Page 3

Stone

T he door closed behind us and I sent Serenity a glare. “Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t need anyone to protect me.”

“Of course you don’t, but I’ve got a job to do, so let’s start with a few questions.”

“Fine. Go ahead.”

I headed down the hall while she quizzed me, but my head pounded, and I hurt in so many places that I didn’t know which felt worse. It didn’t help that I was stuck with a psychic day and night until this was over. What the hell was the old man thinking? She was like a babysitter. I’d never been so humiliated in my life, not even in the army.

The moment Serenity realized the job could be dangerous, I’d hoped she’d refuse, but then Vanetti had to go and offer her a hundred and fifty grand. No one in their right mind would pass that up, so of course, she took it. Dammit.

Still, that didn’t change my mind about making her life miserable. In fact, I’d make sure she earned every penny of that money, and I’d enjoy every moment it took.

She’d quit talking, so I glanced her way. Her brows drew together, and her eyes shone with blue fire. “You’re not even listening to me.”

I raised a brow. “We’ll talk in my office. I’m not a fan of airing my personal problems in front of everyone.” That may have worked better if there were more people around.

“Oh? You mean all the people here?” She gestured to the empty hall. “Yeah, I can see how you’d need more privacy.

Rolling my eyes, I continued to my office. It was at the end of the hall, right next door to my apartment. As I pulled the door open, it was tempting to let the door shut in her face, especially after that snarky remark, but my manners got the better of me, and I held it open for her.

“After you.” I motioned her inside, raising an eyebrow and not trying to hide my sarcasm.

Mouth twisting, she slid past me, keeping as much distance between us as possible. For some reason, her distance made my stomach twinge, but I pushed the feeling away. Maybe I could actually get her to quit.

“Well… have a seat.” I motioned toward the chair beside my desk. My office was only a quarter the size of Vanetti’s, but since I wasn’t there much, it hardly mattered.

She glanced around the sparse space. “Where’re all the security cameras?”

“In the office down the hall. I’ll introduce you to Forrest Slater another time, but he monitors the security cameras, and protects everyone’s computers from hackers.”

“Oh. So… what do you do all day? Stand around flexing in the mirror? ”

I almost snorted. Almost. “Why? Is that what you’re hoping to see?” I stood up a little taller and winced as my shoulder and side pulled.

“You okay?” Her voice softened.

“Fine.” I huffed, lowering into my chair, hoping I wasn’t bleeding all over my shirt. I hadn’t had time for more than a cursory glance at my injuries. “Let’s cut to the chase.” I let out a breath, and met her bright blue gaze. “You don’t want to be here, and I don’t want you here. So there’s no need to pretend that you care, got it?”

“Absolutely.” Her jaw tightened, and she glared at me. “I’d hate to waste my energy on caring about someone like you .”

My stomach twisted, but I shoved the feeling aside. This was what I wanted , remember?

She very deliberately sat down in the chair beside my desk, her movements controlled and smooth. “So?” She set her shoulder-bag on the floor. “What do you have to show me?”

I stared Serenity down for a few seconds while I tried to come up with something. I didn’t actually have a folder full of suspects or anything. Hell, until today, I hadn’t actually accepted that someone was trying to kill me, and I couldn’t let her think I was an idiot. “I… uh… just a sec.”

I twisted to open the bottom drawer in my filing cabinet, which sent a sharp stabbing pain through my upper back. Ignoring the pain, I pulled the drawer open, blindly searching for something in there to show her. Even an empty folder was better than nothing.

She gasped.

Now what? I ignored her and kept digging.

“Stone… you’re bleeding.”

“What?” I straightened up. “Where?”

“Your back.” She pointed .

I raised my arm to look, only lifting it halfway before hissing in pain, and grabbed my shoulder.

“I think you’d better let me take a look at it. Do you have any bandages in here?”

“What? Now you’re a doctor?” Pain always brought out my charming side.

“Would you rather bleed all over your shirt?”

“No.” Point taken. The pain in my shoulder faded to a dull ache, and I let out a slow breath. “I have some supplies in my apartment.” I shook my head. “It’s right next door.”

“Great.” She sent me an overly cheerful smile, obviously enjoying my pain. “Let’s go.”

“Fine.” I took my time getting up, doing my best to act like nothing was wrong. From her raised eyebrows, I didn’t think I’d fooled her.

“Need a hand?” She smirked. I glowered at her, but she just grinned and hurried to the door. “Here, let me get that for you.”

Straightening to my full height, I stalked to the door. It might have been more impressive if I could have moved faster. But at least I managed to walk through the door without limping.

“Wow… so what hit you? A mini-nuke? It must have been huge to damage someone as tough as you.”

I growled and stepped past her to the apartment door. “You mean you didn’t see the fallout?” Unlocking the door, I held it open for her.

“Oh, I’m sure there’s plenty of fallout when you’re around.” She slowly scanned me up and down before raising a brow and sauntering past me, giving me a great view of her perfect little ass. Glancing over her shoulder, she continued. “But I haven’t seen it yet.”

My stomach jolted and heat rushed through me. Bantering with her brought a crooked grin to my lips. “Am I really bleeding? Or is this your way of getting my shirt off?”

She grinned back, though a flush covered her cheeks. “You’re really bleeding.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure you just insinuated that I’m nuclear-level hot.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah… right.” Clearing her throat, she glanced away. “Where did you say the bandages are?”

Mouth pinching, I shook my head and flipped on the lights, illuminating the hallway and kitchen area. “The bathroom’s down the hall on the other side of the kitchen… on the left.”

What was I thinking? I wasn’t here to flirt with the woman. She was here because Vanetti thought she was a psychic who could help me figure out who wanted me dead. Besides that, I’d barely met her, so bringing her into my personal space should have been uncomfortable. But it wasn’t. Instead, a thrill went through me to have her here.

On the way to the bathroom, she took her time, glancing into the open kitchen and taking in the white cabinets, granite counter tops, and all the latest appliances.

She stepped to the right, where the short hallway opened into the living room area, with floor-to-ceiling windows on the west side, showing fantastic views overlooking the city.

As she took in the decor, featuring off-white carpet, couches, and furniture, accented by splashes of color and abstract art on the back wall, her breath caught, and her eyes widened.

She paused, looking around. “Wow, this is amazing. You live here?”

“Sometimes. It depends on what Vanetti needs, but yeah… I spend a fair amount of time here. ”

She glanced my way, her eyes the color of clear, blue water, and I froze. How could anyone have eyes that color? Maybe she wore contacts… yeah… that was it. Fascinated, I took a step closer, just to see if I was right.

Her scent wafted over me, and I breathed in deeply, wanting more. I’d never had a woman in my apartment without sex involved, and having Serenity here stirred my desire. Part of me knew that I wouldn’t be satisfied until my lips were on hers and her body was crushed against mine.

Her eyes darkened, like she was thinking the same thing. She even licked her lips. Unable to stop myself, I slowly closed the distance between us, but she cleared her throat and stepped away before I reached her.

“Uh… the bathroom’s this way, right?”

As she walked away, I took a deep breath without bothering to answer. Should I give in to this attraction? Did she want me to? Was she playing this little game of cat and mouse on purpose? And more importantly, how long would she last before giving in? I’d seen the look in her eyes.

Anticipation flowed over me, and I followed her down the hall to where she waited in the bathroom. She stood on the far side of the room beside the huge walk-in shower, taking her time to examine the jacuzzi bathtub.

“Wow… this is nice… I love the tile. It reminds me of a spa.”

A beautiful pattern of sea-green and turquoise tile covered the walls, and the crystal lighting made everything sparkle. Along with the white and sea-green fluffy towels, I could see what she meant. “Do you go to the spa much?”

“Well… no. Actually… I’ve never been to one, but I’m sure it would look a lot like this… I think it would, anyway.”

“Right.” I couldn’t hold back a smile.

She shook her head and clasped her hands together. “Where are the bandages? ”

“You really want to bandage me up?” There was just something so nice about that. I wasn’t used to nice… not really. I was used to sexy and daring and lust. Not nice .

“You’re hurt. You already told me you didn’t want to bleed all over your shirt.”

I studied her for a moment, until another blush rose on her cheeks.

“I don’t have to.” She shrugged. “I’m not trying to invade your personal space.”

I smirked. She’d expertly invaded my personal space so well I hadn’t even noticed. “No, I appreciate it.” I gestured to the white cabinets. “They’re in the bottom drawer on the left.”

“Right.” Nodding, she stepped to the cabinet and opened the drawer, pulling out the plastic crate full of first-aid supplies. After setting it on the counter, she turned to me, all business-like. “Do you want to do this in here or at the kitchen table?”

Again I smirked, but held back my reply. Did she know how that sounded? “Here’s fine.” I slowly unbuttoned my shirt, keeping my gaze down so she could stare if she wanted to. As I unfastened the last button, I raised my gaze to her face.

Her eyes were glued to my chest and she was chewing on her bottom lip. Her chest heaved like she’d just run a marathon, and her cheeks turned rosy. For a second, I worried that she’d clutch her chest and fall over from a heart-attack.

She raised her gaze to mine, and the desire in her eyes changed the clear blue depths into a stormy hurricane. My heart quickened, and, without taking my gaze from hers, I slowly peeled off my shirt, hearing a small gasp escape her lips .

Her eyes widening, she quickly pointed to my shoulder. “Whoa… your shoulder’s bruised. That looks painful.” We both knew she was trying to distract herself. A moment later, however, her gaze wandered from the bruise to roam over my chest again.

Her lips parted. “Damn.” She swallowed, still staring.

Was she going to start drooling?

Coming to her senses, she snapped her lips shut, and swallowed again before shaking her head. Without meeting my gaze, she motioned with her hand. “Uh… you’d better turn around and let me take a look at your back. That’s where the blood was coming from.”

A primitive wave of anticipation sent tingles skating over my skin, and I could hardly wait to feel her fingers on my bare back. I turned, closing my eyes as her feather-light touch brushed my skin. It was easy to imagine what her bare breasts would feel like pressed against my back while her hands roamed my chest.

I breathed in her scent, grateful she couldn’t see my face… or that I was getting hard under my jeans. Her hands roamed over my back, pausing at the smaller cuts and bruises.

“It looks like you got thrashed pretty good, but I don’t think you need stitches on any of these cuts. I’ll clean up the biggest one and put some antiseptic on it before I bandage it.”

Opening my eyes, I caught her vivid-blue gaze in the mirror. Shit, the mirror. Was it too much to hope she hadn’t seen how much I enjoyed her touch? Holding back a groan, I fought the sudden urge to throw self-restraint to the wind and pull her against me.

She was seriously messing with my control. “Fine, just hurry it up.” My voice came out gruffer than I intended, but her nearness made me want to know her in all the sexiest ways.

She huffed and got to work, wetting down a piece of gauze and wiping the wound. I held still, leaning over the sink with my head down so she couldn’t see my face, while she applied the gel.

Once she’d taped the bandage on, she pulled back. “That should do it.”

“Thanks.” A little calmer now, I turned to face her, not bothering to reach for my shirt. I wanted to make her feel as crazy as I did. Her eyes darkened, and I couldn’t resist teasing her. “See anything else that needs a bandage?” Just as I’d hoped, her gaze roamed over me. Her hand rose to touch my bruised shoulder, and I held my breath in anticipation.

At the last moment, she dropped it to her side and stepped back, flustered and red-faced. “Uh… I’ll wait in your office while you put your shirt on.”

She’d have to pass me, first, and I wasn’t ready to let her go. “Do you think I need an ice-pack for my shoulder?”

“Uh… yeah. That’s a good idea.” Her brows drew together and she shook her head. “What happened, anyway?”

I raised an eyebrow. “A bomb. Did you think I made that up?”

“No, but how did the bomb get there? How did you get there?”

Smirking, I pushed through a burst of pain in my head. There wasn’t any reason to keep her in the dark. “A contact messaged me and said he was in trouble, so I went to help.”

“And?”

I tilted my head and let out a slow breath. Maybe asking me all these questions while I was half naked was a turn-on for her. Liking that idea, I leaned towards her to see how she’d react. Her eyes widened, but she held her ground.

“He was meeting someone in a condemned office building and told me he needed backup. It wasn’t far, so I went.”

“And that didn’t seem unusual to you?” Her brow quirked.

“Nope.” Mouth twisting, I shook my head. “The meeting was supposed to be in an office on the top floor, but when I got there, it was empty.” My jaw tightened, intensifying the ache in my head. I needed some pain killers. “I knew something was wrong. I just didn’t know how wrong until I heard the ticking. I barely had enough time to duck behind an old desk before the bomb went off.”

“Oh my gosh.” Her eyes widened. “You’re lucky the bomb-maker used a timer.”

“No kidding.” I grimaced.

“So the blast did all of this?” She gestured to my chest and shoulder.

“Hardly. Let’s just say the fire escape was a little rickety.”

“Jeez.” Her soft lips pursed, drawing my gaze to them. “No wonder you’re so beat up.” Her fingers skimmed across a bruise on my chest, and my skin rippled under her touch. Gasping, she snatched her hand away. “Sorry…. I was just wondering about broken ribs. I’ll go find that ice pack.”

As she brushed past me, the place where she’d touched my chest still burned. Whoa, I’d never felt anything like that before. Did she have Icy-Hot on her hands or something? Rubbing the spot, I crossed the hall into my bedroom.

Pulling a fresh shirt out of my closet, it hit me that she’d probably be staying here, in the apartment… with me. Desire rushed over me, and I had to take a few deep breaths to get under control.

That’s when I realized she hadn’t used a hankie to keep from touching me, or anything else in the bathroom. Had she used it at all since she’d been here? Was it just a ruse for Vanetti?

But that feeling when she’d touched my chest… had she actually seen something about me? Was that why it burned? I quickly slipped on my shirt and hurried into the kitchen, rubbing at the spot again.

I found her standing in front of the fridge, holding the ice pack. I waited for her to turn around, but she seemed frozen in place.

“Uh, Serenity?” I took a few steps forward, but she still didn’t move. “Are you okay?”