Don’t say prey. Don’t say—
“Their targets. It gives them a rush to be that near to the object of their desire. It’s obvious he doesn’t like for her to get far away from him. That will work to our advantage. It will help us to catch him.” The floor creaked beneath his feet. “Sure, I’ve considered that possibility.”
What possibility?
“And I want the bastard to come for me. I’ll put up as big of a target as I can.”
Her shoulders stiffened.
“I hear you. Good night, Eric. I’ll check in again soon.” He lowered the phone to his side. Stood there with his back to her.
Releasing a quick breath, Aspen began to push the door closed—
“Do you engage in a lot of spying?”
Crap. Her fingers tightened around the doorknob. “It wasn’t spying. It was more like casual eavesdropping.”
He looked back at her. “That’s semantics.”
She sniffed. “It was actually me being polite. I was having trouble sleeping, but when I opened the door, you were on the phone and I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation. So I just waited patiently—and quietly—for you to finish up.”
He smiled at her. “That’s a really nice try.”
He could tell she was lying? This was starting to be a problem.
“How about a shot?”
She hadn’t expected that question. “Excuse me?”
“A shot of whiskey might help you sleep.” He was already walking away from her.
Aspen found herself hurrying after him.
“Got this old buddy of mine who is obsessed with fancy whiskey. He likes the really old stuff. Fifteen year. Twenty-three year. Always Pappy’s.” He was in front of a vintage, wooden bar. “Gives me a bottle every time he sees me.” Deftly, he pulled down two shot glasses and snagged a gleaming bottle of whiskey. “If you can’t settle down, this might be just what the doctor ordered.”
Aspen watched him fill the shot glasses. “I don’t think we go to the same doctor.”
His laughter came, all warm and rich. It seemed to ease some of the coldness inside of her. He handed her a glass. Her fingers brushed his as she took the drink. A surge of electric energy zipped through her. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt that awareness when they touched.
But perhaps it was time for her to acknowledge it.
Then, again, maybe not. Do not go down that path.
Gideon took the other shot glass. Tapped it to hers. “To keeping you safe.”
Yes, she could certainly drink to that. And she did. A quick downing of the amber liquid in the glass, and the whiskey burned in the best possible way.
Gideon was still flashing his half-smile right before he downed his drink, too. His glass clinked down on the bar. “Feel better?”
Her hold tightened on her glass. “No.” The whiskey had certainly warmed her up, but the idea that someone was out there, that she was prey…very little could make her feel better with that hanging over her head.
“If you aren’t feeling better, then are you at least drunk enough to tell me your secrets?”
It was her turn to release a laugh. One that she certainly had not intended. “It takes a whole lot more than one shot to get me drunk.” She’d been hanging in bars long before she was legal. But that was another story. One she’d probably never tell him.
“Duly noted.” He snaked the glass away from her. Once more, his fingers tangled with hers. Once more, that awareness danced over her nerve endings.
“It would be a terrible idea,” Aspen told him as she turned away. His couch looked like the most comfortable thing in the world, so she settled in and tucked her legs under her body. She peered at him. “It’s probably best just to go ahead and say it.”
“It?” His eyebrow quirked as he lowered onto the couch next to her. He’d turned on the fireplace, and the flames danced in the most beautiful of ways.
“It.” A nod. “Us. Getting involved. Crossing the lines that I am sure exist between a big, bad security agent and his client.”
Gideon’s finger tapped against his chin. “I tend to make my own rules.”
She just bet he did. “Do you often have personal relationships with your clients?”
“Ah, counselor, I can see that I walked right into that interrogation, but, no, for the record, that is a line that I have never wanted to cross.”
Oh. Well—
“Until now,” he added, his voice all dark and rich and deliciously rumbly.
She wet her lips and realized she could still taste the whiskey. “It would be a bad idea. Yes, I find you vaguely attractive.” Understatement. “In an…arrogant, I-work-out-too-much kind of way.”
He chuckled. “No, please, flatter me more.”
She liked the way humor would sneak out of him. Not that she’d inform him of that. “You know you’re attractive.”
“A man still likes to be told.”
“And maddening.”
He winked.
Her gaze jerked away. “This is a temporary situation. It will be complicated enough without us letting physical attraction get in the way—”
“And you believe I’m attracted to you?”
Her gaze whipped back to him.
“Someone thinks highly of herself,” he murmured.
Her cheeks flushed. She could feel the burn igniting her skin. “I thought, I—” Aspen stopped. She did not get this flustered. Usually. “My mistake.” The things he’d said to her before—had he really just been getting into the role? “I will certainly not say anything else when you obviously—”
“You’re right.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I am attracted to you. You’re striking. Not pretty in that flashy, magazine way. You have the kind of face that once a guy sees you, I don’t think he can ever forget you.”
“Thank…you?” Had that been a compliment?
His gaze was intense. Watchful. “You’re probably used to getting everything you want. You smile, and men fall at your feet.”
Hardly. He had zero clue about her life.
“And that’s why you’re giving me the talk.”
“The what?” He’d lost her.
“The talk. The friend-zone talk. The it-will-go-nowhere talk. The same talk that I suspect you once gave to Ben Wilde and that you’ve probably given to dozens of guys who thought they might have a shot with you, but didn’t.”
She held his gaze. Didn’t speak. Did assess.
“But what you need to realize is that there’s a difference between me and your buddy Ben.”
Yes, obviously. Ben was always an absolute gentleman, while Gideon…she wasn’t so sure what he was yet.
“I don’t care about rules. I don’t care that we’ll both probably go our separate ways as soon as the case is wrapped up. I get you’re not looking for something long-term. That’s fine. But you should know I do want you. I felt the attraction from the instant you walked into the Wilde office and told me that I was a mistake.”
Oh, had she said that? Aspen winced. “Um…”
“You do seem to like using the ‘mistake’ word.”