, Miles said, “He’s a cheater, so we can kill the comparisons, okay?”
Chagrined, she nodded. “I’m just wondering what I ever really saw in him.”
Yeah, Miles was wondering that, too.
Lower, she added, “I guess I thought he was elegant. Very stylish, trim, impeccable dresser. And far, far different from the first guy I cared about.”
“You were younger then.”
“And obviously dumber. Gary comes off as sophisticated and...” She shrugged with the truth. “More acceptable to my family.”
Miles soaked that in. So she still wanted their approval, did she? Just not enough to disregard her grandma’s wishes. “Do you think your sister would tell him where you are?”
“Who knows what Harlow might do? She’s annoyed enough with me to want payback.”
“So she knows you two split?”
“Yeah. She couldn’t believe I’d end a relationship over one ‘indiscretion.’ She thought I should give him another chance.”
“Bullshit.”
“My thought exactly. But if she did tell him, he hasn’t shown up here.”
“Or,” Miles said with emphasis, “maybe he’s shown up and you just don’t know it.”
She toyed with her braid while considering it. “Gary isn’t the type to be a stalker.”
“You never know.” Miles flexed his hands on the wheel. “Describe him to me.”
Wary now, she said, “You’re not going to do anything crazy, are you?”
“If you’re asking if I’ll demolish him, that’s not my plan.”
“Doesn’t sound like you’re ruling it out, though.”
Being honest, Miles said, “If I find him lurking around here or doing anything shady to scare you, yeah, you can bet your sweet ass I’ll take him apart.”
She stared at him in awe, then grinned. “My sweet ass, huh?”
“Your ass is very sweet.” He cocked a brow and prompted, “Description?”
Biting her lip to keep the grin at bay, Maxi gave it quick thought. “Hmm, let’s see. He’s twenty-eight. Close to six feet tall. Light brown hair, blue eyes. Trim.” She turned to glance out the window, then did a quick double take. “Wow, the sky’s getting dark.”
Miles bent to peer up through the windshield. “Well, hell. A storm’s rolling in.”
“We need the rain, but I’d rather it hold off another day or two.”
He parked in the driveway and, hurrying now, went around to the back to open the storage area. He noticed Maxi standing there, staring at the front door.
He didn’t see anything amiss but asked anyway. “Something wrong?”
“Just thinking about unlocking it for you.”
Yet she didn’t move. Miles’s heart softened. “Come here, Maxi.”
Feet dragging, she headed his way. “What?”
“Carry this.” He took the keys from her, then gave her his duffel and overnight bag. They weren’t heavy, but they required both her hands. “I can get the door.” He wouldn’t mention her nervousness; they’d said enough on it. Going forward, he’d try to ensure she didn’t have to mention it.
Loading his own arms with grocery bags, he said, “Come on.”
Together, they made multiple trips until all the groceries were in the kitchen and all the security supplies were unloaded on the dining room table.
They’d just finished carrying bags of the old food out to the big bin when the sky opened up in a great deluge. The cats must have known it was coming, because Miles didn’t see a single one. Grabbing Maxi’s hand, he raced for the front porch while the stinging rain pounded onto them.
Maxi laughed as she slipped and almost went down. Barely breaking stride, he scooped her up in his arms and bounded up the steps. Because they were soaked, he stopped outside the door and let her slide down his body. Lightning cut through the bloated black clouds. Thunder shook the foundation.
Steam rose between them.
Miles watched as rain dripped down her body, her top plastered to her breasts.
The chill drew her nipples tight.
Well, hell. If he didn’t find a distraction fast, he was a goner and he knew it. He glanced around the yard and found inspiration. “The cats are conspicuously absent.”
Blinking at the intrusion of that nonsense comment, she looked down and tugged her top away from her body. “They’re probably in the barn.”
“Hopefully.” Already puddles formed around her yard. “It’s going to be muddy.”
She nodded. “If this doesn’t let up, we’re going to get soaked again when we feed them dinner.”
We. He liked sharing that responsibility with her. Normally he’d have offered to take care of it while she stayed warm and dry.
Knowing how she’d react to that, he kept the offer to himself.
Lightning crashed again, making her jump. “Wow, that was close.”
“It’ll probably blow over, but yeah, we should get inside.” He opened the door and urged her in. “Towels?”
“I’ll grab them.” After stepping out of her sandals, she ducked into the main floor bathroom and grabbed two large white towels, handing one to him. They dried off the best they could.
Without thinking about it, Miles pulled off his sodden T-shirt, walked back out to the porch and wrung it out. When he turned to step back in, he found Maxi staring at him, her dark eyes consuming, her body tense in sexual awareness.
God, the things she did to him.
For a few heartbeats, neither of them moved. Slowly Miles came in, closing and locking the door behind him.
She cleared her throat. “I need to change.” Again, her gaze flickered to his chest.
“Me, too.” Ignoring the sparks, he gestured to the steps. “We can go up and grab your clothes first.”
Though she nodded, she didn’t yet move, and she didn’t take her rapt attention off his abs. Miles could almost see her mental struggle.
Oh, yeah, she wanted him.
He wouldn’t have to wait long to get what he wanted in return.
Finally, with a low sound of regret, she rushed past him.
Hiding his grin, Miles followed her up.
In her bedroom, she said, “If you don’t mind, I’ll just change in the closet.”
“Suit yourself.” He couldn’t sit, not with his jeans wet, so he walked to the window to glance out. The rain hadn’t slowed yet. He turned back to see that she’d gone into the closet, but hadn’t completely closed the door.
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Lori Foster
There's no resisting a desire like this… MMA fighter Miles Dartman's casual arrangement with personal shopper Maxi Nevar would be many men's fantasy. She seeks him out, they have mindblowing sex, she leaves. Rinse, repeat. Yet lately, Miles wants more. And when Maxi requests his services via the Body Armor security agency, he's ready to finally break through her defenses—and protect her day and night.Receiving a large inheritance has brought chaos and uncertainty into Maxi's life. Her ex has resurfaced, along with lots of former "friends," and someone is making mysterious threats. Then there's Miles, who doesn't ask for anything…except her trust. Pleasure is easy. Now Maxi has to give her heart as well as her body…or risk losing a man who could be everything she needs.
There’s no resisting a desire like this...
MMA fighter Miles Dartman’s casual arrangement with personal shopper Maxi Nevar would be many men’s fantasy. She seeks him out, they have mindblowing sex, she leaves. Rinse, repeat. Yet lately, Miles wants more. And when Maxi requests his services via the Body Armor security agency, he’s ready to finally break through her defenses—and protect her day and night.
Receiving a large inheritance has brought chaos and uncertainty into Maxi’s life. Her ex has resurfaced, along with lots of former “friends,” and someone is making mysterious threats. Then there’s Miles, who doesn’t ask for anything...except her trust. Pleasure is easy. Now Maxi has to give her heart as well as her body...or risk losing a man who could be everything she needs.
Praise for New York Times
bestselling author Lori Foster
“Teasing and humorous dialogue, sizzling sex scenes, tender moments, and overriding tension show Foster’s skill as a balanced storyteller.’’
—Publishers Weekly on Under Pressure (starred review)
“Best friends find hunky men and everlasting love in Foster’s latest charmer.... Her no-fail formula is sure to please her fans.”
—Publishers Weekly on Don’t Tempt Me
“Foster brings her signature blend of heat and sweet to her addictive third Ultimate martial arts contemporary.”
—Publishers Weekly on Tough Love (starred review)
“Emotionally spellbinding and wicked hot.”
—New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh on No Limits
“Storytelling at its best! Lori Foster should be on everyone’s auto-buy list.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon on No Limits
“Foster’s writing satisfies all appetites with plenty of searing sexual tension and page-turning action in this steamy, edgy, and surprisingly tender novel.”
—Publishers Weekly on Getting Rowdy
“A sexy, believable roller coaster of action and romance.”
—Kirkus Reviews on Run the Risk
“Steamy, edgy, and taut.”
—Library Journal on When You Dare
Close Contact
Lori Foster
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Dear Reader (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53),
I’m so excited to introduce the third book in my Body Armor series, featuring hot alpha males whose überprotective instincts are put to good use in their role as elite bodyguards.
Miles Dartman, the latest MMA fighter to join the elite Body Armor personal-security agency, has learned through his time as a heavyweight contender to always expect the unexpected. But he never imagined Maxi Nevar, the casual fling he can’t stop thinking about, would suddenly show up at Body Armor needing his help...or that getting to know her would only intensify their already sizzling connection. Now keeping her safe is more than just a job—and convincing her to trust him with her heart is the most important mission of his life.
I hope you enjoy Miles and Maxi’s romance. And of course, you’re always welcome to reach out to me. I’m active on most social media forums, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads, and my email address is listed on my website at www.lorifoster.com (http://www.lorifoster.com).
Happy reading!
Lori Foster
Contents
Cover (#u11f23ce7-02be-57fe-8260-731dc10da1b0)
Back Cover Text (#udd79b35c-521d-5f48-9202-e38ea18b2372)
Praise (#ub1454f13-325a-501e-b29e-761617316a83)
Title Page (#u313ac37e-f2f7-5421-8dd4-89f6dc1dc53b)
Dear Reader (#ue6706f32-d377-5bf6-bb30-6caf0e26f2d2)
CHAPTER ONE (#ucf01f607-08b3-56a7-8a90-15ddf80ac48e)
CHAPTER TWO (#u22c20998-be85-5828-b8af-8aba71dc0edc)
CHAPTER THREE (#u1e64260b-ffe6-5eb6-83e8-f0e1bfe0b983)
CHAPTER FOUR (#u4b590658-32c1-53e8-a48e-c2ff63c30654)
CHAPTER FIVE (#uf14f2d1a-7f07-553c-8a48-8269070fd912)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
MAXI OPENED HER eyes to a black velvet sky pierced with shimmering stars. A balmy breeze drifted over her skin. She frowned, her head aching horribly, her mouth as dry as cotton, her body heavy...every part of her hurt in one way or another. She stared at the sky, trying to make sense of it.
It took an extreme amount of effort, but she lifted up and winced at the sharp pain in her elbow and back. A strange sense of dread crawled over her.
What the hell? Gravel?
How was she on gravel? In dirt and clumps of dried grass... With her head now swimming and her stomach trying to revolt, she paused, closed her eyes and concentrated on not throwing up. When everything somewhat settled, she pried her eyes open again and slowly looked around.
Realization doused her in ice, followed by a wave of prickling heat.
Good God, she was outside, lying in a dry, rocky field.
Her heart rapped painfully hard, confusion gripping her so tightly that she couldn’t think. She didn’t know the time; she didn’t even know the day.
Where am I and why?
Past the confusion, expanding fear brought a sob up her throat. But sobbing would require sound, and she was too scared to make any noise.
Forcing her sluggish body to move, she shifted slightly and peered around. She recognized a tree, a fence... Okay, so she was on the farm that she’d inherited from her grandmother. The hard earth, dry from a long August drought, sent bristly weeds sticking into her skin.
She looked down at herself and recognized the sleep shirt and cutoff shorts she’d changed into after her shower. Each minuscule movement made her head throb in agony and sent acid burning through her stomach. She put a hand over her mouth to stave off the sickness.
Off to the side, something moved in the encircling darkness.
Frozen, her eyes wide in an effort to see, Maxi held her breath and waited. Another breeze moved the branches of the tree, allowing a splinter of moonlight to penetrate.
Yellow eyes came her way—and she realized it was a black cat strolling cautiously toward her.
Relief brought a rush of hot tears to her eyes. “Oh, baby, you scared me.” The cat, recognizing her voice, sat beside her. The moonlight slid away, but the cat’s yellow eyes remained visible, unblinking.
Because she needed to feel something real, Maxi pulled him into her lap and stroked his long back. “What am I doing out here?”
No answer. She heard only the rustling of the wind and a rumbling purr from the cat.
What should I do? How far away was she from the farmhouse? Trying to figure it out left her more frustrated. Tears spilled over to her cheeks and she dashed them away. Crying now wouldn’t help her.
She had to move.
With an effort, still clutching the cat, she got to her feet and turned a slow, clumsy circle. Once she moved away from the tree, the scant moonlight helped orient her. She was near the two-acre pond. Judging by the tall reeds that grew at the back of the pond, she needed to circle around to the dock, then go up the hill.
Tunnel vision distorted what the night didn’t hide, forcing her to feel her way in near blindness. It seemed every third step she found a rock or thistle that cut into her heel or tender arch. Once, she tripped and almost fell. She did drop the cat, but the dear thing didn’t leave her. In fact, she used him as a guide, following close behind as he meandered up the slight incline to the back porch. He, at least, had no problem seeing his way.
The house, dark inside and out, appeared as a looming gray structure that left her decidedly uneasy. She felt as if she approached danger rather than shelter.
The darkness didn’t make sense. She always left on the outside lights in the evening. A power outage? Maybe during a storm, but they hadn’t had one of those in a good long while.
Besides, an outage couldn’t explain why she’d awakened outside.
Nervousness and fear coalesced into real terror. While she gulped in the clear evening air, she belatedly realized why.
Someone did something to me.
How, she didn’t know. Thinking made her head hurt worse. She summoned only a vague memory of drinking a glass of wine on her sofa while reading a book. That had to have been hours ago. What had happened after that? Folding her arms around her stomach, she again fought the sickness.
Could there be an intruder in her house? Oh God, oh God, oh God.
Pausing near the back porch, she strained to listen for unfamiliar sounds, steadying her shaky limbs with a hand planted on the outer wall. More cats joined her. The isolated farmhouse her grandmother had left her came with too many cats to count—and a distinct lack of nearby neighbors. At about eight miles away, Mr. Barstow would be the closest, but at seventy-nine, he wouldn’t be much help if a threat remained.
She was too far from town to walk anywhere, and her car keys were in the house.
What to do?
Desperation decided for her.
Her chest tight with dread, she crept up the porch, carefully turned the doorknob and found the back door unlocked, then slipped inside while making sure to keep the cats out. The last thing she needed was to try to distinguish their movements from any other sound.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears and her blood rushed, making her dizzy.
The back of the house opened into a short hall. Stairs to her right led up to the bedroom she used, a small study and a bathroom. To her left was the main floor bedroom, but it had been her grandmother’s, and other than packing up the belongings and keeping it clean of dust, she didn’t intrude into that room.
Her keys hung in the kitchen straight ahead, but her purse, which had her wallet, would be in the living room on the desk. She couldn’t leave without money.
Each creeping step sharpened her nervousness until a scream built in her throat. Gasping each silent breath, she lacked her usual grace, moving like someone suffering a killer hangover. In the dark, she groped around, being as silent as possible. She didn’t dare turn on a light; what if she did and she found someone standing there? She shuddered at the thought.
When she finally located her purse, her knees almost gave out. She hooked the strap over her head and across her body to ensure she wouldn’t drop it. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness so that now she could make out vague shadows.
Somehow that seemed even eerier.
Anxious to escape, she made her way back through to the kitchen. Praying she wouldn’t drop them, or even rattle them, she grabbed the keys in her fist. Next, she slipped her feet into the rubber boots she wore when going to the barn and, because she couldn’t stop shaking, she snagged the flannel shirt off the hook. She felt sick with trepidation by the time she got back out the door.
And she still didn’t feel safe.
Dawn cast a gray hue over the horizon, telling her it was almost morning. How long had she been outside? No, she wouldn’t tax herself by thinking about that now. Her number one priority was getting away until she could figure out what had happened.
She wanted to run to her car, but not only was she unsteady on her feet, she feared that once she started to run, hysteria would set in. She needed to stay calm, so she took one deliberate step after another, constantly checking her surroundings.
At her car, she hesitated. If anyone was watching for her, the light when she opened her door would give her away.
As to that, what if someone was in the car?
She dug out her cell phone and, willing to risk it, used the softer light to look into the front and back seat.
Thankfully empty.
All but diving into the driver’s seat and then locking the doors, she fumbled until she got the key in the lock and started the engine.
Breath held, she turned on the headlights.
A dozen sets of cat eyes reflected back at her, but she saw nothing more sinister than that. She quickly looked behind her, too, but saw only shifting shadows that further intimidated her.
She put the car in Drive and, because she remained a little muddled, carefully pressed on the gas. Down the long drive to the main gravel road, she drove slowly, well aware that the cats often showed up out of nowhere.
As she cleared the property line, she knew what she had to do.
He might not appreciate seeing her again, not after such a long absence without a single word from her, but she could explain that if necessary.
She knew where he worked. She knew he was more than capable of helping.
And thanks to her recent inheritance, she could even afford him.
Miles Dartman, heavyweight MMA fighter turned bodyguard, the sexiest, and most sexual, man she’d ever known, was about to be in her employ.
It was the only upside to a very rough two months.
* * *
MILES RODE THE private elevator in the Body Armor agency to his boss’s very upscale office. The early-morning summons left him confused and he didn’t like it. He’d been in the shower when she’d called at 7:00 a.m. Her message said only that he was to get there as quickly as possible. She had a surprise for him.
Of course, he’d called her back, but she’d told him she’d explain everything once he made it to the office.
He’d finished his extensive training only a few weeks ago, learning enhanced computer skills and practicing his shot with a variety of guns. He’d settled on the Glock as his preferred weapon, but he carried a few other toys, as well.
So far, he’d had two cases, both of them pretty routine. He’d helped to control pushy fans at a sporting event for a baseball player during a PR stint, and then he’d escorted a big-time author with a new movie deal to some local signings around the area.
Easy peasy.
He missed competing, damn it. Missed the cage and the physical exertion. If fate hadn’t played him a dirty hand, he’d be at it still, fighting his way to a championship belt.
The loss of his fight career was only one of many regrets he suffered lately, and as usual, he shoved it from his mind, determined to live in the here and now.
The elevator opened and he stepped out, going straight to Sahara Silver’s posh office. As he passed Enoch Walker, Sahara’s personal assistant, he said, “She’s expecting me.”
“Indeed she is,” Enoch said without looking up from his PC screen. “Go right on in.”
Did he detect an unusual note in Enoch’s voice? Hard to tell when Enoch stayed focused on his task.
Miles liked Enoch a lot. He was a little dude with a will of iron and mad organizational skills. Always friendly, incredibly smart and damned reliable.
Because the door was closed, Miles knocked, and a mere second later it opened, almost as if Sahara had been waiting for him.
Oozing satisfaction, she smiled. “Miles.”
He paused, suddenly on guard. So far, his boss had been something of an enigma. On the outside, she was a real looker, a shapely five feet eight inches of sass with glossy mink-brown hair, direct blue eyes and the demeanor of an Amazon. On the inside, she probably wrestled alligators and won. Always polished, always in killer heels and always sporting attitude.
“That’s a different smile for you,” he noted. “Why do I feel like I’m about to be offered as a sacrifice to angry gods?”
The smile widened, then she stepped back to allow him to enter. “Thank you for getting here so quickly.”
“You didn’t leave me much choice with that cryptic message.”
“I’m never cryptic.”
“No? Then what was so urgent that I—” That was when Miles saw her. His eyes flared as he noted her huddled position in a padded chair, a steaming cup of coffee held in both hands. “Maxi?”
When he said her name, she straightened but didn’t look at him.
“What are you doing here?” For two months, he’d waited for her, hoping she’d get in touch again.
She hadn’t.
From the start, she’d made it clear that he was a convenient booty call and nothing more. That should have worked great for him, but instead it had driven him nuts.
He’d finally, well, almost, put her out of his mind with the job switch and move to a new apartment. Now here she was, at Body Armor of all places.
A slow burn started, making him blind to Sahara standing close, at least until she said, “Your friend has had something of an ordeal.”
“And she came to me?” Umbrage churned, made sharper by other losses at the same time. He fashioned a sarcastic grin. “Surprising, since she walked away without a goodbye.”
Maxi looked at him then. Those dark eyes he’d always found so mesmerizing were now glazed and somehow troubled.
And they stared at him like a lifeline.
It dawned on him that she looked terrible, when he hadn’t thought that possible. One of the very few things she’d ever revealed to him was her occupation as a personal stylist, a job that seemed to suit her, since the lady had always looked very put together.
Not this time, though. Dried leaves clung to her long, tangled blond hair. Gone were the trendy clothes, and instead she wore an oversize flannel shirt, faded cutoffs and bright green rubber boots dotted with yellow ducks. The ridiculous clothes made her look endearing.
Concern sharpened his tone. “What the hell happened to you?”
When she didn’t answer, he went to one knee in front of her, resting his hands on her slim thighs. A few months ago they’d been in a similar position, both naked. But she hadn’t looked wounded then. No, she’d been soft and hot, moaning his name.
Blocking that memory seemed imperative. His tone didn’t lose the edge. “Maxi?”
Pale slender fingers curled around the cup of steaming coffee. She swallowed audibly, met his gaze again and muttered, “I’m not sure.”
“What does that mean?”
Sahara strolled up behind him. “Sometime before dawn, Ms. Nevar woke up in her yard, feeling very sick and with no memory of how she got there.”
Miles looked back at Sahara, his voice stern with surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“She was a fair distance from her farmhouse but made it to the back porch. Needless to say, she wasn’t keen on going back inside, not without knowing what might await her. The house was dark and her property is isolated with no close neighbors.”
Miles sat back on his heels in disbelief. He didn’t know jack shit about her property, but he put that aside for the moment. “Drunk?” He hadn’t figured her for a big drinker, but then, what did he really know about her—except that, for a time, she’d enjoyed using him for sex.
As if to convince him, Maxi stared into his eyes. “I’d only had one glass of wine. At least, that’s all I can remember.”
All she remembered? “Could you have drunk enough to black out?”
She took that like a physical hit, flinching away from him and making him feel like an asshole.
Brisk now, Sahara said, “Despite being disoriented, she had the forethought, and guts I might add, to enter the unlit house to get her purse, car keys and those adorable boots.”
Adorable? They belonged on a ten-year-old, not a grown woman.
“Staying there was out of the question, and she wasn’t sure where else to go.” Sahara propped a hip on the desk. “Since she remembered that you work here, this is where she came.”
So she finally had a use for him again? No, he wouldn’t be that easy, not this time. But he had questions, a million of them.
Looking back at his boss, Miles said, “Give us a minute, will you?”
She smiled down at him. “Not on your life.”
He recognized that inflexible expression well enough. Sahara Silver did what she wanted, when she wanted. The lady was born to be a boss. In medieval times, she probably would have carried a whip. Still, he tried. “If she’s here to see me—”
“She’s here to hire you.”
Hire him? He turned back to Maxi and got her timid nod. Skeptical, he clarified, “As a bodyguard?”
“Yes.”
Since when did a woman need to be protected from a hangover? Did he want to be involved with that?
Now that he worked at the Body Armor agency, did he have a choice?
Sahara ruled with a small iron fist and she, at least, seemed taken with Maxi’s far-fetched tale. If Sahara took the contract, he might not have much say in it.
And who was he kidding? Much as he’d like to deny it, territorial tendencies had sparked back to life the second he saw Maxi again. In his gut, he knew he was happy—even relieved—to again have her within reach.
Maybe because she was the one who got away, or the one who hadn’t been all that hung up on him in the first place.
His ego was still stung, that was all.
It didn’t help that her disinterest had piled on at a low point in his life, making her rejection seem more important.
She’d come on to him hot and heavy, they’d gotten together three separate times, had phenomenal sex that, at least to him, had felt more than physical, and then she’d booked. She’d guarded her privacy more than her body, and other than her name and occupation, he hadn’t known much about her, not where she worked, or lived, or anything about her family...
As to that, maybe getting smashed and passing out in her yard were regular things for her. If so, he’d count himself lucky that she’d cut ties when she had.
Yet, somehow, that didn’t fit with his impressions of her.
First things first. He had to get a handle on what had actually happened. “Where is this farmhouse?”
“In Burlwood.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Few people have. It’s a really small town forty-five minutes south of here, close to the Kentucky border.”
With that answered, he went on to other details. “So you woke up outside?”
“Yes.”
“In your front yard?”
She shook her head. “A good distance away, on the far side of the pond.”
“Like a little decorative pond?”
“It’s two acres.”
Wow. Okay, so not close to the house, then. “How long were you out there?”
Her brows pinched together and her hands tightened. “I honestly don’t know. The last thing I remember is opening a book to read.” She drew in a deep, shaky breath. “That’s it. Just reading. Then I woke up with a splitting headache, some bug bites and gravel digging into my spine.”
“What were you doing before opening the book?”
Staring down at her hands, she gave it some thought. “I remember cleaning the kitchen.”
“Before that?”
She shook her head. “It was an all-day job.”
Who spent all day cleaning one room? He didn’t know Maxi’s habits, but maybe she’d never done any cleaning if tidying up dinner felt like a big chore to her. Hell, all he really knew about her was that she made him laugh, he enjoyed talking to her and she burned him up in bed.
Yeah, not a good time for that particular memory.
“Did you have company?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You don’t remember?”
“I can’t remember much of anything.”
“Then how do you know—”
“No one comes out to the farmhouse,” she snapped. “But I already told you, if someone did, I do not remember it.” Temper brought her forward in her seat. “I can’t remember anything. Especially not how I ended up sleeping on the ground in the middle of the night!”
Okay, so he had to admit, all in all that sounded like more than alcohol. Hell, had someone actually drugged her? If so, how and when? Most likely on a date.
Or had she trolled another bar?
Narrowing his eyes, Miles said, “I know you haven’t been to Rowdy’s lately.” Where they’d met. It was a nice place, small and with enough regulars that spiking a drink wouldn’t go unnoticed. That brought up another idea. “Switched to a less reputable bar?”
Still breathing hard from her rant, she settled back, and after visibly collecting herself, she shook her head. “No.”
That clipped voice didn’t deter him from his questions. “Any boyfriends been around?”
She gave another sharp shake of her head. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“No one?”
Glaring, she repeated, “No one.”
“Did you piss off your newest bed partner, then?”
“Miles,” Sahara chided mildly.
“It’s a legitimate question.”
Maxi scowled at him. “No bed partner.”
“You’re telling me that in the two months since I’ve seen you—”
“There’s been no one.” Belligerent now, she muttered, “Not since you, and you were a long shot. Sort of a last hurrah.”
She kept saying the craziest things. “I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.”
Sahara interrupted with “Look at yourself, Miles. With all her new obligations, she obviously didn’t mean to get involved, but then, I’m sure she didn’t expect to meet you.”
“Exactly,” Maxi stated, as if vindicated.
His temples started to throb. “Exactly what?”
Helpfully, Sahara explained, “Oh, sweetie, you were supposed to be a one-night stand. Not a repeat performance.”
Maxi nodded. “But what woman could resist coming back?”
Raising her hand, Sahara said, “I could, but then, I’m used to being surrounded by—” she flapped her hand at Miles as she searched for the words “—by temptation. Body Armor is the place to go for sexier protection, you know.” Then sotto voce, she added to Maxi, “I’m trying to cement that brand for the agency. So far, I’m meeting resistance.”
Sahara’s typical blunt approach might have insulted someone else; after all, she now knew something very personal and private about him. He couldn’t blame Maxi for sharing, not when Sahara had a way of getting the details out of people. Plus, Maxi was obviously out of sorts, therefore easily susceptible to Sahara’s not-so-subtle digging. At the moment, though, offense was the last thing he felt. Everyone at the agency was used to Sahara’s informal and often intrusive manner. It went hand in hand with a lot of caring, making her a most unusual but likable boss.
After rolling his eyes at Sahara, Miles turned to Maxi. He wanted to believe everything she said, he really did. He’d even admit that she looked sincere.
Problem was, he knew her sex drive matched his own, and he sure as hell hadn’t been celibate.
Maybe this time she’d hooked up with the wrong man. Had she played around and then tried to call it quits, but unlike Miles, the new guy knew where to find her and, in a sick way, had insisted?
He hated that thought. His natural instinct was to protect women, never to abuse them. His reaction to Maxi had honed that instinct to a razor’s edge.
Still, facts were facts. Why would a total stranger drug her only to leave her outside? That didn’t make any sense.
But a pissed-off lover? That at least explained a motive, if the guy had only wanted to fuck with her.
Miles gently lifted her chin. Caution filled her big dark eyes, but she didn’t pull away. Checking for any other signs of injury, he tipped her face first one way, then the other. He didn’t see any bruises, but that didn’t mean much. He hated to ask, but he had to know. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
Her tongue touched over her dry lips. “I don’t think so.”
Did she understand what he was asking? “I mean—”
“I know what you mean.” She spared a brief glance for Sahara, then lowered her voice. “I don’t think anyone...touched me. Not that way.”
Matching his voice to hers, he whispered, “You checked?”
She nodded. “As best I could. I mean, I was still wearing my shorts. And my...my panties weren’t twisted or anything.” She bit her bottom lip. “If anything like that did happen, I’d know, right?”
“I assume so.” Miles wanted to check for himself, but he could just imagine how that’d go over.
Sahara probably wouldn’t give him the privacy for it anyway.
So if she had been drugged—then what? She’d have to open up first instead of denying any involvement, but if he could find the guy, he’d annihilate him, no problem.
Because he didn’t want this to get personal, he told himself he’d feel the same for any woman. “You’re sure you don’t remember anything else? No other clues? No one I should check out?”
Nodding at Sahara, Maxi said, “Nothing that she hasn’t already told you.” Shivering again, she sipped the hot coffee.
It wasn’t cold in the office. In fact, beneath his hands her thighs felt warm. Reaction, then. To the upset of thinking she’d been roofied, or because she had been roofied?
The urge to gather her close strained him. Only the hard reminder that she’d left his life as quickly as she’d entered it kept him somewhat impersonal. “We’ll find out what happened.”
Relief washed over her, making her go limp. She looked down, gulped a few quivering breaths and nodded. “Thank you.”
The tears in her voice nearly undid him.
It must have affected Sahara, too, because even though she’d refused to give them privacy moments before, she now said softly, “I’ll be right back,” and then she slipped from the room, closing the door behind her.
Silence stretched out.
As Miles watched, Maxi banked the desperation and forced herself to calm. It surprised him when she said, “You’ve gotten bigger.”
He lifted a brow. Now that they had a moment alone, that was all she had to say to him? Or was she just hoping for a distraction? “I’m not fighting anymore. Now I eat what I want.”
“But you’re not heavy.” Her warm gaze moved over his shoulders. “You’re still as chiseled as ever. Just...bigger. Bulkier.”
He shrugged. “True.” He’d had plenty of time to exercise and lift weights, especially since the Body Armor agency kept a state-of-the-art gym with every type of equipment a fitness buff could want. After all, bodyguards had to stay in shape. Plus, beating a heavy bag helped rid him of his anger.
Or so he’d told himself.
At the moment, the anger seemed dangerously close to the surface. “A lot can change in two months.”
Guilt brought color to her face, so she didn’t appear as pale. She turned away before saying, “I should apologize—”
“You made it clear there was no commitment.” That was usually how he liked it. Just not this time.
“I know, but... It’s just that I had so much to deal with and...” She blew out a breath. “I was tempted to lean on you.”
He waited, but when she said nothing else, he frowned. “That would have been so bad?”
She choked. “You can’t tell me you’d have wanted that.”
“I don’t think you have a clue what I wanted.” Mostly because she’d never bothered to ask.
“Look at yourself,” she said, almost in accusation.
Sahara had said the same, and he still didn’t know what it meant.
“You can have anyone you want. I had no reason to think you’d want me, especially with all my...chaos.”
Chaos? He started to ask, but she cut him off.
“I figured it was better to go before I got rejected.”
With quiet anger, Miles said, “I wouldn’t have rejected you.”
“You can’t know that when you don’t understand what my life is like.”
He’d already said too much, more than he’d meant to, so Miles shook his head. “Suit yourself. But now that you’ve explained and had your coffee, you need to go to the hospital.”
She groaned.
“If what you said is true—”
Insulted, she asked, “You still doubt me?”
“—then you know someone probably roofied you.” Yeah, he had doubts. Too much of her story didn’t add up. If she claimed to have an angry ex, or if she’d been in a club, it’d make more sense. Either way, they’d know the truth soon enough.
Until then, he had an opportunity to turn the tables on her. He’d be accessible, he’d help her, but she’d be the one left wanting.
Sahara reentered with a soft throw blanket. Miles had no idea where she’d found it, but she handed it to Maxi.
Miles drew it over and around her shoulders. “Who would want to hurt you?”
She thanked him, then said, “I have no idea. I don’t have any close neighbors, no recent involvements.” Her gaze flashed to his. “Well, except for you.”
“That was months ago and we weren’t all that involved.”
She looked ready to toss the coffee in his face. “If I go to the hospital, someone will recognize my name and tell my brother.”
“Your brother?”
“He works in the ER. Nevar isn’t exactly a common last name, so he’ll know I’m there, and then he’s going to ask a lot of questions I can’t answer, and probably try to insist I should sell the house.”
Every word out of her mouth told him something new about her. Her definition of “chaos” was starting to make sense. “Maxi—”
“I’m feeling better.”
She wanted to avoid her brother that badly? Or maybe none of it was true and she didn’t want it proved.
Trying to be the voice of reason, Miles lifted her wrist to show her how her hands still trembled. “Better,” he agreed, because she was no longer curled in on herself, “but still pretty shaken. You haven’t regained all your color, and your eyes aren’t completely clear. You have to get checked.”
Sahara spoke up. “Miles is right, but I can offer an alternative. Body Armor has a private physician available to clients with special circumstances. I believe you qualify. You’d see her at a very secure, nearby location. Does that suit you?”
Nodding, Maxi said, “That would be so much better, thank you.”
Miles stared at Sahara. “You’re just full of surprises.”
“You’ll learn everything as we go along.” She strode around her desk to her seat, saying, “I assume you’re happy to take the case?”
“Happy?” He snorted. “No.”
She arched her brows. “But you’ll do it?”
Pretending to think about it, he gave Maxi a long look. “That depends.”
Exasperated, Maxi stood.
Since he didn’t move, she ended up very close to him, his face aligned with her hips.
As he slowly stood, too, he said, “You’ve probably figured out that we have a history together?”
“Yes,” Sahara said, her tone dry. “I did pick up on that.”
“An intimate history,” he unnecessarily stated.
Maxi stiffened. “This has nothing to do with that.”
“No?” Miles wouldn’t let her rile him. After two months of missing her, he’d finally resigned himself to never seeing her again. Yet here she was, not only seeking him out, but in trouble.
Sahara rolled her eyes. “I understand this situation is unique, so please, Miles, there’s no need to explain further.”
“Well, let me explain,” Maxi said. “I came here to hire him, not just to get him back in my bed.”
Not just to get him in bed? Bemused, Miles stared down at her. She said that as if she hoped to accomplish both. “Since you’re the one who kicked me out of it, I didn’t think you had.”
Her back went so straight she looked ready to crack. With a rush of heat flushing her face, she plunked the coffee cup down on the desk. “I didn’t kick you out,” she stated, her hands fisted. “We were casual at best—”
“By your insistence.” To Sahara, who had paused with a finger over the intercom button to listen to their byplay, he said, “I didn’t know she had a doctor for a brother, or lived in a farmhouse, or that she had property. Hell, I barely knew her name.”
Maxi gasped.
He continued anyway. “No personal questions were allowed.”
“I never heard you complain!”
He’d complained plenty...in his own head. From the beginning, Maxi had struck a chord. The sex was unparalleled, yet after having her only three times, she’d cut ties.
He’d wanted more.
Apparently she hadn’t.
On only one night had he managed to break down a few of her walls...and that was the last he’d heard from her. He’d awakened the next morning to an empty bed.
“If I’d wanted to see her again,” Miles said, keeping Maxi’s gaze trapped in his, “I had no way of getting hold of her. That was her plan, of course.”
Sahara smiled. “She’s here now. I imagine you’ll get to know her quite well during this assignment.” She pressed the button and said to Enoch, “Get hold of Dr. Brummel and tell her we need an appointment immediately. Let me know as soon as you have a time arranged.” With that done, she took her seat, steepled her fingers and looked at each of them. “As Miles put it, he already knows you intimately, and because this will be a job that requires him to stick close to you, that’s bound to be a benefit. Who’d want a complete stranger underfoot?”
Maxi looked away without replying.
“While it’s true I like to offer sexier agents, actual intimacy with the client is generally taboo—”
Miles snorted. “The horse is out of the barn on that one.”
“—but I’m feeling so much animosity that I’m not sure if it’d even be an issue.”
Still Maxi stayed silent, not issuing a single objection. So did she want him back in her bed?
Did he want to be there?
Damn straight. Knowing that this time it’d be on his terms only made the idea hotter.
Unaware of his mental ramblings, Sahara asked, “Is there going to be a problem with the two of you getting along?”
Now that he had the bare bones of a plan, Miles said with confidence, “Not for me,” as if he could be totally impartial.
Ha! He could deny it all he liked, but in his gut, he knew he’d already staked a claim to Maxi. Even though it appeared she’d gotten into trouble with another man, he still wanted her.
The chemistry was as strong as ever. He knew it. He felt it.
Given that she’d noted small changes in his physique, he suspected she felt it, too.
He hadn’t been good enough to continue seeing, but now she wanted him working for her, and possibly more. He was definitely the safer bet for her, since he’d never coerced a woman in his life, and he sure as hell wouldn’t drug anyone.
Not liking the idea of her with another man, he cut off that thought.
“I realize this is a horrible imposition,” Maxi said, staring up at him. “The thing is, I came to you specifically because I know you and I trust you—”
“There’s more about me that you don’t know,” he corrected. “But you’re right to trust me.”
She looked ready to argue that point, but instead she rested against him, her forehead on his sternum, her small body leaning into his.
CHAPTER TWO (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
SURPRISED BY THE sudden affection—or was it simple need for comfort?—Miles put his arms around her. She felt soft and warm, and damn, he couldn’t help but react. The stirring came from deep inside him, along with a need to coddle her. “Hey, you okay, babe?”
Nodding, she whispered, “Honest to God, Miles, I don’t have the energy to fight.” She moved even closer. “Someone did something to me. I don’t know who it was, or why, and it’s so blasted scary. All I know for sure is that it wasn’t you, because you would never hurt me.”
She’d rejected him, so why did her trust make him feel so damn good? “No, I wouldn’t.” He was glad she understood that, but he was also pissed at himself for upsetting her more after what she’d been through.
Even if she lied about seeing another guy or being at a bar, he couldn’t bear seeing her like this.
They’d hash out everything, but not until she was in fighting form. “I’m sorry.”
She tipped her face up to his. “That’s what I was going to say.”
He pulled a leaf from her hair. “I’ve never seen you messy before.” It made her somehow seem more vulnerable.
“Well, get used to it. I mean, I’m not usually this messy. But with the farmhouse now, and all those cats, it’s tough to stay stylish.”
“Farmhouse?” he asked. And cats?
“I inherited it from my grandmother.”
He wanted to know everything about her, and now he had his chance. It was a shitty situation, but it was all he had, so he’d work with it. “It’s a nice place?”
“Shoot no. It’s a pit.”
So she hadn’t wanted him to see it...yet some other guy knew where to find her? Leaning closer to her ear, he said, “You should have come to me privately. Body Armor isn’t cheap.”
“I know. I can afford it.”
“Yes, she can,” Sahara said, proving she hadn’t missed a thing. “I already discussed all that with her while we were waiting for you to arrive.”
With his arms still around Maxi, his hands moving up and down her narrow back, Miles glanced at Sahara. “All what?”
“Ms. Nevar not only inherited from her grandmother, but her mother, also.”
In one morning, Sahara had learned more about Maxi than he had after sleeping with her on three separate occasions. “Does that mean your mother passed away, too?”
“Yes.”
To lose two people so close together was truly tragic. “When did they die?”
“Not long before I met you.” She snuggled in again.
Damn, that felt right, always had, and for now at least, he had the excuse he needed to hold her. Sure, he was still pissed. She’d gotten him interested and then disappeared on him, and apparently had still been playing the field. Since he had, too, he’d feel like a hypocrite. Only, he hadn’t been the one to call it quits with her.
Given that she’d suffered the loss of two family members before hooking up with him, Miles wondered if he’d only been a distraction for her. A way to cope with her grief. That would explain why she’d been so withdrawn, why she’d given herself physically while holding back emotionally.
It didn’t explain why she’d jumped from his bed to the bed of some nameless asshole who’d doped her.
Sahara asked, “Were your mother and grandmother together when they...?”
Maxi shook her head. “Mom died under anesthesia during a procedure a few weeks before my grandma.”
“And your grandmother?” Miles asked.
“She fell down her steps and suffered a severe head injury. No one found her until it was too late.”
“Damn.” He stroked up and down her back, noticing that he could span her shoulder blades with one hand. The scents of earth, warm skin, shampoo and woman filled his head. “I’m sorry.”
She tilted back to look up at him again, her chocolate eyes bruised and worried. “There are reasons I didn’t tell you any of this.”
Right, because she hadn’t planned to stick around. Now that she needed him, would she finally open up? It wasn’t the time to press her. “We can talk about all that after we’ve gotten you settled.”
“But that’s just it. I’m not going to be settled for a while.” Stepping away from him, steadier now, she straightened the throw over her shoulders. “I don’t know what’s going on at the farmhouse, but I don’t think it’s going to be resolved in a day, or even a week. I’ve already had the county police out there for other incidents, and they’ve found nothing. I can’t keep pestering them when I have no proof of anything.”
Maybe the new house had spooked her. Unfamiliar places could do that. You heard and saw things that you didn’t recognize. So far her issues didn’t require a bodyguard, but he’d be happy to personally ensure her safety. “You didn’t need to go through the agency. I could just take a look around—”
Maxi put her shoulders back again. “I want to hire you to stay with me so that someone else is there when things happen. And something will happen. It always does. But I can’t ask you to do that unless I’m paying.”
Because she didn’t want to get personally involved? Too bad. It was his turn to set the tone of their relationship. “What kind of things?”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“Do you want to sit back down?” By the second, she looked stronger, but it still worried him. If what she said was true, every minute they waited to see the doctor could be critical.
“Not a bad idea,” Sahara said. “It shouldn’t be long before Dr. Brummel can see you, but you should rest until then.”
Maxi shook her head as she paced. “I need to keep moving.”
Staying out of her way, Miles leaned against Sahara’s desk and folded his arms. “Okay, then let’s start with what happened last night. You said other things had happened, but waking up outside, the loss of memory, that was a first?” God, he hoped so. If she’d gone through that before and hadn’t come to him—
“That’s the only time it happened or I’d have been here sooner.” She hugged her arms around herself. “I was dealing okay with everything else. Sort of, anyway. But last night... I don’t ever want to go through that again.”
“You won’t.” He’d see to it.
Sahara got up to refill Maxi’s coffee. “What kind of other things?”
She gratefully accepted the coffee. “I know some of it will sound odd, like I’m imagining things. I swear I’m not. There’ve been sounds that startled me in the middle of the night and left me spooked. Weird noises, not like the house settling. I know that happens. This was more like...someone was actually in the house, walking around. Only, when I check, I can never find anything, and the doors and windows are always still locked.”
He could think of a dozen ways to explain that. “Could be a raccoon in the attic.”
Maxi shook her head. “No, I have my fair share of issues with critters, believe me. But I’m pretty sure raccoons can’t drive.”
Sahara and Miles looked at each other.
Maxi started pacing again. “I woke up one morning and my car was parked in a different spot from where I’d left it. I know because I always park it in the same place.”
Houses made noises. He could discount that, especially since even she said she hadn’t found anything. But this? “Someone moved your car?”
“It didn’t move itself.”
“Could you have left it in gear or something?” Sahara asked. “Was it on a hill?”
“It was moved from the driveway facing the house to the side yard turned away from the pond. Not on a hill.”
“And you’re sure you didn’t—”
“What?” she challenged, glaring at Miles. “Stagger in drunk and park in a stupid place that didn’t make any sense and then—of course, because I was so drunk—not remember it?”
He’d have to see the area before he could come up with an explanation for that one. “I wasn’t accusing you of anything.”
“I think you were.” She glared a second more, then turned away. “Ever since then I’ve kept it locked.”
“You probably should have been doing that anyway.”
Another red-eyed glare. “Sometimes things in the barn are rearranged from how I put them. Equipment and stuff.” She paused by the window to look out. “One morning when I got up, I found the water turned on full blast in the kitchen sink. It had overflowed all over the floor.”
“That’s what you were cleaning?”
“No, that was a week ago. Last night I was doing a bigger job, scrubbing everything, including the oven. But I’m having a hard time getting ahead when a bunch of random, weird things keep happening.”
Sahara sat back in her chair. “Well, if I believed in the paranormal, I’d say you have a ghost.”
Maxi rubbed one eye tiredly. “I don’t believe in ghosts, so I need to find out what’s really going on. I didn’t know where to go. There’s no one else I trust. I didn’t want to bother you, Miles, but waking up on the ground, with everything so pitch-black I could barely figure out where I was, well, I don’t mind telling you, it scared me half to death.” She shuddered. “I haven’t been back to the house yet, but I do need to go there because the cats will be waiting to be fed.”
Miles slowly nodded. She’d said a lot, but he asked only one question. “Cats?”
* * *
AFTER ASKING ENOCH to take Maxi to the waiting area right outside her office, Sahara requested a private word with Miles.
“Business talk,” she told Maxi. “I’ll only keep him a moment.”
Miles waited, arms crossed, as Sahara closed the door, then sat her shapely tush on the edge of her desk, braced her hands flat behind her and crossed her long legs at the ankles.
After a lengthy, assessing look, she asked, “What do you think?”
He didn’t bother pretending to misunderstand. “That she’s leaving out major chunks of the story.”
Sahara nodded. “Not a lot of that makes sense, does it?”
“Almost none of it,” Miles agreed. “I think she was drugged, but the scenario she laid out is tough to swallow.”
“You don’t buy that a stranger came to the house, drugged her for reasons unbeknownst to her, carried her outside, laid her gently in the yard, then left without taking advantage of her vulnerable state?”
He snorted. “Do you?”
She gave it some thought before answering. “I don’t know. It’s almost too bizarre not to be true. She’s definitely scared. That’s genuine.”
Yeah, and he hated it. “I’ll figure out what’s going on. She’ll have to fess up, though.” Once she did, he’d take charge.
Of everything.
“You want her to ‘fess up’ about other men, I presume? She said she hasn’t been involved with anyone since you.”
Miles wasn’t buying it. “Why would a total stranger want to bother her?”
“Now, there’s the big question—motive.” After a thoughtful moment, Sahara said, “It’s hard to believe she kicked you out of bed.”
Shit. Stiffening, Miles grumbled, “I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
“I mean,” she continued, “look at you. You’re such a specimen.”
One thing he’d learned while working at Body Armor: Sahara Silver had a twisted sense of humor, and she didn’t mind bludgeoning others with it, even her employees. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Not a single blush, huh?” She feigned disappointment. “I suppose you have to realize the impact you have.”
Impact? He must not have had much, given that Maxi had walked away. “Knock it off already. This is serious.”
“Very serious, if what she’s said is true. What I find interesting is that you appear to be jealous of this other man that she may or may not have been involved with, and that shocks me. After all, she came to you.”
“To hire me.” Not just because she wanted him back in her bed.
Not because he’d had a damned impact.
“You don’t like those dynamics, with her being your employer of sorts? Well, consider this scenario. What if some psycho saw her at...say the grocery store? Or the gas station? She’s an attractive woman. Even in her ensemble today, I could see that.”
“She’s beautiful.” And sexy as sin, and hot, and—
“And what if our psycho followed her home and realized she lived all alone, with no close neighbors?”
His heart started beating harder. “You think that’s a possibility?”
“You know, my brother practically raised me here at the agency. I’ve seen so many wicked, unbelievable things that I know anything is possible.”
Everyone believed Sahara’s brother was dead—except Sahara. She’d taken over running the agency, but Miles didn’t think she’d ever give up looking for her brother. “You believe that scenario, even if the supposed psycho didn’t do anything more than move Maxi from inside to outside?” How did that make sense?
“Who knows what’s in the mind of a lunatic?” Sahara brushed back her long hair. “Perhaps that was just his first salvo. He could be building up to something, gaining courage as he goes along.”
“Fuck.” He really hated that idea.
“Perhaps,” she continued, “he’s hoping to weaken her resolve, and then he can swoop in to be her hero.”
“Not happening.” That’d be his first rule. As long as he was hanging around to play protector, no other dude would be horning in.
Eyeing his clenched hands and aggressive stance, Sahara smiled with approval. “I think you care for her, Miles, or you wouldn’t be all grumpy instead of your usual jovial self. More than that, I think she cares for you or she wouldn’t have come to you when she needed help. I think,” she stressed, “that she has a rather fantastical story to tell, one that many people wouldn’t believe, but she’s trusting you with it and that should count for a lot.” She straightened and walked around to her chair in a clear dismissal. “But then, what do I know? I just run this place.”
* * *
“PRIVATE,” MILES STATED as he steered down the long, bumpy gravel drive lined by concealing trees and shrubs. The woods hid the house until you turned the last curve where the cleared land spread out in all its lacking glory.
He parked where she indicated, his gaze scouring the house, barn and pond. Without comment, he came around to open her door. She’d already stepped out, and of course, the cats knew it.
Miles stared in awe as the animals converged from everywhere. They dropped out of trees, crawled out from under bushes, ran up from the pond. There had to be thirty of them currently fascinated by having a new face around. As she’d told him, she didn’t get visitors.
The majority of the cats were black, a few white, a few mixed and a few yellow. Some were huge, others petite. Long and lean, chubby and squat. They were all adorable.
They’d been her grandmother’s beloved pets and now they depended on her.
Many were feral, coming only close enough to eat the food put out for them twice a day. Others would twine around her legs, and some insisted on being held.
As Miles gazed around at the property, he drew a deep breath. “The air smells really good here.”
“Fresh country air.” She enjoyed it, too. But now?
She looked over at the small farmhouse she’d inherited. One and a half stories with a painted deck off the upstairs bedroom that created a cover for the front porch below. Every morning she had her coffee on that porch and listened to the birds singing, watched the deer at the pond, and of course, she petted cats. Despite the work that needed to be done, she could truly love it here.
If it weren’t for the menace.
Staring at the house now, she felt dread go up her spine. No one will drive me away. Her grandmother had trusted her, and by God, she wouldn’t let her down.
Of course, she felt a lot safer now with Miles at her side. She gestured toward the barn. “The cat food is in there in a big barrel. I should take care of that first.”
He nodded, his critical gaze going over her as if looking for signs of exhaustion or illness. “You want to wait here?”
“Nope.” Determined as she might be to stand her ground, for now she didn’t want to be alone.
He looked divided, his gaze going back to the dark barn. “It might be better—”
“I go where you go.”
The way he studied her face again, she almost squirmed. “All right.” He offered his hand. “Let’s go.”
She hesitated. Being close to him did crazy things to her. His hands, especially, sparked memories of all the ways he’d touched her, encouraged her, driven her wild. She caught her breath, feeling heat blossom.
She still couldn’t believe she’d forced herself on him in the office, making him hold her when he’d been clear that he was angry with her.
But, God, she’d needed his touch. She’d needed to feel safe. So she’d swallowed her pride and, despite his obvious—and justified—annoyance with her, she’d borrowed his strength.
And he’d let her. Even clearly irritated with her, he’d been supportive, going with her to the doctor’s, treating her gently.
Much as he’d always treated her before she’d run away.
Hopefully, once she explained to him, he’d understand. Not that she could recapture what she’d lost...
With his hand still outstretched, Miles said, “It’s not an invitation to get naked, Maxi. It’s just holding hands.”
No, for her and her sensitized nerve endings, it was so much more.
Grumbling to herself for being a fool, she slipped her hand into his, and all those amazing contrasts converged on her. She was of average height for a woman, but Miles was such a big guy, so ripped and solid and capable that she felt petite in comparison.
The way his strong fingers curved so warmly around hers seemed so blasted right. He shortened his long stride to match hers, considerate without having to think about it.
Being here with him, she could almost convince herself that things would be okay. He was that type of guy, always upbeat with a crooked smile that melted a person’s heart.
Until today, she’d never seen him annoyed.
“You’re quiet,” he said, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. “Holding up okay?”
“Yes.” After Dr. Brummel confirmed that she’d been drugged, she’d been badly shaken. She’d known, but still, she’d been hoping for another explanation.
There hadn’t been one—and she still didn’t know why.
“It’s okay if you’re not, you know. The doc said you could be feeling the effects another twenty-four hours.”
“My head’s clearer by the minute.” They’d driven back to her farm with the windows open and the rush of fresh air entering Miles’s SUV had helped to clear out the cobwebs.
Most of her recovery, however, had to do with having Miles at her side. Fear, she’d quickly learned, was debilitating.
“Okay, then,” he said. “Cats first, then the house, and then we talk.”
She dreaded going back inside, but because she knew she’d have to, she only nodded. I’m not alone now.
From the day she’d met Miles, she’d wanted him. It was like a craving. He’d smiled at her across the bar, and she’d been ready to say a resounding “yes!” to a question he hadn’t yet asked. In fact, only a few hours after their first hello, she was the one to ask, “Want to go someplace more private?”
Luckily his apartment hadn’t been far from the bar.
She didn’t blame herself for falling hard at the first sight of him. Late twenties, with dark brown hair, green eyes showcased by thick dark lashes, and that endearing smile... What woman wouldn’t go after him?
Even better than his face was his body. Tall, broad in the chest and shoulders, carved with muscle. It boggled her mind that one man could be so incredibly perfect. He used to be a professional athlete and it showed. In the two months since she’d last seen him, he’d bulked up even more. Now he looked downright imposing.
But it was his personality that had really done her in. She’d wanted, needed, a physical distraction from her troubles.
Miles had turned out to be so much more.
“What are you thinking?”
That I was a fool for walking away. She couldn’t tell him that, though. “Just wondering what you must think, seeing all the cats and dead grass and the repairs that need to be made.”
“I’m thinking you have a lot to tell me. But if you need to nap, I can wait until tonight.”
“No, I don’t want to sleep.” She didn’t know how she’d ever sleep peacefully again.
Someone drugged me.
It kept popping up in her brain, kick-starting the paralyzing panic all over again. As if he understood, Miles tightened his fingers around hers, and that helped her shake it off. She concentrated on looking around the grounds while leading him to the barn.
The building sat a good distance behind the house, opposite of the pond, still sturdy but in need of paint. “Grandma used to keep a horse, cow and two goats in here. The farm animals were gone before I inherited the property, though.”
“And a bunch of cats took their place?”
“Seems like. That’s how I got the house, you know. My grandmother knew no one else would stay and take care of them. She left me a letter with her will, saying she was counting on me to do my duty.”
“Your duty, huh?”
She didn’t want to think about that either. “I’ve been catching them and getting them fixed. See the cats with notched ears? That means they’ve either been spayed or neutered, and they get a general checkup at the same time so they get their shots and checked for ear mites and fleas.”
“Must be expensive.”
“It just takes a lot of time. Dr. Miller, the vet, is giving me a discount, since I have so many cats here. He said my grandma would bring them in every so often, but it was a losing battle. She’d catch three, and at the same time another would have a litter of four.”
Miles turned thoughtful. “You take the cats to him, or he comes here?”
“I take them to him. I told you, no one comes here.”
“How far away is he?”
“It’s a twenty-minute drive. Once you get on the main road, it’s not far at all.” She pointed in the distance. “Opposite direction of how we came, and it’s the nearest civilization.”
“Not sure any of this feels all that civilized.”
She grinned. “Right. There’s a grocery and hardware store, a bank. The vet. Things like that. If you want to go to a movie theater or do any real shopping, it’s forty minutes back the way we came.”
“The cats are everywhere,” Miles noted, but not with disgust, not like he thought she ought to run them all off, or worse, destroy them.
She saw that he, too, was busy looking around for signs of danger. Neither of them saw anything but the beautiful trees and the brown grass in need of rain, the pond and the birds.
It was so beautiful.
And somehow treacherous.
The barn door stood ajar. Before Miles could wonder about it, she explained. “I leave it like that. Some of the cats get in there to sleep.” When she reached for the door, Miles held her back.
“Let me.” He gave it a good pull. As the heavy door swung out, sunlight poured in, slanting across golden straw, sending the shadows to recede. Dust motes floated in the air and earthy scents escaped. He stepped in cautiously, giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the dimmer interior.
They both jumped when a feral cat leaped from the loft and shot out past them.
Hand to her heart, Maxi said, “Blast, they get me every time.”
He laughed but said, “You have reason to be nervous and I’m not used to cats.”
“They appear at the darnedest times.” Like when she was trying to sneak into her own house.
Maxi sighed. She was tired, frazzled and ravenous. More than anything, she wanted breakfast—even though it was now time for lunch—and then she wanted a shower. Knowing someone had touched her made her feel dirty. She wanted to scrub from head to toes in hot water.
Yet nothing would get done until she’d taken care of the cats. They depended on her, and they looked disappointed that she hadn’t yet fed them. “There’s the barrel. I have to screw the lid on tight or the raccoons open it and it’s a free-for-all. Every bit of the food would be gone in one day.”
Grinning, Miles said, “I never pictured you on a farm dealing with a herd of cats and raccoons.”
She waved a hand down at her hideous outfit. “Yeah, I never pictured it either.”
“Actually, you look cute.”
Her incredulous gaze shot to his, but he didn’t notice as he wrestled the lid off the barrel. He managed it a whole lot easier than she usually did, but then, he was made of muscle.
Cats had followed them in, and now more gathered as he opened their food source. Meows filled the air. It was tough to move with so many animals twining around their legs.
After he almost tripped, Miles said, “Impatient, aren’t they?”
“I’m late.”
“What time do you usually feed them?”
“By seven thirty or so at the latest. Generally I feed them, then get my coffee and sit on the porch to enjoy the morning before I get started on chores.”
“Somehow, that doesn’t sound awful.”
“No,” she agreed. “It was actually a nice routine.” If it weren’t for so many different things conspiring against her, she’d be loving life right about now.
Several of the cats were trying to stretch up to the top of the barrel. Smiling, Maxi pointed to the long metal channel against the wall behind the barrel. “I use the large scoop inside to fill that trough.”
He laughed. “A trough for cats.”
“Hey, it was the only thing I could think of to get them all fed at the same time.”
“You’re resourceful.”
Was that two compliments in a row? Maybe he wasn’t as angry as he’d seemed. More likely, it was his compassionate nature trying to make her more at ease.
But...she couldn’t be the only one feeling the sexual tension. Around Miles, it hit her like a tsunami. Even under the awful circumstances, she wasn’t immune to his appeal. In fact, because of everything she’d just gone through, she felt even more drawn to him and his strength.
Watching as he loaded the scoop, she said, “It’s actually a pig trough, but when you see them eating...well, let’s just say it fits.”
The cats carried on as if they hadn’t eaten in days, instead of just being late for breakfast. By the time Miles filled the trough, the cats had lined up side by side and were devouring their chow.
“That has to be half of a bag right there.”
“I buy in bulk,” she said. “I have to store the extra bags in the house, though, or the raccoons—”
“Throw a party?” Miles grinned down at her.
“They do!”
He laughed, but slowly, as his gaze roamed her face, the grin faded. He removed a dried weed from her hair, tucked a wayward lock behind her ear, then brushed his thumb over her cheek. He leaned toward her.
Her toes curled in the rubber boots. God, she’d missed his kiss so much, the taste of him, the feel of his firm lips and his clever tongue and—
“Wait.” She flattened a hand to his chest.
Expression enigmatic, Miles cleaned a smudge off her cheek. “You’re exhausted.”
Oh God. She’d freaked out over nothing.
Get a grip, Maxi.
After clearing her throat, she said, “Yes, and it shows.”
He flicked the end of her nose. “You still look cute.”
He’d said it again! Frazzled from the mixed signals, she propped her hands on her hips. “You’re either super horny or just trying to make me feel better.”
“How about a little of both?”
Shivering with awareness, Maxi took a safe step back before she thought too much about that big, hard body of his settling over her. “The thing is, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet this morning. In fact, not since yesterday morning. I would have last night before I went to bed, if I’d had a normal night. But normal nights around here are hard to come by.”
“I wasn’t coming on to you, babe. Your teeth are safe from me, so relax, okay?”
“Trying.” Unsuccessfully. On top of the dull headache still crowding the back of her skull, too many conflicting emotions bombarded her. “The reason I stopped you—”
“You were clear enough on why I’m here. I won’t be pressuring you, so stop worrying about that.”
Blast. If she was honest with herself, and she probably should be, the reason she’d thought of Miles the second she realized she needed help was because she wanted the closeness unique to him, not only his overpowering sex appeal, but the sense of security he gave her when he focused on her so intimately.
Sure, she’d sworn off guys. Her track record made that the sensible thing to do. But then she’d gotten to know Miles...
She might have expected him to be antagonistic after the way she’d ended things, but she hadn’t figured on him actually caring, had assumed she’d be only one in a line of women he knew. Obviously it had bothered him, probably because he wasn’t used to any type of rejection, and now this was going wrong fast.
Trying to recover a little ground, she explained, “I wasn’t exactly worried.” Hopeful, maybe, but not worried.
Staring up at the sky, Miles watched a turkey vulture, wings spread wide as it glided overhead with little effort. “The thing is, we do know each other.” This time he took her hand, folding it securely in his, and started them on their way. “Granted it was only those three times, but I can’t treat you like a stranger.”
No, they definitely weren’t strangers. In many ways, Miles knew her body better than she did. “I wouldn’t expect you to.” She’d specifically gone to him because she did know him—and odd as it seemed, she was completely at ease with him.
Always had been.
That first time with him had been nothing short of amazing. She hadn’t guessed that sex could be like that, so intense and incredibly hot, yet also tender, too. In comparison, what she’d known before Miles was just rutting.
She’d expected one thing and gotten something entirely different. Something so much better. Lights on. Inhibitions gone. He’d served the purpose of making her forget her worries. But he’d also made her hungry for more.
The second time she’d given in and looked for him had turned out even better, and when she hadn’t been able to resist seeing him a third time, she’d known she was getting in too deep.
“How about you show me the house, let me look things over, then we can grab some food before I head home to get supplies?”
Her feet stopped working. So did her heart.
When his arm stretched out—his hand still holding hers—Miles turned back to face her. “What?”
“You’re leaving?” Renewed panic clawed through her.
He tugged her up alongside him, then slipped his arm over her shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. “Yes, and you’re going with me.”
He said that as if that had been the plan all along. “I am?” Well, then, she could handle that. Tucked against his lean body with his muscled arm encircling her, the panic eased away as quickly as it had come.
“We came straight here from the doctor’s so you could feed the cats and take care of yourself. But I need my things, since I’m going to be staying here, right?”
Of course he did. She nodded.
“I’m guessing we need several security cameras and alarms, too. It’s still early enough, so I’d like to get everything done today.”
She kept thinking she was dealing okay—until something else set her off, then she went to pieces. Weakness sucked.
Hard as she tried, insults kept coming back to her, all the expectations for failure. She had a lot to prove, all to herself. Miles, hopefully, would help her with that.
He, at least, wasn’t weak. “Of course.”
“You’re safe now, Maxi.” His arm tightened in an affectionate hug that brought her into brief contact with his hard, hot body. “You know that, right?”
She knew he still had the power to help her forget everything but her need of him. Like now, with her thoughts all focused on his ripped body.
“Maxi?”
Even though she wasn’t convinced, she nodded. “Before we go, I have an unusual favor to ask.”
“You’re paying me. Ask away.”
Hmm. She didn’t appreciate how he’d put that, as if he was only here for the money. She didn’t buy that. As he’d said, she could have come to him directly and he’d have helped.
If that was how he wanted to play it, though, she wouldn’t debate it with him. Not yet.
Tonight would be soon enough.
She looked up at him. “After we eat, do you think you could keep watch while I shower and make myself presentable?”
Surprise lit his eyes before he gave a slow nod. “Yeah, I think I can manage that.” This time as they walked, it was without tripping over cats, since they were all still eating. “Maybe now’s a good time for you to tell me how you want this to work.”
How it should work? If she had her way, he’d be with her 24/7, including in the shower and while she slept.
If she could sleep.
Instead, she lied, saying, “I thought you could use the downstairs bedroom and bath, and I’d use them upstairs.”
“Hell.”
She jumped on that. “What? That doesn’t work for you? You had something else in mind?”
He was silent for a bit, his jaw flexing. “Let’s see the house first, then I’ll make recommendations.”
Recommendations, her butt. Had he hoped for an entirely separate place to stay? An apartment over the barn? She almost snorted. If he wanted to sleep with the cats in a pile of hay, let him.
Fat lot of good that would do her when something else happened.
Dejected, she followed along without saying anything. Before they got too far into this arrangement, she needed to clear the air about why she’d walked away from him, when everything in her had begged her to stay, to push for more.
Perhaps during the drive back to his place. For now, she’d take comfort in the fact he was here with her, and she wouldn’t have to face the next catastrophe alone.
Unfortunately, the next catastrophe happened almost as soon as she stepped into the house.
CHAPTER THREE (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
MILES STEPPED AHEAD of Maxi on the back porch and tried the door. It opened. “Not locked?”
“It’s how I got back in to get my purse. It wasn’t locked then either and you can bet I didn’t bother once I had what I needed. I just got away.”
“Understandable.” He stepped into the area and looked to the left at the small bedroom, then to the right up the stairs. Maxi’s room would be up there. He’d check that out in a minute.
Peeking past him, she asked, “You hear anything?”
“No.”
“Thank God.” She stepped in around him, saying, “The kitchen is this way. Let’s go there first and—”
The second she stepped around the wall onto the old-fashioned tiles in the kitchen, her feet came out from under her and she landed flat on her back with a thud. Her bottom half was in the kitchen, her head and shoulders visible from the hall.
With a curse, Miles jogged forward, glanced around for any signs of danger, saw nothing more than a hideous kitchen and knelt beside her. “Stay still,” he said, before she could move.
She wheezed, squeezing her eyes shut.
Of course, he saw the puddle of dark oil on the floor beneath her. He twisted around, looking into every corner that he could see, but the house was quiet, and they appeared to be alone. There were no remnants left behind, not even the empty can from where the oil had been poured.
“Hell of a spill.” He was so pissed he could have chewed nails, but he tried to sound calm. “You okay?”
Gulping air, her expression pained, she didn’t attempt to answer.
“You knocked the wind out of yourself.” He pulled her arms straight up and said, “Try to calm down. Breathe slowly.”
She caught her breath with a vengeance, hissing, “Blast.”
“Easy now.” He helped her to sit up...in the oil. “I’m guessing that wasn’t here when you came in for your purse and boots?”
“No.” Disgusted, she lifted her hands, now slick, and curled her lip. “It’s soaked into my shorts.”
Keeping a hand on her, Miles looked around. “I don’t see it anywhere else, and there are no tracks.” But good Lord, the house... Now that she was okay, he really saw it. “You actually live here?”
She shot him a deadly glare. “Yes.” And then, as if a dare, she asked, “Why?”
He wasn’t touching that. “Just doesn’t look like you.” Hell, it looked like a grandma’s place—from maybe a century ago. “I’m guessing everything is original?”
“Pretty much.” She started to stand, slipped to her butt again, and Miles stayed her.
“Wait.” He got to his feet first, saw a roll of paper towels on the counter and grabbed them. He ripped off several, giving them to her so she could clean her hands. Then, being sure to keep out of the oil, he caught her under her arms and lifted her upright. “Hold on to my shoulders and I’ll help you out of those boots.”
Grumbling, she said, “My feet are probably sweaty now. This sucks so badly.”
Trying to hide his smile, he promised, “I’ll hold my breath.”
“I’m going to ruin your shirt.”
“It’s a black T-shirt. You can’t ruin it.”
“Suit yourself.” Her small hands settled on him—and that put her breasts far too close to his face.
Forcing himself to look down, he tugged off first one boot, waiting as she put that foot to the side of the mess, then he removed the other. Her feet were small and narrow, yes, a little sweaty, and incredibly cute.
He glanced up the length of her long slim legs, pausing at the denim zipper in her soft, worn, body-hugging cutoffs. A drop of oil rolled down the outside of her left leg. “Your shorts are dripping.”
Letting out a tiny, shaky breath, she shifted her feet. “Yeah.”
Absurd the way lust bit into him. Hell, someone had terrorized her last night, they’d returned to a million hungry cats and another prank in her house, and all he could think about was leaning forward and pressing his face to her belly, going lower, breathing her in, tasting her.
He loved the sounds Maxi made while her climax built.
When he felt her hands tightening on his shoulders, he murmured, “Maybe you should drop them, too?” Somehow, he’d keep it together.
“Yeah.” But she didn’t move.
Up to him, then. Damn. “Let’s see if we can do this without getting the oil anywhere else.” He reached for the snap to her shorts.
Maxi drew in her breath and held it.
Trying to remember that he had a plan, he said as he slid down her zipper, “Maybe that shower should come first?” It wasn’t deliberate, but his knuckles grazed her.
“First?” she croaked.
He glanced up and got caught in her dark-eyed gaze. “Before we grab something to eat.”
“Oh. Eat. Right.”
What had she thought? That he meant sex? Hell of an idea, but the timing was all wrong.
And why was she thinking that anyway? He could understand how he got distracted, but she was terrified, and that should damn well keep her focused.
It was enough that he had to fight himself; he couldn’t fight her, too.
Tamping down natural urges, Miles worked the snug shorts over her hips.
Her fingers dug into his muscles as he bent to help her step out—and then she stood there in her panties.
The lady had a killer body, no doubt about it.
But he’d known other sexy women. There was just something special about Maxi.
Maybe the fact that she’d walked away from him so easily.
With that reminder in mind, Miles straightened back to his feet. “Stay put while I look around. I don’t see or hear anyone, but I want to make sure whoever dumped the oil isn’t still here.”
“No one is.” She clutched at his arm. “Every inch of this old house creaks if someone moves, even in the basement.”
Miles gently pried her hands away. “I’m going to look anyway.” He wouldn’t take chances, and it’d give him a minute to get his urges under control. “Don’t move.”
She swallowed hard and nodded, already glancing back at the front door.
Would she do as he asked, or would he find her in the SUV, in her panties, ready to go?
Staying alert to any other booby traps, Miles went into the kitchen. That room was the biggest time warp, with a white cast-iron sink top, a stove that had to be antique and a small refrigerator...on legs. He’d never seen anything like it.
An old ruffled curtain hung under the sink instead of a door, and the yellow linoleum floor was a bit bright, especially since it ran into yellow tile that came halfway up the wall.
Directly to the left was an equally dated bathroom. A row of open shelving divided the kitchen from the dining room, which opened into a small living room. The front door, locked, led to a trellis-enclosed covered porch.
He briefly went through each room, not surprised to find them very tidy, but shocked all the same that Maxi Nevar now called this place home. Nothing he knew about her fit in the setting. Then again, seeing her with chipped nails, rubber ducky boots and tangled hair didn’t fit either.
As he passed back through, he saw a book and wineglass on the end table next to the puffy floral couch. The glass was empty, the book closed.
Well, hell.
He returned to where he’d left her, standing there wearing an oversize flannel shirt, pink panties and a load of uncertainty. More than anything, he wanted to draw her close, hug her, reassure her.
Then do nasty, hot, sweaty things with her.
He shook his head and, indicting the door next to the stairs, asked, “Basement?”
“Yes. But it should be locked.”
He tried it. “You’re right.” There was even a dead bolt on it.
“Cat food is stored down there, but otherwise, I don’t use the basement.”
“I can see that.” She had it locked up tight. Later, he’d explore down there. “I’ll look upstairs now.”
“Sure, why not.” She turned to go.
Much as he’d enjoy trailing behind her, getting a great view of her ass on the stairs, he had to put safety first. “You wait here.”
“I hired you for a reason. I go where you go.”
He saw she was serious, and probably with good reason, so he nodded. “Stay behind me, then.”
“Not a problem.”
He had to duck to get under the lowered ceiling at the base of the narrow stairs. He suspected someone had converted the attic to living space years ago. “Are these the stairs where your grandmother fell?”
“Yes.”
She said nothing else, so he didn’t press her. God knew she’d been through enough for one day.
The stairs turned a sharp corner and then opened into a small study with a desk, chair and file cabinet. The only window in that room was a skylight overhead.
From there he went into a more updated bathroom, which meant it wasn’t more than a few decades old, yet no one would call it modern either. Her bedroom was next, a rectangular room barely big enough for a bed and nightstand. The lure would be the double doors that opened to a balcony above the porch below.
“Where do you keep your clothes?”
“In here.” She slid back a pocket door to show a big walk-in closet nearly the same size as the bedroom.
“I take it you put this in?”
“First thing.”
She’d spared no expense. Bright lights showed off detailed shelving, multiple wardrobes and niches for things like shoes and scarves, with a dressing table in the middle. She’d filled every inch except for a mirrored door in the back of the room that, Miles discovered, opened into yet another room.
Ducking down again, he stepped through to a clichéd attic space. Bare rafters loomed overhead, plywood flooring squeaked under his weight and air whistled through a single skinny window in the center of the back wall. Boxes, trunks and random pieces of old furniture cast long shadows over the cluttered floor. A single bare bulb swung from the ceiling, but when he pulled the long string, it didn’t work.
Miles didn’t say it, but given everything that had happened, it was creepy as hell.
Soon as they were back in the main room, he asked, “Why do you sleep up here?”
“The bedroom downstairs was my grandmother’s. It didn’t feel right, taking it over.”
But she wanted him to sleep there?
“Don’t worry,” she said, maybe reading his thoughts. “Everything has been packed away and the bedding is freshly washed.”
Great. It was still Granny’s. “Should I look under the bed?”
Her smile didn’t hide her exhaustion. “If you want, but I’ve got so many storage bins under there, nothing more than a mouse could fit, and mice aren’t brave enough to come around with so many cats.”
Unable to help himself, he touched her cheek. Her eyes were heavy and smudged with fatigue. “You need a nap.”
“I need a shower.” Glancing over her shoulder at her own butt, she wiggled. “That oil soaked through.”
A dozen inappropriate comments came to mind, but Miles banked them all. “I can either go down and get food started—” although how he’d find his way around that kitchen, he didn’t know “—or I can wait right here while you get cleaned up.”
“You won’t mind giving me ten minutes?”
“You’re the boss.” As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He’d meant it to be teasing, but damn it, she looked wounded.
Maxi being Maxi, she rallied and said, “Don’t you forget it.” She gestured to the bed. “Get comfortable if you want. I’ll hurry.”
Settle on her bed? Breathe her scent in the pillows? Not a good idea. “You can take your time.”
“If you heard my stomach grumbling, you’d know I can’t.”
He stood in the doorway while she went through the closet and pulled faded jeans from a shelf, a peachy bra and panties from a drawer, and a white tank top off a hanger.
Crazy that seeing her like this hit him so hard. She kept the flannel pulled down in back to hide her rounded behind, but she had beautiful legs, and her long dark blond hair, even uncombed, looked sexy as hell.
He moved as she stepped out again and started for the bathroom.
At the door, she paused. “If anything happens, I want you to be able to come in, so I won’t lock it.”
It took him a second to find his voice, then he went for teasing again. “Planning on screaming?”
She held the pile of clothes close to her chest. “Someone was in my house again. How, I don’t know. But the oil wasn’t there when I left or I would have stepped in it.”
He nodded, acknowledging that. “We’ll buy new locks today, too.” Going one further, he whispered, “I promise it’s going to be okay.” Somehow, he’d make it so.
She managed a strained smile. “In case I haven’t said it yet...thank you for being here with me.”
Before he could answer, she closed the door. Seconds later, he heard the creaking of pipes.
With nothing else to do, his gaze went to her bed. In no time at all, his thoughts were out of control, focused on things they shouldn’t be—like how much he wanted her.
Again.
Still.
And here he’d started to think that working at Body Armor would be a piece of cake.
* * *
“THIS,” MAXI SAID, licking her lips with a groan, “was a much better idea than food at home.”
Miles smiled while sinking his white teeth into a loaded burger. “Quicker, for sure.”
They sat in his roomy SUV, him half-turned to face her, one arm loosely draped over the steering wheel, a bag of fast food between them. He’d found a recreation area near the store they were going to and parked beneath a shade tree to keep the sun from reflecting off the black exterior. From their position, they could see kids playing on swings, people walking dogs and couples holding hands. With the windows down, a summer breeze kept it from being too hot.
Maxi felt much better now that she was clean and dressed, her hair braided down her back. Before they’d left the house, she’d cleaned up the mess and put her clothes in the wash, but she didn’t have hopes of the oil coming out. The shorts would no doubt join her growing pile of “work” clothes, meaning they’d be appropriate for the farm, but nowhere else.
Miles had been silent as she’d put her book back on the shelf and washed her wineglass. She didn’t know if he believed her about what had happened, and she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to know. He was with her, and for now, that was more than enough.
When she glanced at him, she found him watching her in that intense, very intimate way of his that made her breath catch in her chest.
It would be nice to know what he was thinking, but instead she asked, “Should we make a list of what we need?”
“I already did.”
“When?”
“While you were in the shower. I found a pen and paper in your study.”
He hadn’t left her. He’d stayed right there, very close, as promised.
It was ridiculous to react, given nothing had happened; she’d finished her shower without a single disturbance.
But knowing that she could trust him not to budge mattered. A lot. “It’s too bad we couldn’t find what we needed in the little town closer by.”
“I had to come this way for my stuff anyway. We’ll go to my apartment last, then head back to your house. I should still have time to get a few things set up.”
“How extensive is our list? I know you mentioned locks and a security camera.”
“I’m thinking several, actually. Someone is sneaking onto your property. I want to know who.”
“How do you think they’re getting in?”
“No idea. But that reminds me. I called my friend Leese.”
“Who?”
“Leese Phelps. He used to be a fighter, too, but he was the first one to move to Body Armor. It seems to be a good fit for him.”
“You called him while I was in the shower?”
“Yeah. I explained your situation. Thought it couldn’t hurt to get an unbiased perspective on things.”
Meaning he considered his own perspective biased—because they’d slept together?
Embarrassment disturbed her peaceful moment. His friend probably thought she was crazy or, like Miles, assumed she’d been drunk and imagined it all. “Aren’t you the busy beaver.”
After putting the last fry in his mouth, Miles said, “You were only a few feet away, buck naked and wet. It seemed like a good idea to keep busy.”
Maxi blinked at him, the embarrassment forgotten. He kept saying things that she didn’t know how to take. Was he mad at her or not? Did he want her as much as she wanted him?
Or were comments like that supposed to be jokes?
Since she didn’t have any answers, she steered the topic back to his friend. “What did Leese have to say?”
“He took it seriously, if that’s what you’re asking. You’d have to know Leese. He was made for this shit. Being analytical about danger suits him way better than professional fighting ever did.”
“So he made suggestions?”
Miles nodded. “I’ll get security lights put up today, enough to light up the barn and down to the pond. Anyone sneaking around will be easily seen. I’ll add extra locks to the windows and doors—anywhere someone might be able to get in. Oh, and we’ll throw out all your food, especially your wine.”
“Throw out all my food?”
“Well, I’m not eating it. Think about it. If what you told me was accurate—”
Accurate? At least he hadn’t outright accused her of lying.
“—then someone might’ve drugged whatever you ate or drank. I assume you don’t want to chance it?”
“Of course not.” Now she couldn’t even trust her food? “How would someone have—”
“No idea how it works. Leese is looking into it for me. By the way, he and Justice might come out tomorrow.”
She was just about to take her last bite of hamburger when he said that. “Tomorrow?” She lowered the burger. “To my farmhouse?”
“Yeah. Leese trained me for Body Armor, and Justice is great with security systems. Assuming you can afford a decent one, he’ll help with that. I know what to buy, and how to set it up, but again, it’s good to have fresh eyes looking over things.”
“So I’m going to be paying for three of you?”
Miles snorted. “No, they’re friends. I’m the only one on the clock, and only because you went to Sahara.”
“Well, I wanted to be fair.” Done eating, Maxi put the trash into the bag. “Your Ms. Silver is an impressive lady.”
“Yeah, she is, and she knows it. If you looked up confidence in the dictionary, you’d find Sahara smiling back at you.”
Maxi laughed. “She did give that impression.”
“You made an impression on her, too.”
“A lousy one.” It made her shudder to remember the horrid reflection looking back at her in the mirror right before her shower. And Miles’s boss, that classy lady, had seen her.
“Not so. Sahara had only nice things to say about you.”
Deciding to test the waters a little, Maxi asked, “Does that mean she, at least, didn’t think I was making it up?”
Unfazed, Miles shrugged. “Neither of us is quite sure what to think, to be honest. But I’m telling you right now, this will be easier if you tell me about any guys you’ve been involved with.”
Even though she’d suspected he didn’t believe her, his blasé confession still annoyed her. “Sure.”
A little more alert, Miles waited.
“Let’s see. There was...” She met his gaze. “None.”
His slight tension eased into frustration. “Seriously? No one?”
“I can only say it so many ways.”
“Okay, forget involvement.” He slashed a hand through the air. “Whether you were sleeping with anyone or not—”
“I wasn’t.”
“—there has to have been a guy. A casual date? Someone you only talked to?”
“Why won’t you believe me?”
He leveled a look on her. “Because I can’t bend my brain around the idea of you being alone. With the way you look, you must’ve had a dozen men after you.”
Warmed by the compliment, she pretended to think about it again. “Now that you mention it, I have talked to Woody a few times.”
His back went straight. “Woody?”
“Woody Barstow. Nice guy. Very laid-back, friendly. Kind to the cats.”
Brows coming down, Miles said, “Maybe I need to check up on Woody.”
“Sure. He’s my nearest neighbor at about eight miles away.”
“Why didn’t you mention him before?”
“Because I’m not involved with him.” She took a final sip of her cola, then added, “Plus, he’s almost eighty.”
The most comical look came over Miles’s face, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m trying to be serious.” When she continued to snicker, he muttered, “It’s not that funny.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” A different expression entered his eyes. “You really haven’t been with anyone?”
That sobered her real quick. “I need to explain, don’t I?”
“Wouldn’t hurt.”
That was what he thought. So, where to start? “I sort of have to go...well, way back. Be patient, okay?”
“I’m all ears.”
“When I was eighteen, I thought I was in love.”
Expression arrested, he repeated, “Eighteen?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “Seven years ago, but it matters.”
“Okay.”
“Anyway, I was dating this older guy and I thought I was in love. My family didn’t like him. They thought he was trouble.”
Miles waited.
“And he was. Big trouble. It’s a long, hideous story, but the shortened version is that one night, while we were all on vacation, he and his friends came in uninvited. They robbed us, did a lot of damage to irreplaceable heirlooms, destroyed and vandalized just for the fun of it.” She looked down at her hands, now clasped together. Shame closed her throat, but she forced herself to finish. “He’d gotten the entry code from me.”
Without censure, Miles asked, “You gave it to him?”
“No. But he watched when I punched it in.”
“How do you know it was him?”
“Security cameras. They...did disgusting things on my sister’s bed. Even on my mother’s bed.”
“On your bed?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.” But as her family had said, she’d brought that on herself. They, however, hadn’t. “You can imagine how my family reacted. They’d told me not to see him, told me he was no good, and I didn’t listen. I argued, dramatically claimed we were in love, and then he proved them right and I was so ashamed, I didn’t even know what to say.”
Miles reached over one long arm to tweak her braid. “You were eighteen, Maxi. No one listens at eighteen. Sometimes we have to learn things the hard way.”
“Well, I thought I had learned. I went a long time avoiding guys after that. Romance and guilt didn’t mix so great.” She drew a deep breath. “And then I met another guy a year ago.”
“Wait.” Miles shifted. “You went how long without getting serious?”
“Five years.”
“So only casual dating—”
“You don’t understand. My first boyfriend destroyed an antique my mother had inherited from her great-grandmother. My sister, who is fanatical about everything, wouldn’t even go back in her room because of what he did in there. She moved out.”
“Your dad?”
“He died when I was younger. It was just my mom, sister and me. My brother, who’s eight years older, had already gone out on his own.”
“Well, maybe your sis was just ready to move on, too.”
“No, she rightly blamed me.”
“Bullshit. There’s nothing right about that.”
“They would disagree.”
“You were a victim, same as them.”
“No, I’d set that fire. Getting burned was my own fault. Unfortunately, they got burned, too, and that’s unforgivable.”
Miles shook his head. “Let’s get back to this new guy you’re involved with.”
“Used to be involved with,” she corrected. “It fell apart when I caught him cheating.” She gave him a stern frown. “I despise cheaters.”
“Any intelligent, moral person would.”
Mollified, she explained, “He didn’t want it to end and continually made a pest of himself.”
“If he didn’t want it to end, he should have kept it in his pants.”
Maxi snorted. “Yeah, that’s basically what I told him. But while I was trying to deal with that, my mother passed away during a procedure.”
“You said that once before. What type of procedure?”
Lord, she hated explaining it. “Mom was beautiful. She didn’t need cosmetic surgery, but she liked it all the same. Seemed like every six months she was having something else done, always tweaking this and tightening that. She got it in her head that she wanted this extreme makeover, and I guess it was just too much. She died of cardiac arrest under anesthesia.”
“Damn. So unnecessary.”
She nodded. Very unnecessary. “My mom and I weren’t really close, not since...well, since I was eighteen and everything happened.”
A disapproving frown creased his brow. “Was she close with your sister?”
“Yes.”
The frown darkened more. “That has to be tough.”
“Not really. I mean, I’m used to it.”
One fingertip brushed her cheek. “No one gets used to that.”
That rough whisper teased over her senses. “There’s so much you don’t know about me.” Things she needed to confess. “Even though that’s the way I wanted it, at least with you, it wasn’t the norm. Usually I’m an open book.” She hadn’t hidden from her failings. No, like a fool, she flaunted them.
“So flip a few pages for me.”
She smiled with his jest. “I’ll start with family.” He needed to understand the many ways she’d disappointed them. “My sister is a fitness buff. She owns her own boutique gym for trendy people. Very exclusive, and very pricey. Harlow is one of those hard bodies...well, I guess like you.” Maxi turned her head to stare out the window at the kids playing. That made it easier than looking at Miles. “I already told you about my brother. He was one of those ‘top of the class’ guys his whole life. Mom is a dynamo. There was no challenge that seemed too big to her.” And then there was Maxi. A disappointment.
Miles waited, occasionally drifting his fingers over her bare shoulder in a way that felt comforting more than seductive.
“You should probably know,” she finally said, “I’m the odd duck in my family. I love them and they love me, but we don’t really fit together. I’m the underachiever. I was never super motivated about anything.” Except the farmhouse, and that had turned into a living nightmare.
“You had a good job,” Miles said. “That is, if you were really a personal shopper?”
God, it hurt, knowing he didn’t believe anything about her. Not that she blamed him after she’d been deliberately elusive. But now...now she needed him to believe, to trust her as much as she trusted him. “I never lied to you about anything, I promise. I just didn’t share much.”
“Want to tell me why?”
“Gary—my ex—was all about trying to get back with me, especially after my grandma died and he knew I’d had two inheritances. With my dad already gone, everything came to Harlow, Neil and me. But there wasn’t a lot of equity in how it was done and my sister and brother were...are furious with me for financial reasons.”
She could feel Miles staring at her. She knew he had a lot of questions.
Instead of asking any of them, he cupped her shoulder in his big, warm hand and just waited quietly for her to continue.
This was why Miles had scared her so badly. He seemed too blasted perfect. The last two times she’d been drawn to a guy, she’d been horribly wrong. She no longer trusted her own judgment, but she also wasn’t a fool. Being around Miles would mean falling hard and fast. If he turned out to be a creep, then what?
And even if he didn’t, the last thing she needed was another complication in her life. Deep down to her bones, she knew that this was her chance for redemption.
But to accomplish that, she had to be strong.
Of course, she’d never counted on being harassed, terrorized and assaulted.
CHAPTER FOUR (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
GETTING BACK TO her explanations, Maxi said, “The financial mess happened when my mother mostly cut me out of her will to motivate me.” Her mouth twisted with the memory. “I not only screwed up when it came to men, I often failed at life, too.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“If Mom was alive, she’d explain it all to you, believe me. I was her big disappointment in so many ways. She had Neil and Harlow and they excelled at everything.” She gave a small, deceptive shrug of acceptance. “And then she had me.”
“Everyone is different. It’s not fair to compare.”
Maxi laughed, but she didn’t feel any humor. “Trust me, there was no comparison. Neil and Harlow always strived for perfection. Looking back, I think I strived to be contrary.”
“Well,” he murmured, “I can confirm the contrary part. But that’s not always bad.”
“I was a screwup and I know it.” She couldn’t deny it. “Wrong boyfriend, wrong attitude, wrong focus. I had mediocre grades and didn’t care. I blew off college. Took an apartment in a terrible part of town. It drove Mom nuts. She decided the best way to make an impact on me was to leave all her business interests evenly divided between my brother and sister. She didn’t cut me out entirely, though. She left me an old patch of rental property that wasn’t worth much.”
In a carefully neutral tone, Miles said, “That sounds more like punishment than positive motivation.”
She shrugged. “I figured it was a small price to pay for how I’d disappointed her. But it all backfired anyway.” Guilt always tightened her throat whenever she thought of her mother’s thwarted plans. “For as long as I can remember, Mom always bought property. She got started with the rental property she gave to me, but throughout my lifetime, she grew her holdings until she could purchase a posh resort. It was her pride and joy, and by all appearances, it was a thriving, lucrative business.”
After a brief pause, Miles said, “By all appearances?”
Maxi still couldn’t believe that her mother had kept the business problems private. From her, sure. She and her mother didn’t talk business. Often they didn’t talk about anything.
But not confiding in Harlow and Neil? Incredible.
“After Mom passed, Harlow discovered that she’d filed bankruptcy. That’s bad enough, but from what I understand, she’d also transferred assets through a shell company to Harlow and Neil, which makes it look like she was trying to defraud her creditors.” Honestly, none of them could be sure she wasn’t. “Now, as the recipients of the transfers, they’re being sued. Heaven only knows when it’ll all get settled.”
Miles whistled. “Wow. Can’t say I understand all that either, but it sounds pretty nasty.”
“Very.” Because it was so ironic, Maxi laughed uneasily. “The property Mom left me? Turns out it was smack-dab in the middle of a big land deal. I made a killing off it.”
Eyes flaring, Miles said, “Holy shit. I bet your brother and sister aren’t happy about that.”
“They’d have been fine if it had gone the way originally intended. But for them to be on the short end? They’re livid. And then, of course, it wasn’t long after that my grandmother passed away, too. I was heartsick when Harlow and Neil jumped me at the funeral, demanding I do the right thing, which to them means selling the house and giving the profit to them.”
“Bad timing,” Miles muttered.
“Very bad. I was already hurt and angry, more so after Harlow claimed I could never take care of the farm, that I was in over my head. Neil agreed with her. They wanted me to be happy with a chunk of money and forget my grandmother’s wishes.”
“To care for her cats?”
She nodded. “I didn’t react well. I offered them each twenty grand to leave me alone, which admittedly won’t go far.”
“Sounds generous to me.”
At the time, it had sounded generous to her, too. But she hadn’t realized the financial tangle her mother had left behind. “They didn’t think so. Neither of them has been to the house, but I get plenty of texts and emails reminding me of my duty, and what I should do for them.”
“What about your duty to your grandmother?”
“Neil says they’re just a bunch of feral cats and don’t really matter, not when compared to my mother’s reputation.” She pressed a hand to her heart. “But they mattered to my grandma. You’ve seen the farm. She put her whole focus on those cats. They were her pets, her purpose. I can’t just ignore that.” One way or another, she was determined to finally do something right.
Miles pondered that for a moment. “Has it occurred to you that it might be your brother or sister causing the problems? If they want you to sell, what better way to convince you than to terrorize you into it? Money,” he added, “can be a powerful motivator.”
“No, they wouldn’t do that. Like I said, deep down they love me.” Sometimes she had to look really deep, but she knew the love was there.
Sympathy crept into his expression and tone. “That could explain why, after you were drugged, you were only moved outside and not actually hurt.”
Her throat tightened at the possibility, and she adamantly shook her head. “They wouldn’t scare me like that. This is just one of many battles that we’ve fought over the years.” They butted heads, her family got more fed up with her and she worked harder to hide her hurt. But they would never go this far.
Clearly unconvinced, Miles said, “All right. You know them and I don’t. Just keep it in mind, okay?”
Keep in mind that her own family would... No, she couldn’t believe it. To appease Miles, she said, “Sure. I’ll add it to my growing list of disturbing things to think about.”
With regret, he whispered, “I’m sorry you’re going through all this.”
“On the upside, I’ve been too busy juggling problems to wallow in grief.” She tried for a smile, but it eluded her.
“Grieving is important.” Miles slid his hand down her arm until he could twine his fingers with hers. “Maybe while I’m helping out, you could slow down and take the time to feel.”
Oh, she felt plenty around Miles. Too much. “We’ll see how it goes.” So far, she hadn’t wanted to think too much, not about losing her mom, not about losing her grandma and not about having her life turned upside down.
His thumb brushed over her knuckles. “So now I know everything you have on your plate. Want to tell me what it has to do with avoiding me?”
Even that simple touch from him did crazy things to her insides. Dropping her head back and closing her eyes, Maxi blew out a breath. “That first night I came to the bar...I just wanted to be me, you know? The person I was before I inherited a chunk of money and a farmhouse that needs a ton of work. I didn’t want to think about lost opportunities with my mother, or the new tension with my sister and brother. I didn’t want to dwell on how I’d once again completely misjudged a man. I wanted to escape for a while.”
“With a one-night stand?”
She opened her eyes to look at him. “That was the original plan, yes.”
“I wasn’t judging,” he promised, picking up on her sudden antagonism. “Just trying to get a handle on things.”
“Well...good.” She’d been judged enough lately.
His mouth quirked in that crooked grin she loved so much. “I was the beneficiary of your ‘escape.’ There’s nothing about it that I regret.”
He sounded so sincere, her hope rose. Twisting to face him, still very relaxed with her head resting back, Maxi whispered, “You mean that?”
“Yeah, I do.” He squeezed her hand, then withdrew. “The only thing I regret is how it ended.”
It kept coming back to that—not that she could blame him. “It didn’t exactly work out the way I’d planned either.”
“No?”
“I only wanted something for me, you know? My life was upside down, and I had so much to deal with, so many emotions pulling me in a dozen different directions. I wanted pure, hot sex—then I wanted to walk away with no strings attached. I had too many strings already.” And too many failures.
“I trust you got the hot sex?”
She grinned hugely. “Boy, that’s an understatement. You totally rocked my world.”
Her words brought a heated look to his eyes that almost singed her.
Softer now, she admitted, “I’d expected to have sex with a total stranger, and that’d be that. It was going to be my wicked splurge, my departure from reality.” As she searched his green-eyed gaze, her voice thickened. “Instead, I came back looking for you again.”
With satisfaction, he whispered, “And then a third time.”
“I knew if I let myself, I’d start a thing with you. But after striking out twice, it seemed really dumb to chance it, especially when I just plain didn’t have time or energy for it.”
“By thing, you mean a relationship?”
She nodded. After that third time, she’d felt not only physically hooked, but emotionally and romantically, too. That was dangerous.
“You’re assuming that’s what I wanted?”
“I wasn’t at all sure what you wanted. That last time, you were...well, I don’t want to say moody.”
Brows flattening, he groused, “Yeah, please don’t.”
His look of affront amused her. “You asked me so many questions, and you shared more of yourself, telling me that you might leave MMA and go into the bodyguard biz. The sex was just as phenomenal, but I was afraid we were getting too chatty.”
“And getting chatty spooked you?” Miles shook his head. “Aw, babe, you’re nuts, you know that, right?”
“Maybe.” Her family certainly thought so. “But for once, I thought I should be responsible and get my life in order. You saw the farmhouse. It was ten times worse when I first moved in. I’ve accomplished a lot in the time I’ve been there. I might’ve gotten more done if there weren’t so many strange things happening.” Her gaze moved over him. “Now I’m thankful you did tell me about your plans. Otherwise I’m not sure where I would’ve turned for help.”
“You could have come to me either way.”
Probably true. After all, as a professional fighter, Miles had the physical skills to handle most types of trouble. It continued to make her uncomfortable, knowing her departure from his life had angered him, so she did a topic switch. “I’m curious. You told me you were leaving MMA, but not why.”
“I had my reasons.”
She’d researched him online and knew he’d been a force to be reckoned with, a skilled fighter with a string of wins behind his name, respected by others in the industry, adored by rabid fans. Why would he have left all that?
When he said nothing else, she asked, “The reasons are a secret?”
His enigmatic gaze cut her way. “They have no bearing on me being your bodyguard.”
“Whoa,” she said, holding up her hands as if in surrender. “I didn’t know it was a touchy subject. This is me backing off.”
“And that,” Miles said, “is our cue to get moving if we want to have time left to get everything done.”
But...she’d been leading up to something there...something like an invite to share her bed again!
Soon as they’d started talking about it, she’d recalled all the ways he’d touched her, tasted her, the positions he’d favored, how frantic he’d made her feel—and then how fulfilled.
Blast him, he had her craving him all over again.
Who was she kidding? Soon as she’d laid eyes on him at the Body Armor agency, she’d suffered an explosion of need. Not just sexual, but all those special things Miles made her feel.
Sighing in very real frustration, Maxi gave up her slouched posture and handed him the bag with all their empty containers together. He left the vehicle to throw it away in a curbside trash can, then returned and started the engine.
“Is your new apartment anywhere near the agency?” she asked as she fastened her seat belt.
“Yeah, why?”
“I want to get my car.” When they’d left, Miles had been adamant that she not drive, never mind that she’d gotten there on her own. Given the fuzziness of her memory, she hadn’t argued too much. Since they’d be nearby again, it only made sense for her to drive it back.
“Leese and Justice will swing by tomorrow and get it before they come out.”
“They don’t have the keys.”
“They can get them from the office.”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “When you took them from me, I thought you put them in your pocket.”
“I left them with Sahara.”
Well, that was high-handed of him. “Don’t ever do that again.”
He pulled away from the curb, asking, “Do what?” as if he weren’t the least bit concerned.
“Make a decision for me.” Even though she knew it was mostly sexual frustration making her snippy, Maxi said, “Deliberately mislead me.”
His brows shot up and he spared her an incredulous glance before getting his attention back on the road. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
The accusatory tone only irked her more. “The pot is paying the kettle’s salary!”
He snorted. “Do you really think you were in any shape to make decisions this morning?”
“No, but you could have just said that you wanted someone else to bring my car to me.”
He rolled one big shoulder. “At the time, I didn’t even know if Leese would be free. Since he is, it works out.”
Maxi closed her mouth before she made an even bigger fool of herself. She’d blame the overreaction on the strain, but she knew that wasn’t it.
She wanted Miles, and so far, he wasn’t all that receptive to the idea.
Giving up for the moment, she noted the size of the security store where he pulled up and parked. “This place is immense.”
“They’re top-of-the-line and should have everything we need.” After he stepped out, he walked around to open her door.
Always the gentleman. Maxi left the SUV but didn’t go far. She put a hand on his chest—and even that, such a small touch, did crazy things to her. There was no give to his rock-hard body; how could she not react?
Reining in her haywire hormones, she said, “Promise me, Miles. I’m not an idiot. You don’t have to do things for my own good. Just tell me the plan, and I can be reasonable.”
He looked first at her hand on him, then into her eyes. He was so close, she breathed in the scents of soap and warm male skin.
A sultry expression narrowed his gaze. Voice low and rough, almost hypnotic, he said, “Since I don’t know you well enough to make that judgment, I can only promise to try.”
CHAPTER FIVE (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)
IT TOOK LONGER than Miles had counted on to get all the supplies they needed, plus groceries. Because he knew Maxi wasn’t working on all cylinders yet, he made a point not to rush her.
For the most part, she held it together, but even at his apartment, she’d trailed him into every room, sticking close while he gathered up clothes, his laptop and overnight kit.
Apparently she was afraid to be more than a few feet away from him.
In one respect, he liked that. She wanted a protector? He’d gladly step up.
On the other hand, he didn’t like seeing her this way. When he’d first met her, she’d been all bold, up-front honesty. She’d wanted him, she’d said so, and they’d both enjoyed themselves.
Now she tiptoed around it. Sure, he’d caught the subtle hints she’d thrown out, picked up on her vibe.
He wanted more than that.
He wanted her outright admission so that this time they could start with a clean slate.
She claimed to have ended things because of poor choices in her past, and the mess of her life. Well, he wasn’t a poor choice, and her life was no less messy now. Hell, if his suspicions were right, it’d get worse before it got better.
He’d give her a day before he started digging for details. Right now, she was too exhausted.
The proof was on the drive home, when she conked out for the duration.
Not that he minded. With her asleep, he was free to look at her all he wanted. Half-curled in the seat next to him, only her seat belt keeping her upright, she had that boneless, utterly relaxed look about her.
Could be the first good sleep she’d had in a while, all because she knew he’d keep her safe.
He constantly glanced at her. The light tan and sun streaks in her golden hair told him she’d done plenty of work outside. Though still shapely, she’d lost a few pounds. Her nails, once perfectly manicured, were now short and buffed.
The changes didn’t detract from her appeal; she was still a nearly irresistible temptation.
But he would resist, because he had a plan, and by God, he’d stick to it, starting with giving her some time.
Miles began prioritizing in his mind. Making the farmhouse secure was top of the list. Soon as possible, he’d also get on his laptop to do some research.
That recent ex she’d mentioned... Miles wanted to know more about him, but he’d have to be careful how he asked.
Maxi couldn’t know how much it mattered to him.
Had she been in love? Was she still in love?
Didn’t seem so, but women could be funny about things like that, especially a woman scorned, as the saying went.
She claimed to want to avoid men now, so Gary, the cheating bastard, must have had some effect.
It’d be better, Miles decided, if he’d only hurt her pride, and not her heart.
Unfortunately, her ex wasn’t the only worry. Whether she liked it or not, he had to consider her siblings, too. By the minute, motives piled up, growing the list of suspects.
As the wheels of the SUV went from pavement to gravel, Maxi stirred, sitting up sluggishly and looking out the window as if trying to orient herself.
Stiffening, her gaze shot to him, and then she visibly relaxed.
“How do you feel?”
“Mmm, good.” Stretching—and looking sinfully sexy in the process—she mumbled, “Sorry about that.”
“You needed the sleep.”
“I don’t usually nap.”
“All things considered, you were due.”
“I guess.” She yawned widely behind her hand, rubbed her eyes and smiled at him.
That smile was so sweet, so innocent and trusting, he felt it clean through to his heart. “I want to get started on the floodlights today, but I think we should take care of the groceries first. Will we have to go into town to dump the old food?”
“No. I have a big locking Dumpster and the garbage gets picked up tomorrow.”
“Perfect timing.”
Her gaze shifted away. “We’d accomplish a lot more if I put away the food while you worked on the lights.”
Miles heard the unspoken but, so he held silent.
“But,” she whispered, “I’m still not ready to be alone.”
He wouldn’t mind if that attitude carried over to bedtime. “It’s not a problem.”
“Right. I’m afraid to be in my own home? It’s idiotic.”
“Actually, it’d be idiotic if you weren’t worried.”
As if he hadn’t spoken, she said, “And it’s not your job to play grocery shopper and light installer on top of being a bodyguard.”
“How many bodyguards have you hired?”
“I...” Stymied, she frowned. “Only you. Why?”
“My job is to ensure your safety. That involves making the farmhouse more secure and, when necessary, sticking close. Since I’m not the type to stand around idle while you do chores, you can damn well plan on me helping. With whatever. Got it?”
Gratitude curled her mouth and softened her tone. “Doesn’t sound like I have a choice.”
“It’s part of the bodyguard code.” The SUV bumped and bounced over potholes in the rough road. While he had her undivided attention, he decided to sneak in a little work. “This ex of yours. Does he know you moved out here?”
“I didn’t tell him. If he knows, he found out from someone else.”
“Like who?”
“Well, he works with my sister.”
Great. He really needed to do some research. Getting details in drips and drabs wasn’t working for him.
As neutrally as he could, Miles said, “Yeah? Doing what?”
“He’s a receptionist.” She made a face and added, “Gary is pretty. He looks good in a boutique joint that caters to other pretty people.”
Jealousy subsided. “Pretty, huh?” She said it with enough disdain to make him laugh.
“Yeah. Some would call him handsome—but not as handsome as you.”
Miles said nothing to that.
“He’s tall, too.” Then she quickly added, “But not as tall as you.”
Semi-amused, semi-annoyed, Miles said, “He’s a cheater, so we can kill the comparisons, okay?”
Chagrined, she nodded. “I’m just wondering what I ever really saw in him.”
Yeah, Miles was wondering that, too.
Lower, she added, “I guess I thought he was elegant. Very stylish, trim, impeccable dresser. And far, far different from the first guy I cared about.”
“You were younger then.”
“And obviously dumber. Gary comes off as sophisticated and...” She shrugged with the truth. “More acceptable to my family.”
Miles soaked that in. So she still wanted their approval, did she? Just not enough to disregard her grandma’s wishes. “Do you think your sister would tell him where you are?”
“Who knows what Harlow might do? She’s annoyed enough with me to want payback.”
“So she knows you two split?”
“Yeah. She couldn’t believe I’d end a relationship over one ‘indiscretion.’ She thought I should give him another chance.”
“Bullshit.”
“My thought exactly. But if she did tell him, he hasn’t shown up here.”
“Or,” Miles said with emphasis, “maybe he’s shown up and you just don’t know it.”
She toyed with her braid while considering it. “Gary isn’t the type to be a stalker.”
“You never know.” Miles flexed his hands on the wheel. “Describe him to me.”
Wary now, she said, “You’re not going to do anything crazy, are you?”
“If you’re asking if I’ll demolish him, that’s not my plan.”
“Doesn’t sound like you’re ruling it out, though.”
Being honest, Miles said, “If I find him lurking around here or doing anything shady to scare you, yeah, you can bet your sweet ass I’ll take him apart.”
She stared at him in awe, then grinned. “My sweet ass, huh?”
“Your ass is very sweet.” He cocked a brow and prompted, “Description?”
Biting her lip to keep the grin at bay, Maxi gave it quick thought. “Hmm, let’s see. He’s twenty-eight. Close to six feet tall. Light brown hair, blue eyes. Trim.” She turned to glance out the window, then did a quick double take. “Wow, the sky’s getting dark.”
Miles bent to peer up through the windshield. “Well, hell. A storm’s rolling in.”
“We need the rain, but I’d rather it hold off another day or two.”
He parked in the driveway and, hurrying now, went around to the back to open the storage area. He noticed Maxi standing there, staring at the front door.
He didn’t see anything amiss but asked anyway. “Something wrong?”
“Just thinking about unlocking it for you.”
Yet she didn’t move. Miles’s heart softened. “Come here, Maxi.”
Feet dragging, she headed his way. “What?”
“Carry this.” He took the keys from her, then gave her his duffel and overnight bag. They weren’t heavy, but they required both her hands. “I can get the door.” He wouldn’t mention her nervousness; they’d said enough on it. Going forward, he’d try to ensure she didn’t have to mention it.
Loading his own arms with grocery bags, he said, “Come on.”
Together, they made multiple trips until all the groceries were in the kitchen and all the security supplies were unloaded on the dining room table.
They’d just finished carrying bags of the old food out to the big bin when the sky opened up in a great deluge. The cats must have known it was coming, because Miles didn’t see a single one. Grabbing Maxi’s hand, he raced for the front porch while the stinging rain pounded onto them.
Maxi laughed as she slipped and almost went down. Barely breaking stride, he scooped her up in his arms and bounded up the steps. Because they were soaked, he stopped outside the door and let her slide down his body. Lightning cut through the bloated black clouds. Thunder shook the foundation.
Steam rose between them.
Miles watched as rain dripped down her body, her top plastered to her breasts.
The chill drew her nipples tight.
Well, hell. If he didn’t find a distraction fast, he was a goner and he knew it. He glanced around the yard and found inspiration. “The cats are conspicuously absent.”
Blinking at the intrusion of that nonsense comment, she looked down and tugged her top away from her body. “They’re probably in the barn.”
“Hopefully.” Already puddles formed around her yard. “It’s going to be muddy.”
She nodded. “If this doesn’t let up, we’re going to get soaked again when we feed them dinner.”
We. He liked sharing that responsibility with her. Normally he’d have offered to take care of it while she stayed warm and dry.
Knowing how she’d react to that, he kept the offer to himself.
Lightning crashed again, making her jump. “Wow, that was close.”
“It’ll probably blow over, but yeah, we should get inside.” He opened the door and urged her in. “Towels?”
“I’ll grab them.” After stepping out of her sandals, she ducked into the main floor bathroom and grabbed two large white towels, handing one to him. They dried off the best they could.
Without thinking about it, Miles pulled off his sodden T-shirt, walked back out to the porch and wrung it out. When he turned to step back in, he found Maxi staring at him, her dark eyes consuming, her body tense in sexual awareness.
God, the things she did to him.
For a few heartbeats, neither of them moved. Slowly Miles came in, closing and locking the door behind him.
She cleared her throat. “I need to change.” Again, her gaze flickered to his chest.
“Me, too.” Ignoring the sparks, he gestured to the steps. “We can go up and grab your clothes first.”
Though she nodded, she didn’t yet move, and she didn’t take her rapt attention off his abs. Miles could almost see her mental struggle.
Oh, yeah, she wanted him.
He wouldn’t have to wait long to get what he wanted in return.
Finally, with a low sound of regret, she rushed past him.
Hiding his grin, Miles followed her up.
In her bedroom, she said, “If you don’t mind, I’ll just change in the closet.”
“Suit yourself.” He couldn’t sit, not with his jeans wet, so he walked to the window to glance out. The rain hadn’t slowed yet. He turned back to see that she’d gone into the closet, but hadn’t completely closed the door.
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Lori Foster
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: There′s no resisting a desire like this… MMA fighter Miles Dartman′s casual arrangement with personal shopper Maxi Nevar would be many men′s fantasy. She seeks him out, they have mindblowing sex, she leaves. Rinse, repeat. Yet lately, Miles wants more. And when Maxi requests his services via the Body Armor security agency, he′s ready to finally break through her defenses—and protect her day and night.Receiving a large inheritance has brought chaos and uncertainty into Maxi′s life. Her ex has resurfaced, along with lots of former «friends,» and someone is making mysterious threats. Then there′s Miles, who doesn′t ask for anything…except her trust. Pleasure is easy. Now Maxi has to give her heart as well as her body…or risk losing a man who could be everything she needs.