Playing His Dangerous Game by Tina Duncan Page B

divorce papers. My ex is still harassing me. The last thing I want is to get involved with someone else. Is that so hard to understand?’
    Royce shook his head. ‘Not at all. In fact it’s perfectly understandable.’
    Royce remembered how he’d felt when he’d discovered Fiona had betrayed him. He’d been sure he’d never get involved with a woman again.
    He had, of course.
    Sex was a powerful motivator. He had no intention of living the rest of his life like a monk.
    There was, however, one major difference.
    Since Fiona he had always maintained a cool distance emotionally in all of his relationships.
    If he’d been using his head back then he would have known that something wasn’t quite right about their relationship. In fact, he’d have known there was something downright fishy about the whole situation.
    If he’d had his wits about him he’d have seen through the web of lies and deceit and seen Fiona for exactly what she was—someone who was using him for her own ends.
    At the time he’d thought her interest in him—and the case—was sweet. Instead all she’d been doing was pumping him for information—both literally and figuratively.
    ‘You say that as if you’re speaking from personal experience,’ Shara commented, breaking in on his thoughts.
    ‘I am. I doubt that any man—or woman, for that matter—reaches the grand old age of thirty-four without having been burned once or twice.’
    She raised one neatly plucked eyebrow. ‘Once or twice?’
    Royce stared back. ‘Once. I always learn from my mistakes.’

CHAPTER FOUR
    S HARA was staring at him, a mixture of sympathy and sadness in her eyes.
    Royce ignored the former, but the latter made his heart constrict.
    Such a young and beautiful woman shouldn’t have so much sadness in her eyes.
    Royce wanted to take her hand in his and say something—anything—to banish that unhappy look.
    To make her smile.
    Or laugh.
    It wasn’t an appropriate reaction—just as almost kissing her by the side of the road earlier hadn’t been appropriate.
    He stared deeper into her eyes and saw a question burning there. It was clear she wanted to ask him more about what had happened, but he had no intention of trading war stories.
    He hadn’t even told Travis and Jackson, his two closest friends, what had happened with Fiona. The last thing he wanted was anyone feeling sorry for him. The important thing was that even though he’d been hurt at the time the experience had provided an invaluable life lesson.
    Getting involved warped your viewpoint.
    Emotions fuzzed your objectivity and made you vulnerable.
    He’d acted like a stupid fool with Fiona, but—as he’d justtold Shara—he’d learnt his lesson and had no intention of repeating the same mistake twice.
    Something in his expression must have warned Shara not to pursue the subject, because after taking a sip of her herbal tea she said, ‘You mentioned that having a strong sense of right and wrong led you into starting your business?’
    Royce grasped the change of subject with both hands. ‘Kind of. To be honest, I had a whole other career mapped out. I was going to be the world’s next Bill Gates. The security business picked me rather than the other way around.’
    She raised an eyebrow. ‘And how did it manage to do that?’
    Royce rubbed the side of his jaw with his fingers. ‘I’ve always had a thing about supporting the underdog. I guess it came from being bullied as a child.’
    ‘
You
were bullied? I find that hard to believe,’ she said, making no attempt to hide her incredulity.
    ‘Why?’
    Shara blinked, then waved a hand towards him. ‘You just don’t look the type.’
    ‘Because I’m big?’
    She nodded.
    ‘Big doesn’t necessarily mean aggressive, you know.’
    ‘I suppose not.’
    ‘Strange as it may seem, my size was one of the reasons I was picked on in the first place. I was taller than everyone in my class. A couple of the other kids assumed that because I was big I