This case was gonna be a real bitch.
***
So…she still wanted him. Maybe not still. More like, she wanted him even more.
Evie crawled into the bed, and she pulled the covers up to her chin. She stared up at the ceiling. The lamp was on and spreading a faint glow around her bed—she couldn’t remember the last time that she’d actually slept in the dark.
Before the abduction. You know exactly how long it’s been. Stop lying to yourself.
She wasn’t good at lying to others. Sometimes, though, she did try to lie to herself. She’d tried to lie to herself about Cole. Tried to say that she didn’t still want him.
She did. When he touched her, electricity coursed through her blood. When he kissed her, her knees went weak and her whole body turned on. Desire pulsed through her. She wanted to haul him as close to her as she could and just let go of her control. To feel and enjoy.
But what happened…after? After the super awesome sex? Because sex with him was awesome. Amazing. Mind-blowing. Without a doubt, he was the best lover she’d ever had.
But…after?
When the bad guys were caught, she was certain that Cole would leave her life again. He’d disappear, just as he had before.
This time, though, she’d know that was going to happen. She’d know that what they had wasn’t permanent. Know it couldn’t last. Maybe…perhaps this time, she could just enjoy being with him.
She’d told Cole that she wanted to let go of their past.
So, what if there was no past? And no future for them?
What if they only had the present? The hot and sexy present.
Evie squeezed her eyes shut.
She could still taste him.
Chapter Five
Also known as that time Cole got stupid jealous and wanted to beat down a group of male dancers.
“Do they have to touch you so fucking much?” Cole growled when Evie finally took a break and headed toward him. She was wearing the tiniest, tightest pair of black shorts that he’d ever seen in his life. Shorts he would never forget anytime soon. Paired with those shorts, she wore some sort of camisole top that was form fitting and pushing up her breasts in the most awesome manner imaginable. The top was a thin bit of nothing, and it was driving him crazy. And seeing those assholes with their hands on her? Oh, that was just—
“Yes,” Evie replied crisply as she grabbed her water bottle. “They do have to touch me. It’s a choreography routine. I’m standing in for the female dancer because she’s sick, and I told Leo that I would help out. We’re working through the routine, and part of that work involves them lifting me up, spinning me around, and, yes, heaven forbid, touching me as they perform the dance sequence.”
Behind him, he heard a snicker.
He shot a mean glare over his shoulder at Chase. “Don’t you have something else to do?”
Chase shrugged.
Cole focused back on Evie.
“Neither one of you have anything to do.” Her hand tightened around the bottle. “It’s been five days since the incident with the van, and there has been no sign of the jerks who tried to grab me.”
She was right. His gaze locked on a bead of sweat that was sliding down her collar bone and heading toward—
“We did find the van,” Chase piped up to say. “But you already know it was wiped down. It had been reported as stolen by the owner, so, unfortunately, we’re not getting a lot of leads from it at this time.”
She sipped more water. Her throat moved as—
“Dude, you are drooling.” Chase leaned closer. “Do you need a towel or something?”
Cole barely resisted the urge to elbow him.
Evie put down the water bottle. She bent, stretching, as she curved her body and touched her toes. Then she lifted one leg, straight up in the air, and curled her arms around it.
“Oh, damn.” Chase sucked in a sharp breath. “You are very flexible,” he praised. “I had no idea—”
This time, Cole elbowed him. Hard.
Chase choked.
Evie lowered her leg. Frowned. “He okay?”
She’d missed the elbowing because Cole was just that good and fast. “He’s fine. Don’t worry about Chase. He has allergy issues.” He’s allergic to my freaking elbow.
“Oh. Sorry.” She looked back at the dancers. “Another half hour and we’ll be done here.”
Another half hour of watching those muscled assholes put their hands all over Evie? Another half hour of thinking about all of the ways he could so easily hurt them? Cole slapped a smile on his face even as jealousy tore into his heart. “Great. Wonderful. Another half hour.”
Her gaze jumped back to him. A faint line appeared on her forehead. “You’re bored.”
Uh, nope, bored wasn’t the right word. How can I stay bored when I’m busy plotting all of the ways I want to kill a group of muscled dancers who are touching you all over that hot body of yours? “Not at all,” he assured her.
Her breath expelled in a low rush. “It’s a waste of time.” Her attention swung from him to Chase, then back to Cole. “For you both. For your whole team. It’s been five days and nothing has happened. You can’t keep up this protection detail indefinitely.”
She thought he was just going to walk away? Not happening. “The perps are waiting for you to be vulnerable.”
A shiver skated over her.
She needed to understand this part. “I’m not going to leave you unprotected.”
He could see the worry in her eyes. “But how long can you keep this up? I can’t let Harrison foot the bill for this time and all the manpower. Actually, I already told him that I wanted to pay.” Her chin notched up. “And I do fully intend to pay for the services you’ve given me this week.”
Wait…Harrison was letting her think that he was paying? Hadn’t Cole been clear on that point? He was covering Evie’s protection.
“But I can’t cover costs forever.” Evie’s voice was low. “I know Wilde is super expensive.”
They were, only she didn’t need to worry about that. “Who told you Wilde was expensive?”
She rolled back her shoulders and pointed toward Leo. He hadn’t been one of the touching dancers. He’d been busy providing instruction and making lots of notes during the routines. “Leo told me he knew this Hollywood actress who used Wilde’s services a while back. Gwenevere Solomon? And some rock star, too. According to Leo, Wilde caters to the rich and famous, so that means there has to be a heavy price tag.”
“Your brother is rich,” Chase reminded her.
“But I’m not. I make a good living, and I’m grateful for all that I have, but it’s not like I can keep paying out for protection over weeks, months or—” She stopped. “You get the picture.”
Cole did. “The bill is taken care of. You don’t have to worry about it.”
Her jaw tightened. “Because my brother—”
“Your brother is not fucking paying.” Shit. Those words just burst out.
Her eyes widened. “Then who is?”
Do not speak. He was not going to dig his hole any deeper.
“Evie!” Leo called. “We need you to finish up this routine. The ending isn’t working for me, and I want to know how you think the final moments should go.”