way back to my head. Thoughts cleared.
I punched hard at his chest. “Are you a damn ninja? Jeez, Franklin. You can’t sneak up on people like that!”
“I’m sorry, didn’t you hear me come in?” He shot me a stupefied glance.
“What was that?” I gestured to the floor. “You could’ve killed me.” I patted myself from chest to buttocks, in search of injury. Found nothing.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, irritated and snappy.
“No,” I grunted. “So not the point.”
“Exactly the point. You weren’t hurt.”
Bastard. Where did he learn to move like that? “I think it was him. He looked right at me, then pointed his finger like a gun.”
“Shit. Are you sure?” Hands fisting and stretching at his sides, he strode to the kitchen. I followed.
“No.” Shoulders slumped, I shook my head. “Maybe it was my imagination.” Or the fact that he’d fried my brain beyond repair with his fine tongue skills earlier.
“Come here,” I ordered. I wet a towel and wiped the sticky mess from his handsome face. “I’m sorry. Just jumpy I guess.” With a shrug, I tossed the cloth into the sink and brushed a finger across the wrinkles between his brows.
“Think it’s gonna bruise?” His sensual drawl coated my ears, soothed my raw nerves. “Killer reflexes you got there.”
I nodded. “I’m sorry.” A purple bump already marred his face. Not big, just enough to be a reminder of the skirmish. “How you gonna explain this at work?”
I gasped when his lips hovered above mine and his arm encircled my waist.
“I’ll tell them my girlfriend is abusive, but the sex is so hot, I can’t bring myself to leave her.”
Girlfriend? Why did that word, coming from his mouth, make me want to put on a princess dress and twirl around the kitchen?
* * * *
By noon, my doors sported brand new, state-of-the-art hardware, and three bulky men, dressed in light blue poplin shirts with Rogue Security logos, invaded every square inch of my home to perform last minute adjustments on the surveillance cameras they’d installed. Not one of them spoke more than two words to me. Franklin barked commands and they obeyed—all business, all stealth. Barely shot me a glance when they finally left. What kind of pull did Franklin carry to get these men to work on a Sunday?
“So that’s where you went? Shopping? This is a bit over the top, don’t you think?” I passed him a turkey sandwich and a bowl of fruit salad. “You should’ve asked me first. I don’t need a security system. There are cameras throughout the building, a doorman, and a secured entryway.”
Franklin rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, shook his head, and rolled his shoulders. “The program this building uses is a joke. A moron could get through or bypass it altogether. A woman living alone in this city can never be too careful.”
“I’m not helpless.”
“Didn’t say you were.” His smirk, although devilishly sexy, got under my skin. Something was off with him. “Just said you can never be too careful. This is the same one I use at my place.”
“I didn’t see any cameras in your apartment.” Why would he need security? He lived in the Georgetown neighborhood. Not the safest place to be, but it was mostly industrial, not considered a high crime area. Who’d break in? The apartment was barren aside from his flat screen.
“You won’t see any here when I’m finished.” He pulled turkey from between the white bread and popped it in his mouth.
“How do you know this stuff?” I asked. Why did he feel the need to force it down my throat?
He didn’t look at me, but his jaw clenched and he swallowed hard. “The shit I know would blow your mind.” The wrinkles in his forehead deepened.
“I don’t know anything about you, Mr. Reed. Besides the fact you are obscenely gorgeous and way too smart to work for Wallace Cruse. Seriously. What’s your deal?” I was half joking.
He wasn’t.
He responded with an icy glare. He
I punched hard at his chest. “Are you a damn ninja? Jeez, Franklin. You can’t sneak up on people like that!”
“I’m sorry, didn’t you hear me come in?” He shot me a stupefied glance.
“What was that?” I gestured to the floor. “You could’ve killed me.” I patted myself from chest to buttocks, in search of injury. Found nothing.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, irritated and snappy.
“No,” I grunted. “So not the point.”
“Exactly the point. You weren’t hurt.”
Bastard. Where did he learn to move like that? “I think it was him. He looked right at me, then pointed his finger like a gun.”
“Shit. Are you sure?” Hands fisting and stretching at his sides, he strode to the kitchen. I followed.
“No.” Shoulders slumped, I shook my head. “Maybe it was my imagination.” Or the fact that he’d fried my brain beyond repair with his fine tongue skills earlier.
“Come here,” I ordered. I wet a towel and wiped the sticky mess from his handsome face. “I’m sorry. Just jumpy I guess.” With a shrug, I tossed the cloth into the sink and brushed a finger across the wrinkles between his brows.
“Think it’s gonna bruise?” His sensual drawl coated my ears, soothed my raw nerves. “Killer reflexes you got there.”
I nodded. “I’m sorry.” A purple bump already marred his face. Not big, just enough to be a reminder of the skirmish. “How you gonna explain this at work?”
I gasped when his lips hovered above mine and his arm encircled my waist.
“I’ll tell them my girlfriend is abusive, but the sex is so hot, I can’t bring myself to leave her.”
Girlfriend? Why did that word, coming from his mouth, make me want to put on a princess dress and twirl around the kitchen?
* * * *
By noon, my doors sported brand new, state-of-the-art hardware, and three bulky men, dressed in light blue poplin shirts with Rogue Security logos, invaded every square inch of my home to perform last minute adjustments on the surveillance cameras they’d installed. Not one of them spoke more than two words to me. Franklin barked commands and they obeyed—all business, all stealth. Barely shot me a glance when they finally left. What kind of pull did Franklin carry to get these men to work on a Sunday?
“So that’s where you went? Shopping? This is a bit over the top, don’t you think?” I passed him a turkey sandwich and a bowl of fruit salad. “You should’ve asked me first. I don’t need a security system. There are cameras throughout the building, a doorman, and a secured entryway.”
Franklin rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, shook his head, and rolled his shoulders. “The program this building uses is a joke. A moron could get through or bypass it altogether. A woman living alone in this city can never be too careful.”
“I’m not helpless.”
“Didn’t say you were.” His smirk, although devilishly sexy, got under my skin. Something was off with him. “Just said you can never be too careful. This is the same one I use at my place.”
“I didn’t see any cameras in your apartment.” Why would he need security? He lived in the Georgetown neighborhood. Not the safest place to be, but it was mostly industrial, not considered a high crime area. Who’d break in? The apartment was barren aside from his flat screen.
“You won’t see any here when I’m finished.” He pulled turkey from between the white bread and popped it in his mouth.
“How do you know this stuff?” I asked. Why did he feel the need to force it down my throat?
He didn’t look at me, but his jaw clenched and he swallowed hard. “The shit I know would blow your mind.” The wrinkles in his forehead deepened.
“I don’t know anything about you, Mr. Reed. Besides the fact you are obscenely gorgeous and way too smart to work for Wallace Cruse. Seriously. What’s your deal?” I was half joking.
He wasn’t.
He responded with an icy glare. He
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