Page 34 of Bennett

“Which is why you shouldn’t be here at all.” His words were clipped, each one feeling like a jab. “But since you’re clearly not going anywhere, the least you can do is make sure you’re not broadcasting an open invitation to any idiot with bad intentions.”

She let out a slow, irritated breath. “Whatever. Just put the stupid doorknob on and stop acting like I asked you to be here.”

“Believe me, if I had my way, you’d be a hundred miles from here right now.” His gaze dropped to her wrists, now free from his grip but still tingling with the memory of his touch. “But since you’re too damn stubborn to listen to reason, you’re stuck with me.”

Her heart gave a ridiculous little flutter. “What do you mean, stuck with you?”

“I’m putting this lock on your door.” He jerked his chin toward the lock set still lying on the floor. “And then I’m crashing next door.”

She stared at him. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I’m staying in the unfinished apartment next door. In case your brilliant plan of playing independent woman backfires.”

Her fists clenched. “Wow. Your bedside manner is spectacular. Truly. Have you considered becoming a motivational speaker?”

His lips twitched, but the smirk never quite formed. “Just accept the help, Sinclair. And next time maybe reach for something a little deadlier than travel-sized hand sanitizer.”

“Well, if I’d known you were going to barge in like some kind of—”

“Security professional doing his job?” Bennett cut her off, amusement still tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Her fists clenched, but the scathing retort that rose to her lips crumbled under the absurdity of the situation. She wanted to strangle him. Or at the very least, hit him with something heavier than hand sanitizer. She also wanted to laugh.

So, she did.

The sound surprised them both, but Laurel couldn’t stop herself. It was either laugh or scream, and she much preferred the former.

His gaze shifted to her mouth, and he blinked, his composure fracturing just a little. Something changed. The air around them became charged, and when his gaze returned to hers, it wasn’t just irritated, it was hungry. The kind of look that made her pulse trip over itself and her stomach twist with unwelcome excitement.

To make matters worse, a tremor rippled through her body…without her dang permission.

What the hell?

Of course, he noticed, and the heat in his eyes intensified.

Apparently, her laugh had disarmed him, and in that unguarded moment, he looked…well, almost human. A little less angry and a lot more like someone she couldn’t afford to be thinking about in such distracting detail.

Bennett’s gaze dipped to her mouth, his expression flickering with something raw and unguarded. The sudden intensity in his eyes made her pulse stutter and heat pool low in her belly.

And then just as quickly as it had flared, the moment vanished.

His body went rigid, his jaw locking as if forcibly pulling himself back from the edge of something neither of them wanted to name. With an expelled breath, he stepped back, putting a deliberate few feet of space between them.

He cleared his throat. “Better get this lock fixed before you try to murder me again with a pack of tissues next time.”

The memory of her failed attack almost made her laugh. Almost. Instead, she leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms, watching as he bent to retrieve the doorknob set from the floor.

The guy was like a switchblade—dangerous, sharp, and way too appealing for his own good. Or hers, for that matter.

“Funny thing about hand sanitizer,” she said, her voice taking on a casual tone that belied her still-racing heartbeat. “In 2020, a guy in Michigan built a flamethrower entirely powered by it. Thing was powerful enough to light a bonfire from twenty feet away.”

Bennett paused, his gaze lifting to meet hers. “Are you telling me you’re planning to build a hand sanitizer flamethrower?”

She shrugged. “Depends on if you keep barging in unannounced.”

He huffed out something suspiciously close to a laugh before turning his attention to the broken lock. “I’ll keep that in mind. And for the record, I was only trying to do my job.”

“I know,” she admitted begrudgingly. “You can see how that might be a little confusing when you come waltzing in like you own the place.”