“No, it’s because you look like I could push you over with one finger.”
She leaned toward him, eyes narrowed. “Just try it.”
His gaze had dropped to where her robe gaped open at the front, revealing the curve of her breasts, and she straightened abruptly. What was is about this man that put her back up? After ten years in the army, she’d thought herself immune to any sexist comments that came her way, but for some reason he was needling her. She caught the glint in his eyes and had a horrible suspicion that he knew exactly how much he was pissing her off.
Gary peered from her to their boss. Obviously he considered it time to put a stop to whatever was going on. He cleared his throat to get their attention. “Dani’s a dog handler,” he said. “The best there is,” he added for good measure as Zach continued to look skeptical.
“Well that would be really nice…” Zach paused, lounging back against the balustrade behind him, arms folded across his chest, gaze still fixed firmly on her. “If I had a dog.”
“You will tomorrow,” Gary said. “Two, in fact. They’re arriving by plane in the morning.”
“I don’t like dogs.”
“No problem.” Dani gave a careless lift of one shoulder. “I’ll phone up and cancel the dogs, and I’ll get out of here. I’m sure Jake’s got somebody else I can babysit.” She put as much scorn as she could into the word and Gary winced. “Or maybe I’ll stay out here and take a vacation. Move to the coast, find a hotel, lay on the beach somewhere.”
A couple of weeks laying on the hot sand, soaking up the sun, plenty of swimming to strengthen her leg. Yes, it was definitely appealing. At least way more tempting than babysitting a spoiled rich guy.
She came out of her daydream to find both men staring at her with almost identical expressions of disapproval.
“What?” she asked.
“You’ll do no such thing,” Gary replied in his no-nonsense, sergeant-major tone. “The dogs are coming. It’s not negotiable.” He turned to Zach. “You promised Jake you’d do whatever he suggested. You weren’t loving the idea of having more guards around the place so dogs are the ideal solution. They’re also ideal at sniffing out explosives.”
“Okay.” Zach put up his hands in mock surrender. “No problem. Dogs it is.” He gave Dani that lazy smile. “Seems like you, me, and the dogs are stuck with each other.”
“Good,” Gary said. “That’s settled then.” He tossed Dani a warning look, and she closed her mouth. “I did actually bring Dani over this afternoon,” Gary continued, “but it looked as though something had come up.”
Dani sniggered at his choice of words.
“Did I miss something?” Zach raised his eyebrows in query.
“You were”—Gary’s lips twitched—“in the pool with a friend.”
“Actually, that was my accountant.” He turned to Dani with a smirk on his face. “And did you like what you saw?”
She sniffed. “There wasn’t a lot to like, that I could see.”
He cast her an amused glance, and she suspected he didn’t believe her. “Why don’t we all drive into town, get some dinner, and Dani can explain exactly how she’s going to protect me.”
“I’ll let Gary do that,” Dani said with a shake of her head. “I’m going to rest. I’ve had a long day.”
She stood up, wincing as she put weight on her leg. Zach’s gaze was on her as she crossed the terrace, but she still couldn’t hide the slight limp.
“Did you hurt your leg?” Zach asked.
“It’s nothing,” she dismissed, not bothering to turn to face him.
“It doesn’t look like nothing. There’s a twenty-four-hour doctor in town—I’ll drive you down there…before dinner.”
“I don’t need a doctor.”
“You—”
“Leave it, Zach,” Gary interrupted. “Dani can take care of herself.”
She glanced back over her shoulder. “I’m going to get dressed. Please feel free to leave before I get back.”
She stood in front of the mirror, her eyes bright with temper, her face flushed. Why was he getting to her? Obviously it didn’t help that every time she looked at him, she saw that long, lean, naked body. So much for being immune.
She pulled off the towel and ran her fingers through her damp hair, all the styling it ever got. In the army, she’d kept it short but hadn’t been bothered enough to get it cut in the last six months. Now it reached her shoulders, curling riotously in the damp and heat.