“Okay. Open. But no peeking.” She winked at him and bit into the fruit in her hand. Juice ran down her forearm, and she darted out her tongue to catch it.
He wheeled around and pulled the door half-closed behind him. “Taking a shower,” he told her in a choked voice.
“Me too,” she called after him. Great. Simultaneous showers. He’d have to make his a cold one. “Want to get dinner after that? I’d say it’s on me, but the law firm’s paying for everything so it’s on them.”
“Sounds good.”
Instead of a cold shower, he turned the heat up and filled the stall with fragrant steam. Then he soaped up his hand and wrapped it around his cock. With the other hand braced against the tiles, water cascading onto his head and back, he stroked himself. Kate’s face and lips danced behind his closed eyes. The way she’d licked that juice off her arm…that should have been her tongue on his erection. And it was, in his imagination.
What was she doing right now? Was she too in the shower? Soaping her breasts, covering herself with lather? Maybe her hand was between her legs right this very moment. Maybe she was rubbing herself, touching her own nipples. Oh God.
It took only a few strokes for him to come in his hand. Pressure relieved. At least for the moment.
He spent some more time catching his breath, cleaning himself thoroughly, and delivering himself a lecture about proper bodyguard behavior.
When he’d gotten himself dressed in a new set of clothes, he knocked on the adjoining door.
“Come in,” Kate called. She spun around as he stepped through the door, and all that hard work he’d done in the shower went right down the drain.
It was just a black dress, but the way it cupped her breasts and pushed them together was a goddamn threat to a man’s sanity. The fabric clung to the curves of her waist and hips, then stopped short just above her knees. Not only that, but she wore heels so high she came up to his chin rather than his chest.
“I brought my stilettos with me,” she told him cheerfully. “It’s not often I can wear them around a man without towering over him.”
He grunted, since that was the only sound he was capable of making right then.
“Also, in a pinch, I can use them as a weapon.” She bent to slide off one of her shoes, giving him an even better view of the bare upper curve of her breasts. His mouth went dry.
He cleared his throat. “That’s okay, you don’t have to demonstrate. I feel safer already.”
She tugged the shoe strap back into place and stood up. “How’s your appetite?”
Wrong question. He lifted one eyebrow and didn’t answer. She flushed and ran her tongue over her lips. “There’s a great steakhouse around the corner.”
“Works for me.”
Good God, he had to get a grip. He was here to watch her back, not slobber all over her.
She pulled on a red sweater—forevermore, he’d associate the color red with her—and they headed out the door.
The electric atmosphere between them followed them into the elevator and through the foyer. It must have made Kate nervous too, because she launched into a breathless explanation of how much she’d been looking forward to dipping into her Los Angeles wardrobe again. And then something about makeup and hair stylists and brunch.
When they hit the sidewalk, she wobbled a little on her stilettos, and he grabbed her arm to steady her. She leaned on it for extra support as they walked. Finally he saw the advantage of those shoes, aside from the fact that they made her legs look about as long as a high-rise.
“Look at us, all civilized and going out to dinner in LA. We’ve come a long way from that muddy road in Lost Harbor,” she said lightly.
“And from the Moose is Loose, passed out in that cabin.”
“Knocked out,” she corrected. “Passed out sounds more degenerate. I didn’t have enough fun to qualify for passed out.”
“Really?” He gave her a wicked sidelong look. “I did. It was a great night, until I woke up all alone with a goddamn crick in my neck.”
She pulled a mock-apologetic face and slid her hand to the back of his neck. “Poor baby. I can make up for it now if you like.”
She massaged him lightly, and he groaned. “Now? In the middle of a city sidewalk when I’m supposed to be watching for bad guys? We really need to talk about your timing.”
With a smile, she dropped her hand, letting it linger on his back before settling at his elbow. The muscles along his spine tingled, missing her touch already.
“Don’t worry, I won’t interfere with bad guy patrol. If you weren’t here, I’d be barricading myself in the hotel room and ordering room service.”
“Maybe we should—”
“No. It’s such a short walk, and there’s all this warmth and smog to enjoy. “
He laughed. “Forget what it’s like after all that clean Lost Harbor air?”
“I did.” She inhaled a long breath. “It’s strange being here. I feel like I’m drunk but I’m definitely not.”
“I don’t even have that excuse,” he murmured, half to himself. But he knew exactly what she meant. It was a giddy feeling to be here with her in this enormous, sprawling city in which no one knew their business. No curious volunteer firemen or hockey teammates to be seen. They could do whatever they wanted and no one ever had to know about it.
They could throw every rulebook in existence out the window.
Except for the one that would keep her safe, of course.
To that end, he made sure they were seated in a corner booth, from which he could see everyone who came in and out of Ruby’s Steakhouse.
“You seem like you know what you’re doing, bodyguard-wise,” she commented after the hostess had left them alone with their drink menus.
“I’ve watched enough Jason Statham movies to get the general idea.”
She smiled at that. He loved making her smile. That little divot that appeared near her chin just did him in. Every time.
“Have you always been a fireman?” she asked.
“Mostly, but I started life as a cowboy.”
Her eyes lit up. “That hat. I loved that hat. I haven’t seen you wear it since that night.”
If he’d known she’d be looking for it, he would have done something about it. “I lost it at the Moose Is Loose. They’re hanging onto it for me, but I haven’t been up there since that night. Didn’t know it meant anything to you. I’ve had it since I was a teenager riding herd.”
“I guess I’ll just have to use my imagination,” she murmured wickedly.
“I’ve been using mine overtime, so join the club.”
The tip of her tongue slid between her lips. She’d put something in her hair to make it look wild and tousled, and it didn’t take much imagination to picture it spread across his pillow.
“I’m trying to ask you serious questions and you keep distracting me.” With a stern frown, she tapped on the table between them. “When did you switch from cowboy to fireman?”
“Halfway through college. I was a biology major. Thought I might go on to med school but decided to change to fire sciences. I couldn’t stomach any more school. Turns out a good half of our calls are medical anyway. So I get to use those muscles too.”