"Why?"
"Are you always this nosy?"
"Of course-I'm a writer."
She rolled her eyes. "She said she was crap at taking orders. Anyway, she's friends with Kim and so I got to know her better."
"I've never met Kim."
"Really. I thought you and Jake were, like, great buddies."
"We are. I don't think he wanted to introduce us."
"I wonder why?" she said wryly. "Probably thought you'd try and seduce her."
"You have such a high opinion of me. Do you think I would have succeeded?"
"Hell no. She's got better taste."
He leaned his head toward her and lowered his voice. "Why, Dani, I'd gotten the impression you liked me. In fact, I distinctly remember one moment when I was sure of it. Now what were we doing ?"
Zach's thumb rubbed over her palm and tingles ran along her arm. "I really don't remember." But she did. And the memory was enough to tighten the muscles of her belly.
She flicked a glance at Gary, but he was concentrating on the road.
Zach placed her hand palm down on his thigh, his own pressing down and the hard muscle flexed beneath her fingers. He turned his head so his lips were close to her ear and his breath feathered her skin. "The one where you were underneath me," he whispered. "You were making these cute little noises in your throat and your legs were wrapped my waist and-"
"Okay, I get the picture."
"Me, too, and it looks pretty damn good. I dreamed about you last night. In the few hours' sleep I got."
"You did?" She was whispering as well now as his low, husky voice wrapped a spell around her. But as Gary had said, nothing was going to happen here, so she could afford to relax.
He shifted her hand a little higher against the soft denim, dangerously close to the top of his thigh, and her nails dug into his skin.
"Ouch."
"You said you wanted to be my friend," she said. "So what's with the hand-holding?"
His brows drew together as he thought for a moment. Then his grip loosened. He picked up her hand and placed it on her own thigh. "I don't know." But he didn't let go. "Okay," he said. "You can listen to my latest plot. I need to get it straight in my head."
"Go on then."
She sat back and listened, letting his voice roll over her and through her. He had a beautiful voice, low and rich and full of subtle nuances. Closing her eyes, it was as though he surrounded her, the warmth of his hard hand still gripping her own, his voice weaving its magic.
She didn't know how long she listened. Finally, he fell silent and she blinked open her eyes. They were speeding along the highway now, the lights bright, and she turned her head slightly so she could look into his face.
"Well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in query.
She shook her head, trying to get her brain to function. "I like it. I think it works."
"You do?" He squeezed her hand.
"Except maybe the lovey-dovey crap. You could cut that out."
He frowned. "Don't you believe in love?"
Did she? She stared out of the window for a minute, watching the streetlights flash by. The road was quiet. "Yes, I believe in love." She thought back to her brother. The one person she had loved without reserve and look how well that had ended. "I believe in love," she repeated. "I'm just not interested in it."
"Why?"
"No reason." Or none that she wanted to talk about.
Zach opened his mouth but at that moment, Gary spoke. "We're pulling into the airport. You ready, Dani?"
Zach sensed her withdrawal.
She tugged her small hand free and sat up straight. "I'm ready."
"Okay," Gary said. "When we park, Zach, you stay in the car for a minute while we check things out."
Irritation jabbed him in the ribs. He hated this. He'd looked out for himself since he was seventeen years old and this made him feel helpless. Logically, he could see the sense in it, but the whole protection thing didn't make him feel logical. It made him feel smothered.
And there was an added irritant now. More than an irritant, if he was honest. He didn't want Dani protecting him. He certainly didn't want her in danger because of him. And he had no doubt the danger was real. If he'd had doubts, he would never have agreed to this circus.
He'd pissed off some bad people and they were determined to make an example of him. The letter bomb had come the closest but there had been other attempts-his office trashed, attempted break-ins to his home.
What if someone came after him and Dani got in the way? Or more likely hurled herself into the way. Fear coiled in his stomach as the car pulled up into the underground parking.
He almost didn't recognize the emotion. And he certainly didn't like the idea. He glanced sideways at her, but she wasn't paying him any attention.
She slipped an earpiece on. "You getting me?" she murmured.
"Yup," Gary replied. "Let's go."
Zach bit back the urge to tell her no. That no way was she risking her life for him. He didn't want that. It had never occurred to him to worry about Gary or Simon. But she was so small. Right from the first moment he'd seen her, she'd woken some sort of protective streak in him, and it had never really gone away. Which was crazy; out of all the women he'd been involved with, she was probably the most capable of looking after herself.
All the same, he had to clamp his lips closed to keep in the words.
As she climbed out of the car, her jacket swung open and he saw the gun in the shoulder holster beneath.
She turned around and peered through the open door, giving him a reassuring smile as she took in his expression. "Don't look so worried, Zach. We'll look after you. Keep you safe."
Anger, born of fear, rose at the words, but before he could make a retort, she slammed the door closed. He stared straight ahead. He felt so powerless, so helpless. And he hated that. His hands fisted at his sides and he forced them to uncurl, consciously relaxing each finger. There would be no trouble today. Other than his bodyguards, only Jake knew his exact movements. Dani was safe enough. Still, he couldn't quite vanish the fear churning in his gut as he waited for his babysitters to tell him it was safe to get out of the car.
He ground his teeth together; he was pathetic.
Gary knocked on the glass and Zach unclipped his seat belt and climbed out. "I'm going to take the lead," Gary said. "Dani will cover the rear. We're not expecting anything here, but keep your eyes open. Raise your left hand if you see anything suspicious."
Zach tried to push down his irritation-Gary was just doing his job-and gave a curt nod. He looked around for Dani and found her by the elevators. She gave him an impersonal wave, which grated his already raw nerves, then continued her perusal of the area.
The elevator appeared, Gary ushered him toward it, and they took up positions on either side of him. Nobody spoke. Zach decided that was best, because he wasn't sure what he might say right now. He needed time to understand what the hell was going through his head.
For some reason, Dani was screwing with his mind. He gave her a sideways glance. She wore a dark pantsuit, a white shirt, and flat shoes, which meant she was a good foot shorter than him. He stared down at her bright red-gold head.
"Are you okay?" Gary asked.
He jerked his attention from the top of Dani's head. "Why shouldn't I be?"
Gary raised a brow. "You look a little tense."
"I'm fine."
He could almost feel the look pass between Gary and Dani and bit back another comment. He tried Dani's method, closed his eyes, and counted to ten. He shoved his hands in his pockets and forced the corners of his mouth upward. "Really, I'm good." He just wanted to get to the safety of the plane.
He'd done what he could to protect himself, because he believed the threat to be real, but he'd never been afraid before. He could feel her like a tangible presence behind him, and he kept his gaze fixed on Gary's back a few feet in front of him as they strode through the airport. The place was quiet. There were few scheduled flights from this small airport and only a handful of people milled about the cavernous area. As they were flying private, they avoided the general departure lounge, but still there was a delay going through security as Gary cleared their weapons. Zach kept his breathing even and bit back the urge to tell them to hurry up. He could still feel Gary's curious glances.
Finally, they were striding across the tarmac to the plane and up the steps. As he entered the cabin after Gary, he turned around to watch as Dani climbed the stairway. He scanned the rest of the airport. The sun was rising, lighting the eastern sky, and all was quiet. Gary touched his shoulder and urged him away from the open doorway. But he held his position until Dani entered, then stepped inside to allow her to pass before following her into the body of the plane.
"I'll go check with the captain," Gary said and disappeared into the cockpit.
The tension drained from him and for a moment, Zach felt weak and shaky. He sank into one of the seats and ran a hand through his hair.
"You can relax now," Dani murmured. "The plane's guaranteed safe."
He wanted to snap at her that he wasn't concerned how the hell safe he was, but again he bit back the words. Because it was obviously clear that he was bothered about something and if it wasn't his own safety, what was it? That wasn't a conversation he wanted to get into right now and certainly not with Dani.