“Go, Davis,” Brodie ordered.
Davis went, but he did cast one last look back at them, a guarded, measuring glance, before he left the room.
When the door shut behind Davis, Brodie whirled toward her. “I’m sorry. My twin brother can be—hell, difficult.”
“I...I didn’t realize you two were identical twins.” For some reason, she hadn’t expected to find a carbon copy of Brodie at that ranch. Fraternal twins, sure. Why had she thought that? When she’d been researching Brodie, she’d come across a reference to his twin, but she hadn’t thought the guy was his identical match.
“We’re only alike on the outside.” He flashed her a grin, and his dimples winked. “I’m the easygoing twin.”
Was she really supposed to believe that? There wasn’t a whole lot that was “easy” about the former SEAL standing in front of her.
Brodie’s gaze dropped to her body.
Her pretty much unclothed body.
A muscle jerked in his jaw, right before he spun around, presenting her with the broad expanse of his back.
She hurried to grab her shirt. Jennifer went to yank it on and—
Brodie lifted her up into his arms. “Be careful,” he whispered. “You almost cut yourself.”
The shattered lamp.
He carried her back toward the bed. Eased her to her feet. But didn’t let her go.
She should tell him to let go.
She really shouldn’t enjoy his touch so much.
“I wanted you to feel safe here.” His voice seemed to vibrate around her. “I’m sorry that my brother frightened you. It won’t happen again.” He dropped his hold and stepped back. “I’ll clean up the mess and—”
Her hand caught his. “Do you know what scared me the most?”
He looked at her hand wrapped around his wrist, and then his gaze slowly rose to her face.
Her lips pressed together; then she admitted, “I knew that...in order to get to me, my stalker would have to take you out first. I was afraid he’d hurt you.”
When she’d decided to seek out Brodie, she hadn’t thought of the danger that she’d put him in. She’d been selfish, too scared, and now Jennifer had to face the ramifications of what she’d done.
His hand lifted and curved under her chin. “I’m an ex-SEAL. I can take care of myself.”
Then his lips brushed against hers. The kiss seemed bittersweet. She found herself leaning toward him, wanting to just hold him tight and sink into him.
I should have stayed away. But when a woman had no options, she tended to act desperately.
His lips rose from hers. “You’ll always be safe with me,” he promised her. Then he turned away.
She believed he meant those words. Deep at his core, Brodie was the true-hero type. She’d known that...counted on it.
But...
Would he always be safe with her?
* * *
BRODIE PULLED THE guest room door shut behind him. He paused a minute, his mind still on Jennifer.
And on ripping his brother’s head off.
“I thought you’d stay in there longer.” Davis’s voice came from just down the hallway.
Brodie glared at his brother. “Shouldn’t you be crashing somewhere?” Somewhere on the other side of the house.
Davis’s eyes slid back to the closed door. “She really a client?”
She was more than that.
“Because I saw the way you looked at her, and I also saw how close you were to swinging a punch at me.”
Davis had been drinking her in with his eyes. Everyone thought that Brodie was the one with the love-em-and-leave-em reputation. They didn’t know the truth. Davis was the one who could seduce so easily. “She’s not for you,” Brodie said flatly even as his hands clenched into fists.
Davis cocked his head to the side. “If she’s for you, then why are you out here with me? Instead of being back in that room with the woman your eyes seemed to be devouring?”
Because he was trying not to scare the woman. Brodie closed the distance between him and his brother. “Someone is stalking her. Terrifying her. Our job—” and, yeah, he stressed the our because everyone at McGuire Securities would be working to keep Jennifer safe “—is to protect her.”
Davis gave a slow nod. “You know you can count on me.”
He did. He knew that his brother would have his back, always. The man might infuriate him, but Davis was the one person he trusted above all others in the world.
They’d weathered the storm of their parents’ death together. They’d trained as SEALs together. No one knew him better than Davis did.
Davis knew just about all his secrets. Except...
I never told him about Jennifer.
“That woman has training,” Davis murmured. “She almost took me down.”
Not an easy feat, considering the number of times that Brodie had sparred with his brother.
“She was seconds away from gouging my eyes out and breaking my nose,” Davis added.
Brodie’s brows climbed at that news. Jennifer had always struck him as delicate, almost breakable.
“She didn’t even scream.” Davis had turned away and was wearily walking down the hallway. “Just attacked. Got to admire a woman with a fire like that.”
Yeah, you did.
He glanced back at Jennifer’s closed door.
But where had a high-society girl like Jennifer learned to fight so well that she’d almost taken out a man with SEAL training?
It seemed that Jennifer might have more secrets than he’d realized. Thoughtful now, Brodie returned to his room and booted up his computer. When Brodie checked his email, he saw that the case notes from the New Orleans attacks had been sent to him. Eyes narrowing, he began to read...
* * *
THE SECURITY AT the McGuire ranch was good, too good. The McGuires had been determined to turn their home into a fortress after their parents’ death, and they’d sure succeeded in that plan.
In the darkness, he searched for any weaknesses that would allow him access to his prey. He searched, but he found none.
He made sure not to trigger any alarms. After all, he wasn’t an amateur.
If he couldn’t get to Jennifer, because she was secured so tightly on the McGuire homestead, then he’d just have to rip that safety net away for her.
Maybe it was time for Brodie McGuire to realize that Jennifer was a serious threat, one that shouldn’t be anywhere near the other members of his family.
Jennifer couldn’t be trusted, and she shouldn’t be protected because, at her core, she was just a killer.
How long will it take before you throw her to the wolves, Brodie McGuire?
He couldn’t wait to find out.
Chapter Three
Jennifer wasn’t going back to sleep. Not then.
Not with fear and adrenaline pumping through her, not with her emotions all twisted and her body too tense.
Not with her mind focused so much on Brodie.
He didn’t understand what he meant to her. In the darkest moment of her life, he’d been there. A savior she hadn’t expected.
Jennifer slid from her bed. The shards of the broken lamp had been swept away and her footsteps made no sound as she headed toward the door.
She fully realized that she could be making a huge mistake, but Jennifer didn’t care. She wasn’t going to play it safe this time. Not with him.
She tiptoed into the hallway, turned toward the room next to her own and lifted her hand, poised to knock. After drawing in a deep breath and attempting to control the faint trembling of her fingers, Jennifer rapped lightly on his door.
A few seconds later, that door was yanked open. “Look, Davis, I’m not talking about—” Brodie broke off, his eyes widening as he focused on her. “Jennifer? What’s wrong?” Then his hands closed around her shoulders and he shifted her a bit to the side as he looked behind her. “Is my jerk of a brother bothering you again? I told Davis to back off.”
Jennifer
shook her head. “I needed to see you.”
Surprise rippled over his face.
She didn’t want to have this conversation in the hallway. Not where Davis might pop up again. “Can we go in your room?”
He backed up. She advanced. He shut the door behind her and flipped the lock.
His brows shot up at the soft click. A lamp near his bedside had been turned on, and the light cast a soft glow over his bed and his tangled sheets. “Jennifer?”
“I can’t get to sleep.”
“Join the club,” he muttered, running a rough hand through his hair. “But, um, you don’t want to be in here with me right now.”
“I don’t?” This was exactly where she wanted to be.
His hand dropped. “You look really good in that shirt.”
She glanced down at herself. After he’d run Davis out of the guest bedroom, Brodie had brought her a shirt to sleep in—one of his US Navy shirts. It fell to her knees, seemed to swallow her.
It smelled liked him. Maybe that was why she hadn’t been able to get him out of her head.
Or maybe there were other reasons.
“Go back to your room, Jennifer.” His voice was low, hard.
She didn’t move. “You asked me before...why the connection was this way between us.” She’d wondered about it, too. Why they touched and truly seemed to ignite.
But maybe they shouldn’t question the connection. Maybe they should just enjoy it. Life was short and brutal, and moments of perfect pleasure were too rare.
“I want you,” she told him, the words a soft confession. “When we touch, when we kiss...” Her voice faded away. She didn’t even know how to explain her feelings.
He walked toward her. His hand lifted and cupped her chin.
And she realized that she didn’t have to explain. His eyes were bright with the same passion she felt.
Her fear began to fade away. He had a way of doing that. Of making the danger seem less—of making her feel so safe.
“I want you,” he said, giving her back the same words she’d just spoken to him.
Then his head lowered, and his mouth took hers.
The kiss was soft at first, slow and caressing. As if he was afraid of frightening her. But she wasn’t afraid of his desire or of her own.
Her hands curled around his shoulders. Her mouth pressed harder to his, and just like that—they ignited.
Need ripped through her body. Her heart thundered in her chest. She couldn’t get close enough to him. Her nails bit into his skin, even as her body pressed tightly to his.
A growl built in his throat. Then he was lifting her up, holding her easily in his arms. His mouth didn’t leave hers. He kept kissing her, and the desire inside Jennifer wound tighter and tighter.
He took a few steps, then lowered her onto the bed. The soft mattress dipped beneath her. Brodie eased back a bit. He stripped the shirt off her and tossed it across the room. She still wore her bra and panties, and his gaze slowly slid over her body. His eyes were bright with desire, and his stare lingered on her breasts. Her hips.
“You are so beautiful.”
He made her feel that way.
His fingers eased under her body, and he unhooked her bra. She was pretty sure he tossed it somewhere, too, but Jennifer wasn’t exactly paying attention. His mouth was on her breast. His tongue stroked her, and her body arched off the bed toward him as a dark desire surged through her.
His hand eased down her stomach. Touching, caressing. And he kept kissing her breasts. Stroking her with his mouth and tongue until Jennifer thought she’d go out of her mind.
“Brodie!” Right after she called out his name, Jennifer bit her lip, worried that she’d been too loud, worried Davis might hear them.
Brodie’s head lifted. “I like it when you say my name like that.” His hand flattened on her stomach. “Davis is on the other side of the ranch house. He can’t hear you. Every sound you make...it’s all for me.”
He began to kiss his way down her stomach, then he paused, his mouth hovering over the scar on her right side. The knife wound.
“I’ll find the SOB,” Brodie promised, and he pressed a kiss to that scar. “He won’t ever hurt you again.”
His tenderness caught her off guard. She’d expected the storm of passion, but that gentleness? Jennifer wasn’t sure how to handle that care. He made her feel uncertain, vulnerable.
Her hands slid down his chest. Down, down, until she found the button on his jeans. She popped open that button and eased down his zipper.
His hands closed around hers.
“I don’t want to wait,” Jennifer told him, her voice husky. “I need you. Now.”
There was too much darkness in her life. She needed the wild rush that Brodie could give to her.
He pulled away her panties. She shoved down his jeans. Brodie spent a few moments taking care of the protection for them; then he was back, settling between her thighs.
Her legs wrapped around him, and he thrust into her. Her breath caught then as her gaze locked with his. She wanted to freeze that one moment in time, to hold it close to her heart, to remember it always.
Passion and pleasure...to protect her from the fear.
But he was withdrawing, thrusting again, and the rhythm grew out of control as they raced toward release.
She’d thought the pleasure they’d shared before had been good.
She’d been wrong. This was beyond good. Beyond anything she’d felt before.
When the climax hit her, the waves seemed to consume her whole body. Brodie stiffened and whispered her name. Then he was kissing her. She could taste his pleasure and her own, and she never, ever wanted the moment to end.
Pleasure shouldn’t be fleeting. It should last longer than the pain.
Pain is always with me.
Aftershocks trembled through her. Her body quivered.
Then his head lifted. He smiled at her. Such a tender, sensual smile on the face of a man who was so dangerous.
His lips brushed over hers, and the pleasure began to build again.
* * *
JENNIFER PICKED UP her shirt from the floor. She looked back over her shoulder, but Brodie hadn’t stirred on the bed. Part of her—a very big part—wanted to stay with him. To still be in his arms when the sun rose.
But she was afraid that she might have given too much of herself to Brodie during those hot, wicked hours. Jennifer felt vulnerable, lost, and she needed time to get her guard in place again.
When she left the room, Jennifer tried to be as quiet as possible. In the hallway, the floorboards creaked beneath her feet, and she froze, but there was no sound from Brodie’s room. Breathing slowly, carefully, she made her way into the room she’d been given.
Jennifer shut the guest room door, then leaned back against the wooden frame.
A tear slipped down her cheek. Sometimes, it was so hard to remember that she couldn’t have the things other women possessed.
Like a lover who cherishes me.
Because none of her lovers had ever known who she really was. They’d just seen an image she presented. None of her friends knew who she was. No one knew the real woman hiding behind the mask.
Sometimes, Jennifer wondered if she even knew herself.
* * *
WHEN HE HEARD the creak of the floor, Brodie’s eyes opened.
She’d run from him.
Just when he thought that Jennifer was letting him get close. Two steps forward...fifty back.
He rolled over. The bed smelled of her. Sweet lavender. And he could still feel her against him. Silken skin.
Jennifer could run for now. It wasn’t like she’d get far, not while he had her in his house and under his protection.
* * *
SUNLIGHT TRICKLED THROUGH her window. The day had finally dawned. A soft knock sounded at Jennifer’s door. She’d been awake for a while, lying in that bed, staring up at the ceiling and wondering just how much she should reveal to Brodie. After la
st night, she knew things would be different between them. He’d expect answers. He’d deserve them.
When she heard the knock, Jennifer hurriedly pulled on her clothes and rushed to the door. She took a deep, fortifying breath and opened the door. My mask is back in place.
“Morning,” Brodie’s voice was low, and his stare seemed guarded.
Jennifer tried to offer him a tentative smile. “Good morning.” The words came out way too husky. She just couldn’t look at him without remembering what they’d done last night. She was sore in spots because of what they’d done.
He lifted some clothing toward her. “I, uh, I figured you’d want some fresh clothes.”
He had extra women’s clothes just lying around his place? She didn’t exactly grab for the offered goodies. What very well could have been jealousy began to burn within her. She’d thought what they had together was special, but maybe to him—
“They’re my sister’s,” Brodie explained. “Ava doesn’t come around much, so I don’t think she’ll mind you borrowing them. You two seem to be about the same size so...” He shrugged. “I just thought you’d like them. But if you don’t want the clothes—”
“I do!” She’d much rather wear fresh clothes than the bloody and torn things she had on. And since the offering he’d brought her didn’t belong to some random woman who’d spent the night at the ranch...Jennifer grabbed the clothing. “Thank you.”
His stare sharpened on her. He opened his mouth, but then stopped.
What do you want to say? Tell me, Brodie.
Jennifer waited. A thousand words were flying through her own mind right then, but she didn’t know where to begin.
He took a step back. “The bathroom’s down the hall. You can shower, then meet Davis and me for breakfast.”
Davis. Right.
Were they even going to talk about last night? Maybe they shouldn’t. Maybe it was for the best.
The morning after wasn’t exactly her best scene. Perhaps they would just pretend that the sensual hours hadn’t happened.
“It was better than before.”
Jennifer almost missed those rumbling words. Heat stained her cheeks. “Yes.” It had been.
“I’ll want more...of you.”
She wanted more of him. That was her problem. Jennifer was afraid she’d always want him, and she couldn’t blame that desire on an adrenaline rush or on a danger high or anything else like that—not this time.