“I wanted to spend the time with you. You intrigued me.”

“So all that bullshit on the island was just you making sure our paths intersected repeatedly so you could do a job?”

The note of incredulity in her voice was hard to miss. As was the sarcasm. But there was also a hint of hurt in her voice that twisted the knife a little further in his gut.

“Hell no, and I think you know that.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head for a moment. The hand holding the gun wavered precariously, and he seized the opportunity before she accidentally pulled the trigger and made a woman out of him.

He rolled and grasped her wrist, pointing the gun toward the wall. Then he squeezed until she yelped in pain and the gun dropped with a clatter to the floor. He immediately eased off her wrist but held on while he reached for the gun with his other hand.

Still holding on to her hand, he hoisted himself up and then turned her arm over and rubbed his thumb over the mark he’d made on the inside of her wrist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She yanked her arm back and clutched her arm to her chest, her eyes troubled as she stared nervously at him.

“Who are you?”

He popped the clip out of her gun and pocketed it before laying the pistol on a nearby end table. “My name is Garrett. I didn’t lie about that.”

“That tells me precisely nothing.”

“I work for different people,” he said. “I protect people. It’s what I do.”

She arched a delicate brow. “You’re a mercenary?”

“If you’re asking if I take money in return for my services, then yes. I don’t work for free.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And how much are you being paid to protect me?”

“Does it matter? What’s important is that I keep you safe. I’d think you’d take a keen interest in that part.”

“And you expect me to trust you. Just like that.”

He had to control the wince. Yes, he wanted her to trust him even as he fed her a huge lie. He went on the offensive instead.

“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead,” he said bluntly. “I damn sure wouldn’t have gone through an elaborate charade to get close to you, and I damn sure wouldn’t have kissed you.”

Her eyes widened and he kicked himself for bringing it up. He wasn’t trying to be manipulative and make it about emotions though it would certainly look that way in the end.

“Why did you then?”

“Because I wanted to.” That much was the truth.

She didn’t look like she knew what to say to that. Confusion flickered in her eyes and then she turned away, her hands going to rub at her temples. When he walked around enough that he could see her face again, her utter fatigue flashed like a neon sign.

“When was the last time you slept?” he demanded.

She looked even more startled by the question. Her hands came away from her head and she stared at him like he was a puzzle she couldn’t quite figure out.

“I don’t get you, Garrett. I don’t get any of this. Why are you here? I don’t need you.”

“The hell you don’t.”

She raised her hand again and pressed her open palm to her forehead. “Let me rephrase then. I don’t want you here. Go home. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want Marcus involved. Just leave me alone.”

He snorted, growing more irritated by the minute. “You really think you can go it alone? Sarah, you’re a victim waiting to happen. Hell, you’ve been standing in front of the windows, gawking around like an idiot.”

Her head snapped up and she glared at him, her eyes flashing. “You’ve been watching me?”

“Hell yeah, I have. I’ve been here for two days scouting and making damn sure you weren’t followed. You haven’t exactly made it hard for anyone to find you. You may as well hang up a neon sign that says ‘Sarah Daniels Is Here’ and paint a big red X on your forehead.”

She covered her face with her hand and closed her eyes. “God, I was careful. I thought I was careful. Am I deluding myself? I don’t know anything about hiding. I’ve never had to hide.”

She looked dangerously close to collapsing. Her shoulders slumped in a gesture of defeat, and she looked so damn small and vulnerable. He stepped forward, fully intending to pull her into his arms, but he hesitated. On the island he wouldn’t have thought twice about it, but it was different now. He’d misled her. She probably thought everything that happened on the island was merely an effort to gain her trust. And while that had been his initial intention, it sure as hell wasn’t why he kissed her or why he was dying to do the same right here and right now. Only now he’d upped the stakes. He’d never outright lied to her before now.

“Sarah,” he said in a low voice.

She looked up, her eyes raw, exhaustion practically screaming back at him.

“I don’t expect you to fully trust me yet, but right now you don’t have a hell of a lot of choices. Until I know what the threat to you is and eliminate it, you’re stuck with me. That has nothing to do with your brother or anyone else. It has to do with you being safe, and I’ll do whatever I have to in order to make that happen.”

“Why? Why would you care?”

He stared back at her for a long time. “I care. Let’s just leave it at that.”

CHAPTER 19

SARAH gawked back at Garrett, still trying to process the fact that he was standing in her house. In Mexico. She wanted to be furious—she was furious—but she was too damn tired and befuddled to do anything but stare like an idiot as she tried to take it all in.

Then she shook her head. Why the hell were they standing there talking about kissing?

He reached out and cupped his hand over her cheek. The touch was a jolt to her system and sent a flicker of awareness down her spine. He rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone, the pad rasping over her skin until a shiver crept up her nape.

“You need to sleep, Sarah. I’ll watch over you. No one will hurt you. I need you at your best and then we need to get the hell out of here.”

She swayed, hypnotized by the deep timbre of his voice. How easy he made it to fall under his spell.

“What’s in this for you?” Then as if she remembered, “Besides the money,” she said with a hint of bitterness.

His hand stilled on her face, and a slight current of tension raced through his fingertips. He seemed to struggle with the question, and she wondered if he’d bother answering. Then he dropped his thumb until it rubbed over her lips. “You. You’re what’s in it for me.”

She took a step back, disconcerted by the utter seriousness she heard in his voice. He followed. She retreated until her back bumped against the wall and then he bumped into her, his body pressing against hers until his heat invaded her limbs.

She raised her hands, fully intent on shoving him back, but they stilled when they came into contact with his chest.

“I’m going to kiss you again, Sarah.”

“No, you’re not.”

“The hell I’m not,” he growled just as his lips melted over hers.

This was stupid. They were kissing. She’d just threatened him with a gun. He’d just called her an idiot who was trying to get herself killed. He’d purposely positioned himself on the island to get close to her. Their meeting hadn’t been happenstance. He’d lied.

But he hadn’t. Not really. She’d been an idiot for not being more careful. He hadn’t had to lie to her because she’d never pressed him for information. He’d been there, a strong, steady presence and she’d latched on like some pathetic moron. Much like she was doing now.

She stood still, determined not to respond. Determined that she could show indifference. That she was still angry over his deception. But he was patient. Oh, the man was patient. And lethal. He wooed her with his mouth, tasting, kissing each part of her lips before he gently teased her mouth open so his tongue gained entrance.

He savored her like she was something decadent and delicious, his tongue dancing lightly over hers and then stroking, warm and soft. She closed her eyes and swayed into him, her fingers digging into the hardness of his chest. She froze when her belly pressed into his groin and she felt the evidence of his arousal, hard and hot against her softness.

He cursed softly and pulled his mouth away, leaving only an inch between them. “Ignore that,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She laughed. She couldn’t help it. Her shoulders shook and she looked down and laughed all over again.

“What the hell is so funny?” he demanded. “Definitely not good for a man’s ego when a woman looks at his dick and laughs.”

This time her laughter came out in breathless wheezes. She laughed so hard, tears gathered in the corners of her eyes and then streamed down her cheeks. He glared at her, his scowl growing more ferocious with every burst of laughter.

“On the contrary,” she managed to get out. “You tell me to forget something that obvious?”

“I was trying not to be an asshole,” he grumbled.

For some reason she found that even funnier. “You break into my house. You take my gun away from me. Informed me you lied about pretty much everything when we were on the island. Then tell me I’m an idiot who’s trying to get herself killed. And you’re worried about being an asshole?”

He opened his mouth then promptly shut it. Then he backed away and picked up her gun from the table he’d laid it on. He turned it over in his hand then looked back up at her. “Not a bad choice, but it’s too big for you. You weren’t holding it tight enough for it not to kick back and probably knock you on your ass. You need something smaller that fits your hand better. A .38 would be a good choice.”

She frowned. “I was holding it tight enough to shoot you.”

“You were aiming at my balls,” he said in a disgruntled voice.

“Oh.”

“And if you start laughing again, I’m going to kick your little ass.”

She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggle that threatened to pop out.

“You need to get some rest. While you sleep, I’ll figure out where we’re going.”

“I haven’t said I would go anywhere with you,” she said in a low voice.

“And we’ll talk more about that after you’ve gotten some sleep.”

It was really hard to maintain any semblance of anger or argue with him for that matter, when all she wanted was to lie down and do exactly as he suggested. And if he was telling the truth and really was here to protect her, then she could sleep without worry of who or what was out there.

“Yes, we’ll talk,” she said by way of agreement. “I want to know everything.”

He nodded. “As do I, Sarah. There’s a hell of a lot I need to know if I’m going to keep us both alive.”

She was careful not to show any outward reaction, but panic curled in her stomach. She merely returned his nod, not trusting herself to speak. He wanted to know all, and she needed time to determine just how much of the truth she could tell him without telling him everything.

“Show me around the inside of the house. I want to make sure you’re going to sleep in a secure area where there isn’t a threat from the outside.”

Her stomach still churning, she guided him toward the large open living area that served as dining room and living room all rolled into one. He alternated between shaking his head and cursing under his breath.

“You don’t go into this room. Period. And stay the hell away from the windows.”

“But this is where I stay most of the time. I can see everything from here. I’d know if someone was approaching.”

“Like you knew I was here?” he asked balefully.

She flushed. “You aren’t most people. You were probably skulking around in the bushes wearing camouflage paint and wearing shrubs on your head.”

He stopped and held up his hand, and she braced herself for the lecture she knew he was about to deliver.

“First of all, if you can see out, they can damn well see in. And at night, you can’t see a damn thing out there, but with the lights on, they can see you bright as day. Second, anyone who comes after you is damn well not going to walk up and knock on your front door. He’d position himself out there in the bushes and he’d put a bullet through your head the minute you stuck your head out of the house.”

The blood drained from her face and she closed her eyes. “You’re right. You’re right, okay? I didn’t think ... I mean I don’t know how to think like a ... a killer.”

“That’s why you have me,” he said. “Now let’s get the hell out from in front of these windows. From now until we leave, this room is off limits.”

She nodded and followed him toward the hall where the two bedrooms were located. He poked his head in the first and promptly backed out, shaking his head. “Not this one. Too vulnerable.”