Dangerous Surrender(8)

Pausing, Roman listened intently. It sounded like running water coming from one of the bathrooms. He’d been in Vadim’s home on multiple occasions, especially back when he’d been giving Angel self-defense lessons. There were three bedrooms on the east side with the living room connecting the kitchen, dining room and library. Vadim’s office was connected off the living room, more or less a separate entity from the rest of the house.

The water had to be coming from one of the bathrooms. Since Vadim had good insulation in this place, Roman guessed it was the nearest one. Moving quickly but quietly, he made his way through the kitchen, then the living room, wondering how the hell someone got past Vadim’s security system.

As he neared the closest bedroom the sound grew louder. Bypassing it, he swept the rest of the house to find it clear before returning to the first guestroom.

The door was ajar so he slipped inside without having to move it. Empty.

His breathing and heart rate were steady. If an intruder thought they could fuck with his friends’ home while they were gone, they were in for a surprise. For a brief moment he contemplated calling the cops, but he was a former Marine and now personal security for one of the wealthiest men in the world. If he couldn’t handle one intruder, he needed a new fucking job.

Steam billowed out from the open bathroom door, but he didn’t hear the kind of change in the water’s rhythm that went along with someone showering. He frowned and gently pushed the door open.

All stone and tile that looked like sandstone, there were sparkly pieces of glass on the wall that made up the shower enclosure. The room seemed to shimmer. A shadow was behind the enclosure, but it was unmoving.

Stepping to the side, he brought his weapon fully up and swept around the shower entrance to find a naked woman slumped on the built-in bench, a bottle of vodka grasped loosely in one hand as blood trickled down her side. Long, dark hair was plastered around her face and over her shoulders and breasts.

Shit.

This could be some sort of trap but he doubted it. Holstering his weapon, he stepped inside the enclosure, ignoring the pulsing jets and water splashing him as he twisted the shower knob off. Crouching in front of her, he felt the pulse point at her throat.

Steady.

Leaning down, he inspected the open wound along the woman’s ribcage. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was a—the woman shifted suddenly.

Screaming, she swung the vodka bottle at him. Roman ducked and grabbed her wrist, yanking it downward. She released the bottle. It crashed to the tile floor, glass shattering.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” the woman screamed, trying to wiggle away from him as he hoisted her off the bench, holding her around the waist—and tried to ignore how soft her lush body felt against his. He tried to be careful with her wound but was more concerned with subduing her so she didn’t hurt herself.

“Damn it, stop!” he ordered as she swung a fist at his head. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close and pinning one arm to her side, but she was moving around like an eel. “You’re going to cut yourself if I drop you.”

At that, she stilled. Breathing hard, she looked up at him. “You care if I cut my feet?”

He blinked once, mesmerized for a moment by the shocking blue of her eyes against her beautiful, almost caramel skin tone. Her eyes were like the Mediterranean on a clear day. “It’s not like I want you to slice yourself up.” What was the matter with her? And who the hell was she?

“Oh. Okay.” She was still tense, her body coiled like a snake, waiting to strike, but she didn’t try to punch him in the head again. Instead she held onto his shoulders and went semi-lax against him.

“I’m going to step out of the shower and put you on your feet. Okay?”

She nodded, her expression wary. Her eyes were wide and her teeth chattering, though she tried to hide it as she clenched her jaw tight.

His boots crunched over glass as he carefully moved backward. He didn’t stop until they were on the tile of the bathroom and far away from the glass. “I’m going to put you down, but if you attack me, I will restrain your hands behind your back.” He still might restrain her if it turned out she was a thief.

She swallowed hard, fear flickering in her gaze. Damn, he hated the sight of any woman being afraid of him, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think women couldn’t be dangerous. Just because she was petite and so fucking gorgeous it almost hurt to look at her, didn’t mean he’d be letting his guard down around her. “I won’t attack you.”

As he placed her on her feet, he tried not to look but damn, his gaze dipped down to her breasts. Lush, full, a little more than a handful, he wondered what it’d be like to cup them…