Seductive Knight by Tierney O’Malley Page A

she smelled nice. What was up with her hat…worn and practically covered her face. Was she hiding on purpose? Maybe she had rashes on her forehead she wanted to hide? Good God. He hoped she wasn’t contagious. Also, one minute she spoke fluently as if she was born here and then she’d talk like English was her second language the next. What the fuck was that about? Now, he regretted not asking Edmund about her.
    Gawain took a deep breath. “Okay. Just hang on a sec.” He walked toward the window a few feet away from the woman. He fished his phone from his front pocket and dialed Bors’s number. He answered right away. “Bro, she wants to stay with her friend.”
    Bors’s reply was brief. “No.”
    “Butthead, she’s insistent.”
    “She’s staying with you, Peewee. And don’t fucking let her out of your sight,” Bors snarled from the end of the phone.
    “Trouble?”
    Bors sighed. “Baskerville thinks so. What do you think about her?”
    “What do you mean?”
    Bors laughed. “Edmund said she could make any man’s cock come alive.”
    “Not mine. Stop laughing.”
    “Does she look familiar to you?”
    “No. Can’t really tell. She’s wearing a hat.” Gawain looked at the woman.
    “You sure?”
    “I’m sure.”
    “All right. Understandable. Snot, look at her and then call me. Remember, she’s staying with you. I don’t have all the facts, but for now, I want you to keep an eye on her.”
    “Wait, are we talking about more than three days?”
    “Yes.”
    “Fuck it, Bors. We have a deal.”
    “She’s not going anywhere without you. And no one is supposed to know that she’s in Orcas.”
    “You’re asking more than what I offered,” he hissed on the phone.
    “And I know you’ll do more for her once you figure out who she is.”
    “I’m supposed to know her?”
    “Take care of her while I find more info.”
    “Bro, I’m not an agent.”
    “I know that, cuticle. Just listen to me. She’s not going anywhere. This one is not like the others.”
    “Damn it, Bors.”
    Bors chuckled. “Can’t believe you didn’t recognize her.”
    Gawain turned to look at the woman. She stared back. I’m supposed to know this woman? “Who is she?”
    “Breaking your own rule?”
    “Damn it, Bors!”
    “Listen, I’ll leave her to you. If she insists on leaving, use your cuffs you keep beside your bed.”
    “I don’t have handcuffs—“
    “I’ll call as soon as I talk to Baskerville.”
    “—anywhere in this house. Wait…Baskerville is involved, too?”
    “Yes. As much as you are now.”
    Looking at the woman who was staring at him as if he’d just grown ten feet tall, he hung up the phone. “Sorry. I can’t let you stay with your friend.”
    “Why?”
    “Bors said so.”
    “You always do what your brother tells you to do?”
    “Depends.”
    “Well, given how you like your solitude, I think it’s best that I go someplace else. I am not interested in staying here anymore. I don’t care what Bors told you.”
    Sighing, he raked his hair again, deliberately showing her his frustration. “I can’t let you leave. It’s for your own good.”
    “I’m leaving.”
    “Don’t be a brat.”
    “A brat?”
    “You’re acting like one. I’m surprised you haven’t stomped your feet and screamed like a little girl.”
    “You are rude!”
    Gawain shrugged. “I’ll still give you three hundred dollars if you stay. How’s that?”
    “Gawain, offer me your money one more time and I’ll forget my promise to Nanni to behave like a lady.” She walked toward the couch where Gawain noticed a small travel bag.
    “Now, wait a minute.” He blocked her from going anywhere. “You can’t go out there. Bors said—”
    “I don’t care.”
    “You should. He’s only trying to protect you. Don’t be such a hard head.”
    She put her hands on her hips the way Teta would when upset. “Let me ask you this, Gawain. If it weren’t for Bors, would you let me stay here?”
    “What kind of