could be a SEAL or he could be with her. She’d made him so fucking mad, he’d told her he’d rather be a SEAL than put up with her shit another minute.
Yeah, what a great day that had been.
“Fine,” Ivy said, drawing herself up to her full five foot four inches. She somehow managed to look down her nose as if she were about six inches taller. It was a helluva trick. “But don’t you dare blame me when this turns out to be a bad idea.”
“It won’t be… will it, Viking?” Matt arched one eyebrow expectantly.
Dane forced himself to smile. He could back out and let someone else guard Ivy… but damn if the Army guy hadn’t figured him out after all. He didn’t like the idea of someone else staying with her. Didn’t trust that another man wouldn’t be so blinded by her charms that he might not pay as much attention to her safety as he should.
No, it had to be Dane.
“Not at all,” he said. “I’m a professional, and I take my job seriously.”
“Excellent,” Matt said. “Now let’s get moving.”
CHAPTER NINE
Oh, this was a bad idea. No matter what Dane had said, it was bad.
Ivy stood in the living area of the bungalow she now inhabited with her ex-freaking-husband and gazed at the two bedroom doors sitting side by side. They were both open, and Dane was moving around on the other side of one of them. Ivy strode over and peeked in. When she saw which room Dane was in, she took the opposite one.
It didn’t take long to hang her clothes and put her toiletries in the bathroom—the shared bathroom, for heaven’s sake. She thought about closing the bedroom door and locking it for a while so she could lie down and think, but that wouldn’t work because how could she think with Dane next door?
Ivy chafed her arms as she returned to the living area. When she’d first seen that man in her bathroom, she’d had a split second of hoping it was Dane. But of course it wasn’t—and that was a good thing, really. She didn’t need to have sex with her ex-husband, which she would have wanted to do pretty badly if he’d been the one who’d walked in on her in the shower earlier.
Because it had been him she’d pictured while she touched herself. His hands and mouth she remembered. His cock entering her body.
“You doing okay?”
She spun to find Dane watching her. Her heart skipped a beat as she let her eyes slide over his face. Oh, it was so unfair he was that pretty. That damned appealing.
“I’m fine,” she said, trying to infuse her voice with starch instead of honey. Because the honey wanted to drip into her tone for some reason, which wasn’t appropriate anymore with him.
“Matt sent someone to inquire about the resort staff. It’s entirely possible he was there for some maintenance and got distracted when he saw you in the shower.”
Ivy snorted. “Yes, he came through the back door, heard the shower, kept on going, and opened the bathroom door when it was clear someone was in there. He was very startled. Probably sucking down a Jack and Coke somewhere and trying to recover.”
Dane spread his hands. “Hey, I don’t believe it either, but we have to check all the angles. If he was a maintenance man with a penchant for spying on guests, that’s better than nothing. It would also mean that whoever threatened you isn’t here looking for you.”
Ivy frowned. She didn’t think the Ruizes had come for her in the Keys because the timing was wrong for that, but what if they had? What if they were crazy enough to make a move now instead of at any other point in the past few years? Maybe they blamed her for their lost submarine, or maybe they thought she’d lead them to it.
Ivy shook her head. That was craziness right there.
“I put nothing past the Ruiz brothers, but even this is a bit too far-fetched for them.”
Dane shrugged. Then he went and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. When he held out one for her, she took it.
“Whoever it was, they’ll have
Yeah, what a great day that had been.
“Fine,” Ivy said, drawing herself up to her full five foot four inches. She somehow managed to look down her nose as if she were about six inches taller. It was a helluva trick. “But don’t you dare blame me when this turns out to be a bad idea.”
“It won’t be… will it, Viking?” Matt arched one eyebrow expectantly.
Dane forced himself to smile. He could back out and let someone else guard Ivy… but damn if the Army guy hadn’t figured him out after all. He didn’t like the idea of someone else staying with her. Didn’t trust that another man wouldn’t be so blinded by her charms that he might not pay as much attention to her safety as he should.
No, it had to be Dane.
“Not at all,” he said. “I’m a professional, and I take my job seriously.”
“Excellent,” Matt said. “Now let’s get moving.”
CHAPTER NINE
Oh, this was a bad idea. No matter what Dane had said, it was bad.
Ivy stood in the living area of the bungalow she now inhabited with her ex-freaking-husband and gazed at the two bedroom doors sitting side by side. They were both open, and Dane was moving around on the other side of one of them. Ivy strode over and peeked in. When she saw which room Dane was in, she took the opposite one.
It didn’t take long to hang her clothes and put her toiletries in the bathroom—the shared bathroom, for heaven’s sake. She thought about closing the bedroom door and locking it for a while so she could lie down and think, but that wouldn’t work because how could she think with Dane next door?
Ivy chafed her arms as she returned to the living area. When she’d first seen that man in her bathroom, she’d had a split second of hoping it was Dane. But of course it wasn’t—and that was a good thing, really. She didn’t need to have sex with her ex-husband, which she would have wanted to do pretty badly if he’d been the one who’d walked in on her in the shower earlier.
Because it had been him she’d pictured while she touched herself. His hands and mouth she remembered. His cock entering her body.
“You doing okay?”
She spun to find Dane watching her. Her heart skipped a beat as she let her eyes slide over his face. Oh, it was so unfair he was that pretty. That damned appealing.
“I’m fine,” she said, trying to infuse her voice with starch instead of honey. Because the honey wanted to drip into her tone for some reason, which wasn’t appropriate anymore with him.
“Matt sent someone to inquire about the resort staff. It’s entirely possible he was there for some maintenance and got distracted when he saw you in the shower.”
Ivy snorted. “Yes, he came through the back door, heard the shower, kept on going, and opened the bathroom door when it was clear someone was in there. He was very startled. Probably sucking down a Jack and Coke somewhere and trying to recover.”
Dane spread his hands. “Hey, I don’t believe it either, but we have to check all the angles. If he was a maintenance man with a penchant for spying on guests, that’s better than nothing. It would also mean that whoever threatened you isn’t here looking for you.”
Ivy frowned. She didn’t think the Ruizes had come for her in the Keys because the timing was wrong for that, but what if they had? What if they were crazy enough to make a move now instead of at any other point in the past few years? Maybe they blamed her for their lost submarine, or maybe they thought she’d lead them to it.
Ivy shook her head. That was craziness right there.
“I put nothing past the Ruiz brothers, but even this is a bit too far-fetched for them.”
Dane shrugged. Then he went and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. When he held out one for her, she took it.
“Whoever it was, they’ll have
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