Since I Fell For You(9)

Too late, he realized he should have rethought the smile. Because when she smiled back at him, for the first time in his life he lost his breath just from standing in a hallway. He could scale a mountain without so much as breaking a sweat, but her smile was that blindingly beautiful.

Distance. He needed to try to keep some distance between himself and his new client. But that was the very opposite of what he’d been hired to do. Where Suzanne went, Roman would go too. No matter how much being close to her messed with him.

When the elevator came and they stepped inside, he was palpably aware of what a small space it was. She didn’t just smell good—she smelled downright amazing.

Another string of silent curses let loose inside his head. Enough. He was a professional. It was time to start acting like one again.

In a normal bodyguard/client situation, they would already have sat down together so that she could detail the threats against her. But in this case, since she’d made it clear last night that she didn’t want him around, he decided it was wiser to wait until she was more receptive to his being there before he pushed for the information.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked, an innocuous enough conversation starter.

“I had some work to take care of for a few hours, but I finally found my way to bed.” She nearly purred the word bed, which made his brain short-circuit again. “By the time I woke up this morning, I had a great idea for how to achieve one of my biggest goals.”

Though it was taking most of his focus to corral his brain—and body—away from thoughts of Suzanne slipping naked between her sheets, he said, “Sounds like you’re off to a good start.”

“Oh yes,” she said in a slightly husky tone that went through him like a shot of the finest Scottish whisky. “I have a really good feeling about how things are going to go today.” She licked her lower lip, leaving it looking just kissed. “On all fronts.”

Working like hell to force all thoughts of kissing away, he said, “I’d appreciate it if you could take me through your plans for the day.”

They walked out of the elevator, through the lobby, and onto the sidewalk, where she raised her arm to hail a cab. He found it interesting that a woman as successful as Suzanne leased an apartment from her cousin and took a taxi to work. Anyone else in her financial position would own a multimillion-dollar home with staff to cook and clean, and have a full-time driver who jumped at her every whim. It was almost as if those trappings of wealth and power didn’t mean anything to her, and she was happy just to put her focus into her work instead. If that were actually the case, she would be the most unique woman he’d ever known—he’d never met a woman whose head wasn’t turned by money and power.

“I have a meeting with my investors this morning, and then I’m going to try a couple of different things with the new software I’ve been working on.”

The taxi skidded to a stop in front of them, and a few moments later she was sliding into the backseat. Only a monk would have been able to keep from noticing the way her barely there dress tightened over her hips, then rode up her thighs when she sat. He was gritting his teeth hard enough to break a molar when he got in beside her.

If only she’d pull the dress down. But she didn’t seem to notice that she was displaying nearly as much skin as she would have in a pair of short shorts.

If this was what she wore to the office, what the hell would she wear out on a date? He prayed she wouldn’t have too many hot nights out planned while he was working for her. He didn’t want to rip the throats out of too many guys for daring to touch her.

Thinking about all the guys he’d likely have to restrain himself from tearing apart over the next weeks—or months—that he worked as her bodyguard made it difficult to keep the growl out of his voice. “After that, will you play the rest of your day by ear?”

She nodded. “If there are fires to put out with my employees or customers, I’ll put them out. And then I have a meeting with Rosa Bouchard and the staff of her new nonprofit tonight at eight.”

Roman was impressed that Suzanne was running such a big, powerful company at only thirty-one. Investors, employees, customers—she had so many people to keep happy. Sullivan Security was one of the hottest tech firms in the world.

No wonder she was a target.

“Although,” she continued, “if everything is cooking along well, maybe I’ll try to squeeze in a run through the park at some point during the afternoon.” She paused, and from the look on her face, it almost seemed as if she had suddenly remembered something important. A moment later, she turned her gaze back to him, then ran it slowly from his torso down the rest of his body. “You look like you work out a lot.”