Just the thought of kissing her made him stiffen in his jeans. He didn’t think she had any idea what she did to him – what she’d do to any man looking the way she did, a stimulating mix of angel and temptress in her soft brown eyes. No way Cane could let her guess the things going through his mind right then, but they had a lot to do with chocolate sauce being spilled and then painstakingly licked drop by drop from every inch of her delectable flesh…
Forcing down his raging arousal and cursing himself for staying too long without a woman’s thighs wrapped around his hips, neck or shoulders, Cane finally joined her at the table with his plate and they talked easily over her plans for the day. Not long after, she rose to wash her plates and said she was heading off to shower and get ready.
Cane found himself almost tipping off his stool as he stretched to the side just to catch the final glimpse of her bouncy ass as she glided out of the kitchen. Damn but he was getting to like watching her leave. He still thought she was going to be a handful duty-wise but there was no denying that he was looking forward more and more to this assignment. Cane knew he just had to keep reminding himself that the maddeningly sexy Ms. Alexandra Duke was out of bounds and he’d do just fine. Yep, the look-but-don’t-touch policy was fully in force here and no matter how much his attraction to her was growing, rules were rules. He’d never broken them and had never been tempted to.
Until now.
***
Alexandra found herself taking more time than normal styling her hair, picking out what to wear and even applying some makeup which she never really bothered with apart from lip gloss.
She looked at her reflection and regarded herself critically. She wasn’t sure about Cane’s tastes when it came to women and she told herself she didn’t much care. But she couldn’t help wanting to make the extra effort and not be caught slipping. She wasn’t even sure where the urge came from to want to ‘wow’ him but maybe it was just the female in her. What woman wouldn’t want to look her best now that she was being shadowed by a bodyguard with a face and body of a sex god?
Alexandra sighed and shook her head, not really liking the direction of her thoughts. It was so unlike her to get tripped up by a handsome face. But something told her it was more than Cane Hutchinson’s hot looks that got to her so easily. More reason, she told herself, that she should keep on her guard. Alexandra had learned the hard way never to let people too close, especially when it had anything to do with her father. She could never be sure of their motives and the more she felt drawn to them, the more she pushed them away.
It was a defense mechanism that had spared her further heartache so far and she didn’t want anything finally cracking through her shell. And although Cane making her breakfast had been a nice touch, she was determined to keep her distance. Anything but that would turn her bodyguard into a risk factor she couldn’t very well afford.
Chapter Four
After a few days, Cane was well into the routine of Alexandra’s everyday life. Whether it was her early morning run, the gym, her classes at FIT, or her social events, he was getting more and more insight into what made her tick.
Not that she ever let down her guard enough to ever really have a real conversation with him. All their interaction remained on a professional level - but he was still able to see beyond her remote façade to glimpse how vulnerable she really was inside.
Yes she had friends; had a highly sociable life when she wasn’t working on her designs or taking classes, but there was no doubt that beneath it all, Alexandra wasn’t all she seemed to be. The confident, talented and beautiful young woman held a secret that flickered just behind the chocolate orbs of her soulful eyes. Had she been hurt in the past? Was that why she seemed to have no love life to speak of?
Not that he was the one to judge. He hadn’t been in a serious relationship in years, and he wasn’t going to count those few flings that had been all physical and no substance. No woman held first place in his heart; all Cane cared about now was his job. He had no real family; he’d been adopted as a child and had lost his adoptive parents when he was sixteen. By seventeen he’d signed up with the Navy and it was the military that had shaped him into the man he was today.
He wasn’t looking for love or romance and wasn’t sure he even believed in it. And yet there was a part of him that wondered if out there was a woman who could make him feel complete; fill the void that even his successful career in the Navy Seals as well as his job in close protection could never do. He knew something was missing but he just couldn’t be sure he’d even know it when he found it.