Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(31)

A sigh sneaked up on her. Those eyes, green and glorious. Deep. Enticing. A woman could fall into them and do it willingly. Deep laugh lines that resembled rays of sunshine bracketed them when he smiled. Everything about him seemed to draw her in. Her heart thumped with another round of palpitations just thinking of those sexy eyes. And that smile.

Yeah. Okay. So he’s good-looking. Looks aren’t everything, but darn. Her nipples had noticed him, too, pebbling on sight and downright tingling, as if they had minds of their own and knew exactly what they wanted. The pads of his thumbs. Maybe a gentle scrape from his fingernails. His tongue. His teeth.

Stop it. Get your mind out of the gutter!

She very nearly chuckled. The guy did have large hands, though, and long, straight fingers with clean nails. He was gentle with those awful dogs, gentle when he ran his fingers over their heads, tickling their ears the same way he might tickle a woman’s—

No.

No.

No!

He’s not my type. I hate military jerks who wave their rifles and parade their guns and flags for attention. Not my type at all.

Cartwright didn’t have a buzz cut, but he might as well have. All that mahogany hair had been precisely combed and managed with some kind of hair product. Maybe mousse. Or gel. Do you think it’s soft?

No.

No.

No!

Everything about him smacked ex-military, from the proud way he carried himself to his ma’am this and ma’am that. But he didn’t mean it with respect. Maybe with Kelsey he did. Cartwright seemed to light up around her. The jerk.

You’re jealous of Kelsey.

Who me? Oh, heavens no!

Shelby shushed her wandering mind at the very idea. Where did that stupid thought come from, the moon? It might as well have. No. She really liked Kelsey. She’d do anything for her client, even put up with—

“The soup’s ready,” Agent Lennox said behind her. “Are you hungry?”

Startled, Shelby whirled to face the other problem in the house. She’d been so engrossed in Gabe that she hadn’t noticed Agent Zack Lennox across the room at the stove. Also ex-military. Darn it. Had he heard her encounter with Gabe and the dogs? Worse. Had he seen her at the window salivating over his buddy in the back yard?

A tidal wave of heated embarrassment lifted up her body, spilling over her neck and face. Oh, God. I’m surrounded.

The man radiated testosterone. All that mocha-colored skin didn’t help. He was a big bruiser of a guy with a shaved head. Dark brows lifted over darker eyes on a handsome face. A black polo fit snug across his chest, as snugly as it did over his biceps. At the moment, all that masculinity was quietly offset with a kitchen towel tucked into his belt and the soup ladle in his hand.

At least he was a gentleman. He’d come straight into Kelsey’s kitchen after Mark and Libby had left earlier and actually did something helpful, unlike Cartwright. He’d taken off the second his boss left. The slacker.

Shelby couldn’t help it. The tantalizing aroma of garlic, basil, and oregano filled her nostrils. Her stomach growled, despite her discomfort.

“I am hungry. Kelsey must be, too, but first I need to make a few things clear,” she said, regaining her composure. “If we’re going to work and live together, which I guess we are, we need a few ground rules. First, no dogs in the house. They’re dirty. We need to keep things as clean as possible for Kelsey’s benefit.”

She paused in case Agent Lennox wanted to argue, which he’d better not. She had statistics on her side. Animals spread germs and hair everywhere they went. Period. No discussion to it.

He lifted one shoulder, as if he could care less.


“Secondly, please use the boot trays I’ve placed at the front and back doors. That tiny courtesy alone will keep the floors cleaner and help Kelsey recover quicker.”

He rested the ladle on the counter beside the stove, a gentle smile tugging one side of his mouth as he crossed his arms over his chest and faced her. “Anything else, Miss Shelby?”

At last. A guy who listened. Kind of. He didn’t seem to remember that part about calling her by her official title, but oh well. Calling her Miss Shelby was a small infringement. She could concede that one small point.

She took a deep breath, encouraged by his compliance. “No guns in the house. I’d appreciate it if you and Agent Cartwright stored your weapons at the front door.”

“What is it you think we do?” he asked, his dark brown eyes riveted to hers. “I haven’t had time to talk with you yet. I’d like to know precisely what Mark and Libby told you about Gabe and me and why we’re here.”

“Just that you’re bodyguards. You’re here to protect Mrs. Stewart in case, I don’t know...” She rolled her eyes, “. . . something bad happens now that she’s home.”

“I take it you don’t believe she was run off the road like she said she was? You don’t believe she’s in danger. You don’t believe her.”

Of course, I believe her. It’s you guys I don’t trust.

Shelby opted to keep her opinion to herself. What happened at the river was tragic, but here in Alexandria, things were different. Despite the lower class neighborhood, patrol cars made daily rounds. She’d seen them more often than she’d expected. “It doesn’t matter what I believe. I’m here to do a job, the same as you. I’m her health care provider. You keep her safe. I’ll get her healthy. Deal?”