Deadly Promises (Tracers #2.5)(6)

“Ma’am, did you hear me?”

“Huh?” CeCe blinked and stared, embarrassed. She’d forgotten the reporter.

“Sorry about that. I had a call from my wife.”

She hadn’t heard any phone ring.

He lifted his pad to write. “My last question was if you started yoga as a hobby.”

“No, I committed myself to mastering yoga from the first time I tried it. Yoga requires dedication and discipline to reach a point of immersion so that you can stand without moving a muscle for hours.” CeCe lifted one foot then the other, testing her muscle response before she risked stepping off the two-foot-tall base.

“I watched you earlier today and couldn’t catch you moving at all. What’s the longest you’ve been that still?”

“Two hours and fifteen minutes.” She judged the distance to the ground where she wanted to land then moved her foot to take the step.

The base creaked. The crack shifted her balance. She lost her concentration for a second and wobbled but had almost recovered when a male hand appeared in her line of vision.

The hand had long male fingers and was attached to Jeremy.

What was he doing here?

What if her brother saw him this close to her?

CeCe was so busy looking for Vinny she lost her balance, flailing her arms.

“Careful.” Jeremy caught her at the waist as she toppled forward. “I’ve got you.”

That deep voice rumbled across her psyche with such assurance she fought off a sigh. Strong hands did have her.

She should have been relieved at his assistance, but her pulse ramped into high gear at being so close to Jeremy. Touched by him. Lean muscle filled out his six-foot-two body nicely.

Better than nicely.

She missed his warm scent she’d breathe in whenever he worked shoulder to shoulder with her in the yard. Smelling him this close was so much better. The women in the gym saw only a tall, blond male with sparkling green eyes. She saw the edge beneath his casual facade, the keen look in his gaze and the unyielding planes in his face.

This was a man with hidden layers and secrets.

Jeremy turned as he lowered her, handling her weight with an ease that confirmed he got plenty of return from his investment in a gym. She’d inherited her mother’s five-foot-seven height, but not her mother’s determination to keep her weight down.

Life was too short to pass up banana splits.

But she worried about his leg injury even though she’d noticed him adding a series of workouts on the leg exercise equipment this past week.

She stared up into a face that was a study in tanned skin over sharp angles. He’d been gifted with handsome lips that CeCe had felt only in her dreams. Heat swirled in those lightning green eyes, holding her prisoner.

Her lungs refused to expand.

Jeremy’s fingers moved up an inch, touching her abdomen, and lit a slow-burning fuse for fireworks waiting to go off in her lower half. If he could do that just by holding her at the waist, she could only imagine what he’d feel like skin to skin.

What he could do with that sexy mouth.

When her feet touched earth again, she was close enough to get a whiff of his aftershave. He smelled masculine, virile… potent, something that could be called All Night Fantasy.

A wicked blend a man wore to lure a woman to a dark place.

She had a very dark bedroom and a few slippery fantasies to match.

“You okay?” Jeremy asked softly, then grinned.

Pure rascal.

What she wouldn’t give for just one night with that grin.

When she didn’t answer, his smile softened into concern. “Did you get too warm up there? Your makeup is smudging.”

Too warm? More like she might combust if she didn’t get away from him.

The reporter’s face popped into view over Jeremy’s shoulder, reminding her she had an audience.

Not to mention Vinny might show up.

“What are you doing here?” CeCe jumped out of Jeremy’s grasp, flinching over the pained look that chased across his face for an instant. He’d never ask her out again if she acted like a witch. “I mean, uh, I’m surprised to see you.”

“I was in the area.” Jeremy shrugged, but his eyes narrowed as though he was cautious, and who wouldn’t be after the way she’d just acted?

Damn it, why couldn’t life be simple? Her reaction wasn’t her fault. Just a safety precaution to protect him if anyone was watching. She didn’t want Jeremy to just disappear one day.

CeCe held up a finger for him to give her a minute, then turned to the reporter. “Do you have any more questions?”

“Can you hear anything while you’re in this deep state?”

A flicker of some man’s voice crossed her mind. What in the world had he said? Take care of my booty.

She pondered for a moment before answering. “Yes, bits and pieces. I probably hear more than I realize, but the words may not register until later. Anything else?”

“No.” He handed her a business card. “This will be in tomorrow morning’s paper.”

“Thanks.” When the reporter left she turned back to Jeremy. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound unappreciative, but I’m slow to come out of that state so I may be weird the first few minutes.” She couldn’t get involved with him—yet—but she didn’t want to run him off either. Yeah, she realized that might sound contradictory, but she really liked Jeremy. Enough that she didn’t want Vinny and her brothers to hurt him.