Dangerous Protector (Red Stone Security #14)(17)
And she was making anyone associated with her a target. Sure, she was relatively safe. For the moment. But it wouldn’t last. She couldn’t hide at Aaron’s forever. Even if they’d taken a ridiculous amount of precautions, maybe there was something they hadn’t seen, an angle they hadn’t thought of. She shut that thought down before she started hyperventilating. Giving in to fear was weak. She had to keep a steady head.
“Let the FBI and the Miami PD do their job. At least let them investigate this before doing something stupid. The bombing just happened. They’re putting all their resources into this.”
His tone and the word stupid rankled her. “I can take care of myself.” She’d been doing it for a long time.
“I know. Doesn’t mean you should run. Stay here where you’re safe. No one could possibly know where you are right now. There’s been no leak to the news of the names of the witnesses, no leak that I was there. There’s no f*cking link between us.” His voice was heated, his expression determined. “And if here stops being safe, we’ll figure something else out. I work for a powerful company. They’ll help you if the cops can’t.”
“I…don’t think I can afford their help.” She didn’t know much about the company he worked for but he wore expensive suits, drove a nice truck, and lived in a very nice area. Not to mention she’d seen the Red Stone Security building downtown. That place had been intimidating and seriously prime real estate.
He frowned. “They’ll likely do it for free. If they don’t, I’ll pay.”
She shook her head. “Why would they do that?” She wasn’t going to ask why he’d offered to pay, only because she didn’t want to insult him. And she didn’t want the answer. She wasn’t letting him pay to help her, period. He’d already done too much.
“Because you need help.”
She wanted to tell him that the world didn’t work that way but his very determined expression said that he meant every word. Something about the look in his eyes was too intense, too…something. She didn’t want to analyze it or what it made her feel. Aaron was not the man for her. She had to keep reminding herself of that. “So eight o’clock tomorrow?” Or today, really. It was after midnight after all.
He nodded. “I’ll drive you.”
“Are you sure you can take off work like this?” They hadn’t actually talked about that. He’d pretty much told her that he was helping her and just taken over. She was grateful for that but didn’t want to interfere with his life—or put him or anyone else in danger.
“Yep.” He was watching her with that unnerving intensity.
“Are you going to expand on that?”
“What’s to expand? I’ve got time and I’m taking it. We’re going to get this mess figured out one way or another.” As he spoke he rounded the island so that he was a couple of feet from her.
His proximity and the way he said we did something strange to her insides. It was like now that he’d decided to admit his attraction and go all protective he’d let down some sort of wall between them. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it. “Okay. Well, thank you.” She slid off the chair, her hot chocolate mostly untouched. She’d needed the warmth but her stomach was too tied up to handle much—and she needed space from him. Right now she was feeling weak where he was concerned. Getting involved with Aaron would be monumentally stupid for her heart.
His spicy scent teased her as he looked down at her, and she fought the instinct to lean in to him, to touch him. Her nipples pebbled under that intense stare, making her glad she’d put on a sweater.
His closeness wasn’t helping her reaction to him either.
“What?” she asked when he just watched her.
“Just wondering if you’re ever going to respond to what I told you earlier.” His voice was deep, curling around her, pulling her in and making her feel stupidly secure.
Something she couldn’t afford to feel. Not now.
She didn’t need for him to specify what he meant. In fact, if he said the actual words again, told her that he was attracted to her, she wasn’t sure she could handle it. She cleared her throat. “I don’t know what to say. Right now isn’t really a good time for me to think of…anything related to…stuff.”
A hint of amusement danced in his dark eyes. “Stuff?” He took a step closer, minimizing the distance between them. It was subtle but he was crowding her personal space.
Forget being chilled. Heat spilled through her and she felt her cheeks start to warm as she looked up at him. Had he always been so broad, so tall? “Yes. Stuff. Between you and me.” Gah, why did her voice have to tremble?
Before she realized what he intended, he was cupping her cheek, his hold so gentle and sweet she had to resist leaning into it. Oh so softly, he rubbed his thumb against her cheek. A shiver rolled through her. “Now’s not a good time. I get it, but…I’m interested. And I’m not going anywhere.”
His deeply spoken words rolled over her, enveloping her. Since she couldn’t find her voice she just nodded. He was simply putting it all out there, telling her he was interested. But that could mean any number of things. He was probably just interested in sex.
The truth was she was, too. More than sex, though. She didn’t want something casual, not with a man like Aaron. But…no. She simply didn’t have time to think about sex or relationships or anything else. Not tonight. Not when she had a meeting with a federal agent in the morning to talk about the probably not-so-dead gangster or someone else who might be trying to kill her. That thought was enough to douse her with metaphorical cold water.