Why did he have to be so big? Damn near a foot taller than her. And solid. Good God, the man was like chiseled stone, only warm.
“I want you here, Kennedy. In fact, the only problem is that I want you a little too much.”
Her eyes flared. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m a dude. You’re a woman. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
She shook her head. “A big fat no on that.”
“Yeah, I already ruled it out, too, you being dependent on me and all.”
“I am not...” No, she wouldn’t lie. At the moment, she was dependent...somewhat, damn it.
“It wouldn’t be ethical. And then, of course, there’s your background.” He eyed her. “You still struggle with that? I’m guessing you do. Who wouldn’t, right? But you have to know the last thing I’d want to do is make you uncomfortable, or put you on the spot. And never, not under any circumstances, would I pressure you.”
“You’re pressuring me now.”
“To stay.” His hands kneaded her shoulders. “I meant sexually. To keep you safe, I’ll definitely pressure you if I need to.” He bent his knees a little to look more directly into her eyes.
Damn him, he was potent. In fact, she found herself leaning into him a bit.
“I’ll do whatever it takes then. I want you to know that, okay? Sometimes that might mean me giving orders.”
“I don’t think so.”
“And sometimes you’ll have to follow those orders.”
“Like hell.”
“But I’ll always have a good reason, and hey, if necessary, I’ll apologize once we’re safe again.” He tried one of his charming smiles on her. It was more effective than not. “Deal?”
Unable to help herself, Kennedy slumped forward until her forehead came into contact with his firm chest. Holy smokes, he smelled good. “I had just resigned myself to leaving.”
Carefully his arms closed around her. “I know. Have I convinced you to stay?”
Still inhaling his delicious scent, she asked, “So now you’re giving me a choice?”
“I’m not into kidnapping, so maybe.”
The “maybe” made her laugh. He was so outrageous. She lifted a hand to rest against his shoulder. “I’m scared and, as you said, I’m smart enough to know I’m out of my depth. So, yes, I’d like to stay.” For now. “I haven’t yet locked down any new engagements, so my schedule is open.”
“You were taking time off? A vacation?”
“Actually, I was only going to work on my next book. I can set up in here so I’m out of your way, okay? You won’t even know I’m here.”
He snorted. “Trust me, I’ll know.” His palm moved up and down her spine, both soothing her and making her far too aware of him as a man. “You’re writing another book?”
“With all the digging your sister did, you surely know that already.”
He tried to lever her back so he could see her face, but when she resisted, he hugged her instead. “Yeah, I knew you’d published one book. Didn’t know you were starting another.”
“The results of trafficking go on and on.” She still wasn’t over it. She didn’t think she’d ever be over it. “For anyone recovering, it might be helpful to know the resources that are available, the things I’ve done to help me feel more in control of my life, and to know that difficulty sleeping isn’t uncommon.”
He pressed his mouth to her temple. “You slept all right last night.”
Because she’d been with him. Likely the difference was in not being alone, but telling him that might obligate him to keep her close each night, and she wouldn’t intrude on him more than she had to. “Usually I hear every little sound, and once I do, I can’t just assume it’s the house settling or the wind stirring branches. I can’t assume it’s anything less than an intruder.”
“Even though it never is?”
She went still. Knowing she had to tell him soon didn’t mean she was ready to do it now. Of course, an astute guy like Reyes didn’t miss much.
This time his hold on her shoulders was too firm, and she couldn’t stop him from pressing her back the length of those long arms. His probing stare dissected her. Grim, he demanded, “When?”
CHAPTER FIVE
GOING OVER THE details made her nerves jangle, adding a quiver to her voice that she hated. “A month ago, I heard someone on the balcony off my apartment.” That struck her with new awareness, and she gave a humorless laugh. “Or rather, what used to be my balcony. I got up to look, as I always do.” Unable to hold his gaze, she stared down at his chest and whispered, “There was a man there. He’d just climbed over the railing.”
“Damn.” Gathering her against him once more, Reyes gently rocked her. “He didn’t get in?”
Kennedy shook her head. Retelling this was so much easier while Reyes held her. “I had my gun in my hand—”
Back she went again so he could do another long stare. “You have a gun?”
She gave him a “duh” look. “That night all I had was a small .38 with a laser pointer, but now I also have a Glock.” She blew out a breath. “Stupidly, I’d left my phone on the bedside table. All I could do was stand there staring at him, the gun aimed, the red dot on his chest until he smiled at me and vaulted back over the rail.”
Again he hugged her. “You called the cops?”
“Yes. They came right away, took a description and looked around. In the end, they wrote it off as a likely burglar and promised to drive by often for the rest of the night, but I couldn’t stay there. I went to a hotel, and the next morning I bought additional security stuff for all around the apartment. Alarms for everything. Bars for the balcony door and windows.” She cleared her throat. “I also bought a screamer—one of those little handheld things where you press a button and it makes a loud, piercing noise? Plus, I got a stun gun.”
His mouth firmed in disapproval, but what did she care? She’d needed protection, and she couldn’t rely on anyone else.
“The cops didn’t know your history or they’d have—”
“What? Protected me from the boogeyman? We both know it isn’t that easy.”
He smoothed a hand over her hair. “Yeah, we do.” Glancing at her suitcase, he asked, “You have the weapons on you?”