She tilts her head to look at me. Our gazes lock and snag on each other, trapped for long seconds by a flash of heat too intense to ignore.
Yeah, that spark is still there.
“I don’t really want to…” She quickly cuts off her own words, but I don’t need her to say it.
I’m one hundred percent positive she’s talking about a man. Boyfriend, no doubt. There’s no ring on her finger. No fiancé or husband to get in my way.
“Then we won’t talk about him.” I test the waters, waiting for a reaction.
Looking for confirmation.
She gives me exactly what I expect; a brief flash of an expression, pain she can’t escape. Whatever happened is the result of someone she’s involved with.
And whatever that is—it’s nothing good.
Not that it’s a surprise. Men have been taking advantage of women since the dawn of time. I know all too well how cruel they can be. How they can hurt and betray trust in an instant. I’m living proof of how horrible a man can be to a woman.
I give Kaye’s hand a gentle squeeze and lean back against the wall.
“We’ll just sit here for a bit, then. Let Rosalie and Carmen get settled.”
“It’s nice that you came to help.”
“It’s part of the job.”
“Being a Guardian?”
“Well, that I suppose, but for the time being, Bravo team is on 24/7 protection detail. I’m here to do a bit of recon and get a feeling of the lay of the land.” My words bring a hitch to her breath and I have to suppress a smile.
“And make new friends in the process?” She graces me with her first real smile.
Jackpot!
“We’re far from being friends.”
“But you just said…”
“I said you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me over the next few weeks.”
“Wait, what?” My comment takes her by surprise.
“Bravo team is pulling 24-hour shifts watching over you girls,” I explain with a smirk.
I’m not looking for friendship. Kaye is far too intriguing for friendship, and I know better than to get myself stuck in the friend zone.
Not that I’ve ever been relegated to that hell.
Kaye’s an intriguing mystery waiting to be unraveled, and there’s nothing I love more than figuring out puzzles.
THREE
Kaye
“Kaye? Where are you?” Barbi’s soft alto calls out from the base of the stairs.
“Shit.” I wipe my hands on my jeans and rush to my feet. I’ve been so lost in my thoughts over Scott, and trying my best not to be a total basket case in front of Zeb, that I forgot to head upstairs and bring down the last of my things.
“Problem?” Zeb cocks his head, lips twisting in a sardonic grin.
“No problem.” I try to sound nonchalant, but my words come out in a rush, and my No problem sounds a whole lot like I’m trying to hide something.
Which I am.
It’s why I leap to my feet. No way do I want Barbi seeing me sitting shoulder to shoulder, on the floor, with Zeb. It looks too much like we’re flirting.
Which I am. And maybe we are?
Not sure.
I’m totally into Zeb. Like on a cellular level of I-want-to-crawl-inside-of-him kind of thing. And I think he’s a little into me as well. Which is why I don’t want Barbi seeing us together, alone, in the bedroom.
Holding hands.
“You sure about that?” Amusement twists through Zeb’s words.
He’s having fun with this, and if his powers of reading people are as good as he says, he knows exactly why I shot to my feet at the sound of Barbi’s voice.
Which he does. The bastard totally knows.
“I’m supposed to help Barbi finish packing my things in my room and move them down here.” I rub my palms against my jeans, feeling guilty, looking guilty, just plain looking like an open book to the sexy-as-sin man lounging on the floor.
“Ah…” He slowly unfolds his powerful legs and rises to his full height. He’s close. Too close. It’s the kind of towering-over-me kind of close. Which makes his presence difficult to ignore. “We’d better get to it, then.” His mouth curves into a half-smile while his eyes twinkle with mirth.
Yeah, he knows exactly what’s going through my mind.
“Right.” I take a shaky step back, needing space to catch my breath. “Um, I’ll be back in a minute.”
Barbi’s footsteps sound in the hall.
I’m too late.
I call out to my friend.
“I’m in here.” I rush over to the spare dresser we moved in last night to hold my things.
Barbi pokes her head in what’s now our room. Her shoulder-length hair sways back and forth as she takes one look at Zeb then shifts her attention to me, raising a brow, before marching in.
“Thought you were gonna help with the last of your things?” She waltzes in and drops an armful of my clothes on the bed.
My clothes tumble and form a heap on top of her bed. My lacy bras, and collection of thongs, land right on the top of that pile for everyone to see. A quick glance at Zeb and heat fills my cheeks.
“What did you do, scoop my stuff out of my drawers?” I rush to the pile of clothes, pawing through them in a desperate attempt to bury my unmentionables.
“You were supposed to empty the boxes and bring the empties up, but I got tired of waiting.” Her gaze shifts between me and Zeb again.
That glint in her eye tells me she’s up to no good and hints at her mischievousness. She’s curious what Zeb and I were doing in here alone.
I take a deep breath and shake off my embarrassment. Keeping my voice upbeat, I pretend having a tall, dark, and gorgeous Guardian eyeing my bras and panties is an everyday occurrence.
Nothing going on here.
Except his gaze keeps shifting from the pile to what I’m wearing. And I know exactly what’s going through his mind. He’s debating whether I’m currently wearing a thong or lacy panties.
“It’s alright.” I grab one of the boxes we brought down earlier and dump those clothes on top of the pile, burying the evidence, as it were.
Zeb wanders close. His arm brushes against mine. That tingle of electricity engulfs me, making all the fine hairs on my arms stand at attention.
“Need help with that?” He rocks back on his heels and flashes a mischievous grin.
“With what?” I pretend I’m not standing in front of a pile of my half-folded clothes and try to sound nonchalant even through there’s a bright-red pair of lacy panties peeking out from beneath the pile.
Just kill me now.
“Folding? Unpacking? Packing? Consider me free labor.” He folds his arms across his chest, looking pleased with himself. His offer hangs in the air and no one says anything.
Barbi waits for me to react. Her attention shifts to me and she throws me a lifeline.
“Zeb, why don’t you take the empty boxes to the kitchen and start breaking them down?” The twinkle in her eyes tells me my cheeks are indeed flushed and rosy red.
“I can definitely do that.” Zeb grabs the empty boxes and heads for the door. Before he leaves, he pauses and twists back to look at me. “I enjoyed our talk and look forward to continuing it at a later time.”