Hot SEALs: SEAL's Ultimate Challenge by Elle James Page B

security services to the clients of GAPS. Guardian Ang—”
    Again, Reaper raised his hand. “I know what it stands for. But what would I do for GAPS? Mow the lawn, clean the gutters. I can’t see where I’d be dodging bullets while trimming the shrubs.”
    Jon laughed. “You wouldn’t be doing lawn maintenance. I need men like you as my agents.”
    Anger flared inside Reaper. Jon had to be playing a really cruel joke. “Are you forgetting something?” He waved his stump. “Nobody wants to hire a one-armed bodyguard.”
    “Let me handle the assignments. You concentrate on functioning as adeptly with one arm as most men can with two, and I’ll put you to work.” Jon stood. “I don’t have time to stay and chat. I’ll give you a ride back and then I have to head back to Little Creek. You don’t have to give me an answer now. All I ask is that you think about it.”
    Reaper climbed into Jon’s vehicle and rode back to his quarters in silence. He barely remembered what he said as he got out of the vehicle. For a long time, he stood on the curb and stared into the distance.
    Bodyguard? Could he do everything a two-armed man was capable of? He thought back to the night before and how he’d fumbled to load rounds into the magazine. Yeah, the movements had been awkward, but he’d done the tasks on his own.
    Leigha hadn’t offered to help, and she hadn’t stood by to laugh at his attempts. She’d left him in his booth to sink or swim.
    And he swam. Awkwardly at first, but with increasing confidence as he learned how to work with his left hand.
    Hope blossomed inside, and he quickly tamped it down, afraid to get too excited until he could prove to himself, he could do it. The only way he would, was to try. He hurried into the building, hoping to catch Leigha before she left for the day.
    The rehab center was deserted, the benches clean, and the dirty towels picked up and put away. Disappointed he’d missed her, he stepped out in the hallway and ran into a petite blonde. He reached out to steady her.
    “Reaper?” Leigha rested her hand on his chest and stared upward. “You really need to watch where you’re going.”
    “Sorry.”
    “Did you need something?”
    “I need you,” he said, the scent of cotton candy wafting around him.
    “You do?” she asked, her brows lowering. “Why?”
    “I want you to take me back to the indoor range.”
    “Tonight?” She shook her head. “Can’t you find someone else? I might not be the right person to hang out with.”
    “Has to be you. You’re the only person who doesn’t let me get away with crap.”
    She laughed. “That doesn’t sound like a great recommendation.”
    “It’s what I need.” He took her hand in his. “Please. This is important.”
    Her eyes narrowed, and she bit her bottom lip. “As long as you promise me one thing.”
    Relief shot through him. “Anything.”
    She glanced around the hallway before lowering her voice and saying, “You can’t kiss me.”
    “Done,” he agreed. “I’ll be strictly business.”
    Her gaze narrowed even more, her brows drawing together. Finally, she sighed. “Okay. Let me change into something besides scrubs. I’ll meet you at my Jeep.”
    “Deal.” He headed outside to wait. As he looked for her Jeep, he spotted a dark sedan drive out the other end of the parking lot. When the sedan’s tires hit the main road, they squealed, and the vehicle raced away.
    Someone was in a hurry to go home.
    “I’m ready.” Leigha appeared at his side, dressed much as she was yesterday in jeans and a dark T-shirt with the DCPD logo printed over the left breast in gold. She’d removed the elastic band and let her hair flow around her shoulders in long golden blond tresses.
    When she smiled up at him, the realization hit him like a punch to the gut. Damn, she was beautiful, and he was a fool to think he could remain unaffected. Still, he needed her assistance to get him into shape for Jon’s job offer. “I have a