And the other four involved her vibrator.
Why was fooling around with Darius so different from the other times she’d had sex? She’d always enjoyed sex. It was a great release. That was why she appreciated her vibrator. All the release but none of the drama. You didn’t have to talk to someone afterwards, or worry about their feelings for you—or lack of feelings. It didn’t lead to hurt for herself or a partner.
Obviously a vibrator didn’t offer the full sensory experience of sex with a man, which was why she still made room in her life for dating and even the occasional friends-with-benefits situation. She’d always gone for short-term relationships because her life didn’t have room for anything else.
At least that was what she’d always told herself.
But maybe the fact was that no one had really intrigued her enough to try. And no one had taken the time to get past all her layers of wariness and mistrust.
Until a big, gruff, stubborn bastard of a fire chief had come along. Slowly but surely, she’d come to trust him.
Also, he could do things with his hands that she hadn’t known a man could do. How were his hands so big and yet so sensitive? He knew exactly how to touch her, and how hard, and how long.
She lost herself in the blissful recollection of the last half hour or so of her life. By the time her shower ended, her system was back to the low hum of arousal that she’d been experiencing ever since…well, probably ever since that first glimpse of his hard stomach when he’d wiped sweat off his face after his jog.
Or no—when she’d seen him onstage at the Moose is Loose.
Or even when he’d stopped to help her. It was very possible that his good deed combined with his powerful physique and kind silver-gray eyes had delivered the first blow to her defenses.
The question was, what did he want now that he was behind the castle door?
What did she want?
She shook the question away as she dried her hair with a bath towel. None of that mattered yet. They had one more night in this hotel—really just a matter of hours at this point—and the only thing she really wanted was to make the most of it.
She barely heard the knock on the front door of her suite, but she did hear Darius’ deep voice ring out with a firm, “Be right there.”
It could be someone from the law firm, or maybe from the hotel itself. She was hurrying to finish drying off when she heard Darius call, “Stay where you are until I say the word, Kate!”
Holy hell. In a flash, the terror from those last few weeks in LA came rushing back. She hadn’t been careful enough—she’d gone to see her father—she’d eaten dinner at a restaurant—she’d gotten lax. Her worst fear had come true—one of Kramer’s goons had found her. Maybe his lawyers had tipped them off. Now they were threatening Darius and he was trying to protect her, probably risking his own life in the process.
Her heart jumped into her throat and adrenaline flooded through her. She couldn’t let Darius get hurt. Not on her account. She had to help him. Phone. Call for help. No, she’d left her phone in the room.
Bear spray. She had the canister Emma had given her. It was in her rolling suitcase, which she’d dragged into the bathroom with her rather than sorting through it for clothes. Yes! She pounced on it and rummaged through to the bottom, where she’d stashed the can. She’d declared it at the airport, and hadn’t pulled it out since. It was really just a crutch at this point.
Her hands were shaking so much it was hard to get a grip on it. She checked the button to make sure she was orienting it in the right direction. More fears multiplied like bunnies.
What if she missed and sprayed Darius instead? What if she blinded someone? She didn’t want to hurt anyone. She just wanted them to leave her alone!
I don’t even have to use it, she decided. This is about bluffing. And I learned bluffing from the master.
She straightened her shoulders, getting into character—badass with a weapon. At which point she realized that she wearing a fluffy white bath towel and nothing else. No time to change now. She cinched the knot tighter. She’d just have to hope it stayed on.
Gathering all her nerve, she swung the bathroom door open. As she leaped into the room, the towel snagged on the doorknob and fell off her body.
What the hell, they’d just have to get an eyeful. Maybe it would be an effective distraction, who knew?
Without missing a beat, she kept going and aimed the canister at the door of the suite. “Don’t move or I’ll shoot!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Darius swung around to face her, his hands up in the air as if she was talking to him. His mouth fell open as he caught sight of her. He shook his head and mouthed something, but she was already glaring at the intruder behind him.
Intruders…plural.
A small group of people crowded in the doorway. One of them held a cake. Another had balloons. There was a bottle of champagne in there somewhere. And a lot of shocked faces that belonged to members of her old law firm. Danisse from accounting. Chad, the frat boy intern. Jamieson, her immediate supervisor.
Darius, bless him, took only a split second to step between her and her former colleagues. Never before had she been quite so happy about how damn big he was.
Bluff. She still needed to bluff her way out of this, even though it wasn’t quite the situation she’d thought she was facing.
“Hi everyone. Great to see you all. Ooh, is that cake?” she said cheerfully as she dropped the can of spray to her side and peered past Darius. “Aw, you guys shouldn’t have. This is just so sweet! The last thing I expected. Literally.”
Darius stepped toward her, filling her field of vision and shielding her from sight. “Why don’t you let me take this,” he murmured as he touched the hand holding the bear spray. “You’re making people nervous. Me, in particular.”
She let him claim the can. “I wasn’t going to use it unless I had to,” she whispered. “I’m not that reckless.”
“No, I’d say you’re the perfect amount of reckless.” The amusement in his voice brought a smile to her own lips. He shepherded her toward the bathroom, still blocking everyone’s view of her backside. “You thought I was in danger.”
“Obviously.”
“I’m deeply moved that you would try to save my life buck naked.”
They reached the bathroom, which felt like a heavenly haven of safety.
As soon as she stepped inside, the aftermath of all that adrenaline hit her. She started to shake.
“My coworkers just saw me naked,” she moaned. “I swear I’ve had nightmares exactly like that. Except usually there was a judge and a courtroom involved.”
“Shhh.” He wrapped his arms around her, the scent of his wool sweater blanketing her in comfort. It also reminded her that he’d had the good sense to throw on some clothes before confronting the world. “You have to remember something very important.”
“What?” she moaned, resting her forehead on his broad chest.
“You don’t work with them anymore.”
She tilted her head to gaze up at him. The silvery amusement shining in his eyes brought a bubble of laughter to her own lips. “That’s true. I work with Emma now and she’s seen me naked. When I was a baby.”