“Naomi was shot too. What if she was the real target?”
“You were hit first, which seems telling, but we’ll check into that as well.”
A.J. leaned toward Luke with her jacket sleeves on the table. “Martin will talk to Naomi as soon as she’s alert enough. He’s good at putting people at their ease.”
Luke saw she meant to reassure him, but the way she praised her colleague put his back up. He ignored the reaction. Under the circumstances, her respecting her coworkers was a good thing.
Suddenly aware that he was relieved, he let out his breath slowly. “Okay. I’m glad I can put this in your hands.”
“Great,” Parker said. “Accounting will send paperwork to make it official. I’d like to leave A.J. with you now, if that’s all right with you.”
Luke nodded, his mind abruptly racing over where he’d put her.
“I’ll send your go-bag over,” Parker informed his daughter as he and she rose in unison. The unity of their body language was humorous. “Make sure Luke is secure here before you liaise with hotel security.”
“Yes, Dad,” A.J. said with a hint of teasing.
“I know. I put you in charge.” He hesitated then kissed her cheek. “Stay in touch, remember.”
A.J. watched her dad leave with a wistfulness Luke suspected she didn’t know was there. More evidence of their history, he guessed.
When the door shut, an inappropriate thrill ran through him. After all these years, they were alone again.
Maybe A.J. felt something too. She combed the pointy locks at the back of her neck before forcing her hand to drop. Her eyes were slightly wary when they met his. He wasn’t the only one who realized their buffer had departed.
He wasn’t surprised she chose not to acknowledge this.
“I need to check your place,” she warned. “Every room.”
He gestured her to go ahead and then followed curiously. Watching her perform her inspection was interesting. The process showed how lithe she was but also how professional. She was swift but thorough, her concentration total as she quartered each space and examined it up and down. She shifted furniture and even peered into air vents. Where there were windows, she closed the drapes.
Luke blew out his breath in dismay. The views here were million-dollar. Plus, she was making the place a cave.
“I know it’s dark,” she said in response to his muted huff, “but you were targeted by a high-powered rifle, and there are buildings across the way. Plus, there’s equipment that can read sound vibrations off window glass. If you were staying longer, we’d hang material with better muffling qualities. Either way, the tech guys will sweep for listening devices. If they discover any, sourcing them backwards could provide clues.”
“You really think that’s necessary? Didn’t the shooter figure out where I was from publically available information?”
“Probably. But it’s best to find all avenues for leaks.” A.J. pulled out a stylus to jot a note on her phone’s touchscreen. “We’ll get you a secure cellphone too.”
The guest room was next. A.J. pushed the door open.
“You can stay here,” Luke said as she began her search. “Assuming you’re allowed to sleep.”
“Of course I am,” she said absently. “I’ll task a second guard to spell me.”
Luke had wondered if she’d book a separate hotel room. He guessed not. His body tightened, succumbing to the erection he’d been fighting since she entered his hotel suite. Trying to hold off his arousal had intensified it. His face went hot at the strength of the reaction.
Her going to her hands and knees to look underneath the bed didn’t help. Even in those dull black trousers, her ass was award-winning. If he’d been able, he’d have called back the sound he made. A.J. definitely heard it. She sat back on her heels and looked at him.
She had the same thousand-yard stare as her father.
“Do I need to remind you I’m here to do a job?”
“I’m human,” he said, trying not to sound like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “And we have history.”
A.J.’s lips tightened. “Very brief, long-ago history.”
“Very memorable, enjoyable history.”
Her sigh betrayed she couldn’t deny this—just that she wanted to.
“I didn’t
say
anything,” he reminded. “I simply couldn’t help reacting to the view.”
The look she gave him for that was quelling. Deciding two could play that game, Luke swallowed what he might have said and lifted his brows at her. He knew exactly how the expression appeared on screen.
Too bad A.J. wasn’t as easy to intimidate as an actor playing a role.
“Are we going to have a problem here?” she asked.
“I’m not,” he said, purposefully misunderstanding. “I enjoy having you around . . . on multiple levels.”
She shook her head, more exasperated than angry. She pushed crisply to her feet. “I can’t get into this with you. Do you need to go out in the next half hour? I want to introduce myself to hotel security. Make sure we’re on the same page. Dad and I have worked this hotel before. We’ll see if they remember me.”
“I sincerely doubt anyone could forget you,” he said with absolute honesty.
He guessed he surprised her. A.J.’s tantalizingly kissable lips parted. Maybe she knew how soft this made her look, because she immediately pressed them back together. “Will you stay here if I step out for a bit?”
“Yes,” he said.
“And keep the drapes closed? And not open the door to anyone you don’t know extremely well?”
“Yes,” he repeated, irritated now himself. “I’ll read your father’s ‘DON’T’ file and make sure I obey everything on it.”
“I’m not trying to treat you like a child. You’re not used to taking precautions.”
“I’ve managed to keep myself in one piece for the last five years. I’d say that means I’m not quite the rube you rescued from that bar brawl.”
Her gaze narrowed. Luke was a successful big-budget producer, boss of many and bossed by few. Nonetheless, she had to consider if she should believe his claim. He almost laughed. A.J. didn’t take anyone’s word for anything.
He watched her force the suspicion from her face.
“You’re right,” she said. “I apologize for insulting you.”
She was apologizing to a client and not to him—handling him the way her father would advise her to.
“Apology accepted,” he said coolly.
She grimaced but left without saying more. As she pulled the door shut behind her, Luke was dismayed to discover the erection she’d inspired was harder than ever.
*
A.J. waited until she was inside the elevator to release her breath. Holy moly, Luke Channing got to her. Her pulse was beating double-strength all over but especially between her legs, like she had a drum tucked there. Seeing him in person was ten times worse than being surprised by those stupid Desire for Men TV ads. You couldn’t smell a commercial. Or be aware it was ogling your butt.
A.J. frowned at her own weakness. Of course Luke had charisma. He was a movie star. The machinery of Hollywood endowed him with large than life glamour. A.J. shouldn’t expect to be immune.
She was human, the same as Luke.
She just wished she hadn’t remembered the exact shade of red his cheeks got when he was turned on. She’d recognized it too easily tonight.
“Crap,” she said as the elevator doors parted. She’d hit Lobby without thinking. This was not where she needed to get off.
Clenching her teeth for concentration, she stepped back and jabbed the right button. Time to pull herself together. Staying alert wasn’t optional. This job demanded she keep her head on straight—and in the here and now.
*
By the time she returned to Luke’s floor, it was past midnight. The hotel’s staff had remembered her and were, thankfully, used to coordinating with private security. Also fortunate: A.J.’s choice for backup had arrived. She didn’t know a lot about Szymanski outside of work. The man was fortyish, married, and quietly genial. Though he took direction fine, he had sufficient seasoning to act independently if required. Given her own junior state, he suited A.J.’s preferences.
She briefed him on the few things he didn’t know.
“Big man’s inside,” he informed her in return. “I gave him the new secure phone. And he stashed your go-bag. He’s had no visitors, but he ordered room service. From the looks of the amount the waiter wheeled up, he’s expecting you to join him.”
Some clients were more sociable with bodyguards than others. Szymanski didn’t add any extra emphasis to his comment.
“All right,” she said. “You need anything out here?”
The guard assured her he was set for the night.
A.J. knocked twice and went in without waiting.
Keep your cool
, she told herself when she found Luke in the dining room.
Luke seemed to have eaten. He was reading a script that he’d rolled back partway. She couldn’t help wondering what it was. The next in the
Final
series? Something else he and his partner at Two Dudes would produce? Since asking might betray too much interest, she held her tongue. True to Szymanski’s prediction, two plates sat on either side of the table, one of them still covered. Within Luke’s arm’s reach, wine chilled in a silver bucket and more fresh flowers spilled out from a vase. The second place’s napkin was folded fancily.
All the scene lacked to be date-like was lit candles.
When Luke looked up, his action hero face was so breathtakingly a pang prodded her breastbone.
“I ordered for you,” he said as he set the script aside. “I wasn’t sure you’d eaten.”
“I’d just sat down to dinner when my dad called to tell me you’d been shot.”
“Ah,” he said as if he’d heard more than the words she said. He wet his killer lips and her sex tightened.
Cut it out
, she ordered her out of control hormones.
She sat and thanked him. “No wine for me,” she added when he began to pour.
“It’s sparkling water. I figured you wouldn’t really go off duty.”
He’d figured right, which made her vaguely uncomfortable. She shook out the fancy napkin and spread it on her lap.
“It’s a burger,” he said, indicating her covered plate. “I hope you still like red meat.”
“Yes,” she said warily.
He reclined in his chair and smiled, one strong arm crooked around its back like a lesson on how to act casually sexy. His washed-out blue T-shirt—which he definitely hadn’t bought at Kmart—draped his torso’s ideal contours. Probably not coincidentally, the color brightened his green eyes. Though it was ridiculous of her to notice, she saw his nipples were erect behind the fine cotton. They were small, like pencil eraser nubs.
Despite having missed her supper, Luke totally sidetracked her from food.
“I
was
going to let you eat before we talked,” he observed.
She frowned. He was managing her, and she was in charge of herself, thank you. Since she was also famished, she uncovered the burger and bit in. The meat was so tasty she couldn’t restrain a moan. Her mouth was watering even as she swallowed.
“This is organic.”
“Yes,” he said, amused. “I think they fly in the beef from Japan.”
She didn’t care if they flew it in from the moon, which some celebrities would ask for—if only to feel more elite. Because it wasn’t her job to say so, she finished eating in silence. Judging her correctly yet again, Luke didn’t interrupt.
Her stomach satisfied at least, A.J. wiped her mouth with the smooth napkin.
“All right,” she said. “I’m ready to hear what you have to say.”
One side of Luke’s mouth kicked up. “I thought it was the other way around. You want to explain this is a job, and you take it seriously. Moreover, you and I aren’t going to happen.”
“We aren’t!”
Luke nodded, mock soberly. “Exactly as I thought.”
He was playing games with her. Knowing she shouldn’t let him bait her, she wrestled with her temper. This was a job. He was a client. She needed to remain civil. “Do you deny maneuvering my dad into assigning me to guard you? Because he certainly was under that impression.”
“He wasn’t wrong,” Luke said equably.
“And do you deny wanting into my pants?”
“I’d never deny that. I want into them very much.”
A.J. willed herself not to blush. “So?”
“So we both understand each other’s agenda.”
“Why do I think you’ve got more up your sleeve than me?”
The curve of Luke’s mouth deepened. “Perhaps because you’re a keen student of human nature.”
She had the uncomfortable and uncustomary feeling she wasn’t as keen as him. “
Are
you still hung up on that night we spent together?”
“Is there some reason I shouldn’t be?”
She could think of quite a few—and could name an embarrassing number of the bed partners in question. “Is it because I didn’t jump at the chance to date you back then?”
Luke made a
tutting
noise. “I hope I’m not that childish, besides which you’re hardly the only woman to turn me down.”
“Then why?” she asked, genuinely perplexed. She leaned toward him across the table. “Why do you want to force me into your presence?”
She hadn’t chosen her words carefully. Luke’s amusement bled away. As it did, the almost-sadness of his eyes fascinated her. Was the emotion real? Did he truly mind her long-ago rejection?
“
Do
you have to be forced?” he asked softly.
A.J. grimaced. “Maybe that’s the wrong way to put it.”
He stared at her unspeaking, hooking her on the mystery behind his probing gaze. “You never returned my calls.”
“What?”
“I called you after that night. Quite a few times. You never responded.”
She wasn’t proud of that, but she also wasn’t going to apologize. “I figured you’d get the message. I never led you on.”
“Fair enough,” he said, though he didn’t seem satisfied by her answer.
“I had a lot going on.”
“I recall. You’d been fired.” He didn’t pretend it was difficult to remember.
“That wasn’t all. Not long after, my grandfather broke his hip. I had to—” She hesitated. She was justifying her actions unnecessarily. Plus, did she really want to get into this?
“You had to—?” he prompted.