He held his breath while he waited for her answer, though he knew it would be yes. However cool she was pretending to be, she wasn't immune to him. Yesterday, she'd come apart in his arms. He had a flashback to her, hot, wet, clenching around his dick, and twitched in his pants.
"Yes, providing your son agrees to follow our advice."
"Of course," he murmured. "Within reason."
"What would you consider unreasonable?"
"I refuse to hide away. I refuse to let these bastards dictate what I can and can't do. Where I go."
She pursed her lips. "Fair enough."
"Money is no object," his father put in.
"That's good to know. So," she said sounding brisk and businesslike, "I'll coordinate the job, but Dave and Steve will be responsible for the team and one of them will be on duty at all time. You haven't met Steve." She turned to the man at her side. He was tall, dark-haired, good-looking and she smiled at him, then rested a hand on his arm in a familiar way. Declan's gaze fixed on the gesture, his jaw tightening. Only the fact that the man's eyes widened a fraction saved him.
Jess was trying to wind him up. Trying to make him believe there was something more than a professional relationship between the two of them.
"I don't think so," he said. "I want you on the team. I want you protecting me."
"Why?"
"I told you, I trust you. But also there are situations where a male bodyguard might be inconvenient. I have some sensitive meetings coming up, business dinners. You'll be less confrontational."
Dave snorted in disbelief. Obviously, it wasn't only with him that she was hostile.
"Okay, appear less confrontational." For a minute, he thought she would argue, but then she gave an abrupt nod.
"Okay, you'll have to provide us with your schedule. Mark on it any situations where you think the guys will be too … confrontational and I'll see if I can fit them in."
"Good of you."
"Yes, it is." She rose to her feet. "Now, if you'll excuse me for a minute, I must go visit the ladies' room. Why don't you start working on that schedule with the guys?"
…
Jess took a deep breath. What she actually needed was some fresh air. Her skin was flushed and she felt as though the walls were closing in on her. She hurried from the room, ignoring the sensation of his eyes following her every move.
Ever since he'd entered the room, she'd had to fight back the memories of them together. His hard body pressing her back against the wall, his hard cock filling her. She hoped he wasn't going to have this effect on her all the time or it would make working with him a little …
She exhaled loudly as the door closed behind her. She suspected Declan was quite aware of the effect he had on her and was expecting a repeat performance. Maybe that was the real reason he had asked for her to be added to the bodyguard detail. What she needed to understand was why she had said yes.
Or was she deluding herself. Again. Would she take the first opportunity to shag him mindless? All in the name of putting the past behind her.
She headed across the main room and through a door into the corridor that held the ladies' room, but she walked straight past to a second door at the end of the hallway. As she pushed it open, a waft of cool air brushed over her cheeks. There was a hint of rain in the air, misting her skin. The door led into an alley that ran alongside the building and opened up thirty feet away onto the main street. Traffic rumbled in the distance as she let herself out. Leaning against the brick wall, she opened her jacket and ran a hand around the back of her neck. Her skin was clammy, and strands of her long ponytail clung to her neck. Maybe she should have it all cut off. In the army she'd kept it short but hadn't had it cut since, except when she attacked it with a pair of nail scissors if the split ends got too bad.
Declan had loved her long hair. Yeah, maybe it was time for a cut.
As though she had conjured him up with a thought, he stepped out of the door into the alley. Unsurprised, she realized she'd been expecting him in a weird, subconscious sort of way.
He came to a halt directly in front of her, his gaze fixed on her face. "I thought we should talk. I'm sure we both have questions."
"Maybe we should." She tilted her head and returned his scrutiny. Her heart hitched; he was so beautiful, just looking at him started an ache in her chest. She pushed the feeling aside. He was right; she had questions. "I'll go first. Why did your father throw the two of us together?"
His lips curved in a small smile. "He's matchmaking."
"What?" She shook her head. "But he hates me."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. He thinks I'm a robot and need to get a life outside the business. He's been dangling just about every fuckable woman in London under my nose since I got here. Today he came right out and admitted it."