Page 48 of Ghost

A laugh burst from his lips.The sound was so abrupt and foreign, she smiled.

“Hardly,” he said, his shoulders still shaking.“Personal protection.My boss is one of my good friends, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have a job.”

She tilted her head.“Why’s that?”

“Because I don’t like people,” he shot back, his tone void of emotion.

She smiled.“That’s not surprising.Was your work for Trident in the same field?”

He crossed his arms over his chest.“Not quite.I did freelance work for Trident.”He dipped his chin.“Same line of work as you.”

She made an O with her lips.“Well, I suppose we have a lot in common.”

His face hardened.“Something like that.”

“What made you change careers?”

He exhaled through his nose.“Didn’t know I’d agreed to twenty-one questions.”Though his words weren’t sharp, his face was molded with tension.

“You don’t have to answer them.”

“If I answer your questions, will you answer mine?”

She lowered her gaze to her buttery-soft leggings.Her heart palpitated with indecision.She rolled her lips together and met his eyes once again.

No sign of impatience crossed his face.Just calm curiosity.His attention was gentle but penetrating at the same time.He was the most intense man she’d ever met.

“Your questions might be too painful to answer,” she said evenly.

He uncrossed his arms, and his thumb dragged down the outside of her shin.His touch was barely there, but a trail of fire spread to her loins.“Maybe I’m the perfect person to tell.”He lifted a shoulder.“Let’s be honest.You’re probably never going to get therapy.And if anyone shouldn’t carry the wounds of their past, it’s you.”

She narrowed her eyes.“Why do you say that?”

His hand fell to the sofa inches from her hip.“Because you deserve to move on, Mila.To let your past go and find something better.”

“Don’t you deserve the same?”

“Nope.”He didn’t hesitate.“Go ahead.What’s your first question?”

She tapped her fingernail against her mug.It was early afternoon.They had a lot of hours to kill.She didn’t need to spend time with this man, but there was nothing else to do.No one else to talk to.And as weird and dysfunctional as their situation was, she liked his presence.His voice.Hell, she even liked his questions.

The amount of liking she had toward Ghost might be a problem.

She cleared her throat.“Why didn’t you kill me when you found me in your room?”

His head jerked back with surprise.“Because I wanted to find out who was after me.”

She pursed her lips.That was true of course, but on the floor in his bedroom she’d sensed something else.A shift.From enraged animal to...stunned protector.Or something.“I thought you were going to kill me.You seemed ready to until you realized I was a woman.”

His eyes darkened.He shifted his attention away, then slowly nodded.“All right.Yeah, if you were a man I might’ve killed you on the spot.I also might’ve done the same thing and brought you here and kept you alive until you told me what I needed to know.”

She lifted an eyebrow.“And if I were a man, you’d have showered with me and chained my wrist to yours?”

This time his laugh was loose.Relaxed.“Fuck no.”

She gasped with mock outrage, but a chuckle fell from her lips.“Okay, one point in the creepy column.”

His grin didn’t fall.“At least I let you stay in your shorts and bra.I could’ve done worse.”