Fast Burn (Body Armor #4)(76)

She especially liked the way his stubble tickled her skin when he kissed her in various sensitive places.

She had to admit, she had some serious hunks working for her. Each one of them was gorgeous in their own way, but in her opinion, Brand was by far the handsomest.

Around noon, the men came up to the house for food. While they washed up, Catalina grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, and Fallon and Maxi carried out trays of side dishes and drinks. Sahara was about to help with that when a message dinged on her phone.

Brand stood nearby guzzling water—shirtless. But then, all the guys were shirtless now. Most were barefoot, too, since part of the work on the gazebo required standing in the pond.

Brand looked her way as she got out her phone.

Given the stark expression on his face, she wasn’t the only one concerned that it could be another anonymous text.

She unlocked her phone...and saw a photo from Becky. Brand’s mother sat on her new love seat, and she looked so happy that Sahara was filled with pride.

“What the hell?”

She jumped when Brand took the phone from her limp hand. He had approached so silently, she hadn’t been aware of him looking over her shoulder, and now dread filled her.

Trying not to appear as guilty as she felt, she said, “It’s Becky. Look at her smile. I think her attitude is improving.”

For far too long, Brand studied the photo in foreboding silence. Finally, his expression cold, he said, “I take it this was your doing?”

She barely resisted the urge to wince. “Which part?”

“All of it.” His jaw clenched as he stared down at her. “The hairdo, makeup...the couch.”

Oh, this wasn’t going well at all. She swallowed down her unease and tried for a bright tone. “Well, I did lend her a stylist so she could refresh her appearance after her long illness. It always makes a woman feel better to look her best.”

No reply.

Normally she could outwait the best of them, but this was Brand, and the guilt was coming on strong and fast. She glanced around and saw that everyone had clustered near the long picnic table piled with food—including the horde of cats.

Keeping her voice low, she said, “I wanted to help.”

There was no understanding in his tone when he said, “I asked you not to get involved.”

No, he’d flat-out told her not to, thus the guilt. “You said I couldn’t take her shopping, so I didn’t.”

“Don’t play with my words.”

Worse and worse. “All right.”

“She’s not in the hospital bed.” He glanced at the phone, then gestured with it. “She’s on some froufrou love seat thing.”

Sahara would have been offended by that description, but it was rather froufrou with the floral pattern and overstuffed cushions. “I, um...” Why was it so hard to say? Sahara stiffened her spine. “I bought it for her. I figured if I could get her out of the bed—”

“It wasn’t your job to get her out of bed.”

He didn’t raise his voice, but she felt bludgeoned by his quiet anger all the same.

“Not my job, no, but I—”

“Anything else?” He continued to study the picture. “The clothes she’s wearing?”

“I sent those to her...” Probably best to come clean, she decided. “Five outfits in all, I believe, more if she mixes and matches them.”

When his icy gaze finally came to her, he zeroed in on her bandaged head and his mouth flattened.

He was too subdued for the anger she knew he had to feel, the anger she could see. Suddenly it hit her why.

Slowly she stood. Guilty or not, she wouldn’t let him treat her like a wilting flower. “Oh no, you don’t. Don’t hold back just because I got a bump on the head. I keep telling you I’m fine.” She held out her arms. “If you want to blast me for overstepping, have at it. I won’t break.”

A strange, turbulent emotion narrowed his dark eyes.

He looked so explosive that she quickly added, “My only request is that you do so in private.”

After a long, silent moment, he smirked. “Because you’re the boss and you don’t want your underlings to see you catching hell?”

Damn, he made her feel small. She lifted her chin. “Actually, because they’re friends. At least I think they are. The ladies said we were, so I assumed—”

He laughed, but it wasn’t a nice sound.

Before she’d met Brand, she seldom suffered uncertainty or angst over a decision. She’d always pushed forward with confidence.

Now, though, it seemed those unfamiliar feelings leveled her on a regular basis.

Yes, she had done things he’d asked her not to but it had felt right at the time because she knew, in the long run, it would help him.

Because she liked to face things head-on, Sahara released a slow breath and admitted softly, “Every time I turn around, I find myself in another impossible position with you.”

Maybe it was the resignation in her tone, but Brand’s gaze sharpened on her. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

She rolled one shoulder. “I wanted you to work for me, and I also wanted to date you. Big conflict, right?”

“You understand my position on that.”

Yes—he thought she was too bossy, especially when he preferred to be the boss. “Then there’s Ross Moran.”