Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(12)

And then she’d turned on that high-wattage smile when she’d caught sight of Shane. She looked at Shane like he was a cupcake and she’d been on a sugar-free diet for way too long. It bugged him.

“She’s pretty,” Shane replied, turning to head into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out two beers. “She reminds me of the lawyer’s wife. You know, Mitch’s wife. What’s her name?”

“Laurel. There’s a reason they look alike. She’s Laurel’s sister.” Apparently he should be glad Shane didn’t play at Sanctum or Lisa might not have needed a bodyguard. “And could you try to remember that I’m the one who needs to follow her? Flirting with my target isn’t going to help this mission.”

Shane popped the top off his beer after handing Remy one. “You’re following her, not dating her. Not that I want to date anyone right now, but if I was going to date someone, I could hang out with her. Have you thought about the fact that she might be easier to handle if someone’s friendly with her?”

The idea kind of threatened to fry his brainpan, and that didn’t make a lick of sense. Not a bit. He wasn’t interested in her. He’d meant that. So why was he acting like such a possessive jerk? She’d stood there with her designer clothes and a purse that likely was worth more than a week’s worth of bar receipts and his dick hadn’t cared that she was a poor rich girl whose family could afford to spend insane amounts of money so she didn’t have to have a moment’s discomfort.

And those shoes. Those fuck-me heels made her legs long and sleek and would look good wrapped around him while he thrust his cock inside her.

Friendly? There was nothing friendly about this.

“Did I mention I wasn’t looking for anything serious?” Shane asked, backing up slightly. “Or at all. I’ve decided to give abstinence a chance. You know, I think she actually reminds me of my sister.”

“You don’t have a sister,” Remy heard himself say.

“Yeah, well, if I did I would treat her with the careful sexual distance I’m now going to treat Lisa Daley with,” Shane replied, leaning against the bar. “You look crazy right now. Like a little on the psychotic side. I’m serious. Drink that beer and chill out. No one’s touching your shit, man.”

Remy sighed and dropped down to the couch. He’d known going in that this wasn’t a simple assignment. He could force himself not to think about her when she wasn’t around. Mostly. How was he going to handle watching her constantly? “She’s not mine. Not in any way. Well, except she’s my client. But she’s not. Her sister-in-law is my client. I can’t even let her know I’m guarding her.”

“That’s rough, but you might want to rethink that whole ‘she’s not mine’ thing because seriously, you almost lost your shit, and I was only talking about hypotheticals,” Shane pointed out. “You’re attracted to her.”

Like he’d never been attracted to a woman before. Hell, he’d been married and he hadn’t wanted his wife the way he wanted Lisa Daley. At first he’d told himself it was because he liked Laurel, and her family seemed warm despite their incredibly elite status. Now he wasn’t sure where the hell his head was at. “I don’t want to be.”

“Why?”

For so many reasons. “She’s not my type. Physically she’s my type, but I’m not into high-maintenance women.”

Shane chuckled. “All women are high maintenance. Relationships are high maintenance. If they aren’t, then they’re probably shallow.”

He nodded. Finally someone understood. “Yes, that’s what I want.”

Shane stared at him, the inherent “dumbass” right there in his expression. “Well, then you’re doing great, buddy. You’ve fucked just about every good-time girl in North Texas. You do know most of those good-time girls wanted a relationship with you, right? Women are funny that way.”

“I am very clear about what I will and won’t give to a woman.” He didn’t want to hurt anyone.

“Yeah, well, a lot of women get it in their heads that they can change a man,” Shane replied. “They figure it out in the end, or they don’t and keep right on running through guys like you until guys like you no longer look at them or want them.”

“I’m not the bad guy here and I’m especially not the bad guy when it comes to Lisa Daley.” But he was going to be. He was being paid to be. This morning it had seemed all right. Seeing her again… Well, the thought of hurting her made his stomach twist.

Of course he could potentially hurt those delicate snowflake feelings of hers or she could get shot, and that made his stomach twist even tighter.

“I heard you mention she’s a Sanctum girl,” Shane said. “Sub?”

Shane didn’t play, but that didn’t mean he was ignorant of his surroundings. “Yes, she’s definitely submissive when it comes to sex. I don’t know what that bullshit out in the hallway was. Wade said he hadn’t seen a trainee so eager to try everything. And it wasn’t like she came in a couple of times and then disappeared. She was a fixture every Thursday night, and Sundays she worked the nursery. And this was for over a year. Nah, I don’t buy the whole ‘I got bored’ thing. This is about me.”