Wild on You (16 page)

“And I’m driving.”

“But—”

“Remember, I’m in charge. You follow my orders.”

“Control freak.” But she didn’t look all that annoyed.

“Truth is, I can’t stand sitting in the passenger seat, twiddling my thumbs. You take a shower first, then I’ll get mine, and we’ll head out.”

One of the things Chase had taught them was not to take a shower at the same time as your client. Unless, of course, you were taking a shower with your client. But no, that would be a bad idea.

A very bad idea
, he told his body, which was responding to the thought.

He cleaned up the kitchen and tried not to imagine Addie naked in the shower. Hell, it hadn’t been
that
long since he’d had sex. No way should he be this horny. He was twenty-nine, not some oversexed teenage boy.

She emerged a half hour later, smelling clean and fresh, her hair damp. He wanted to run his fingers through the strands to help them dry more. She was in white shorts and a blue-and-white-striped shirt. Nothing overtly sexy, but he wanted to pull her into his arms at the mere sight of her.

“I’ll grab my shower, and then we’re out of here,” he said.

The shower was nice and cool. No cold shower for him. He’d done that enough during his military time—cold water, lukewarm coffee, and tepid food. She’d let him use her bathroom, and the soap and shampoo smelled just like her. Not flowery, but definitely not masculine. She didn’t have a ton of products piled up on her shower shelf or on her bathroom counter. He liked that, too, that she didn’t go to any trouble to be something she wasn’t. Except with her father.

His gun sat on the counter, condition one in the SERPA holster. After digging around in his bag, he pulled on his briefs. “Son of a bitch!”

“What’s wrong?” Addie called from the other side of the door.

He opened the door and turned sideways to show her the big square hole cut into the back of his black boxer shorts. “Sax got me with my own prank. The boys on the team, we were always playing practical jokes on each other. I was the one who cut holes and told them it was air-conditioning.”

She shook her head. “You guys are just weird.”

“It was a way to relieve the tension. Damn, I’m off my game.”

“Is that the scar you were talking about at dinner?”

The question made him realize he was standing in his skivvies with half his ass showing. He faced her. “Yeah.”

Her soft gaze was on his chest. She walked closer, touching a scar just south of his nipple. “Is this from the war?” Her gentle touch rippled through him.

“Just a graze from a bullet.”

She drew her finger down to an old scar across his right ab. “And this?”

“Jumped from the barn roof into a stack of hay when I was a kid. Didn’t know there was a rake buried in it.”

She was taking in his body, studying every contour. She touched the scar on his arm that he’d shown her at the gas station. “I can’t imagine facing a guy with a knife.”

He shrugged. “You get numbed to people trying to kill you after a while.”

She met his gaze. “Thank you. For your service,” she added when he obviously didn’t understand. “For the time you spent, for every scar you incurred. My father wouldn’t talk about his scars or what he went through when he was in combat. But hearing you, seeing the evidence of what you sacrificed, brings it home to me.”

He’d never heard more heartfelt gratitude, and it stirred him deep inside. “It was my honor.”

She brushed the scar on his chest again with her fingertip. “All those times you almost died for a reason … I’m glad you didn’t.” She seemed to struggle to step back and leave.

He was glad she had, because he had been
that
close to pulling her up against him and tasting that gratitude firsthand.

* * *

If Addie ever considered going back to college, Callowell would be a great place to go. The downtown bustled with cafés, music shops, and lots of mini-parks where students studied or shared a cup of coffee. Once Risk found a parking spot, she said, “You’re going to stay a few feet away, right?”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” He turned off the engine.

“Gil’s timid, shy. You would totally intimidate him.”

Risk hitched his thumb toward his chest. “Li’l ole me?”

She gave him a playful push, her hand briefly molding to the contours of hard muscle. Which reminded her of how mushy she’d gotten at the sight of the scars on his body.
Focus, Addie!
“You need to stay a few feet behind and act like you’re not with me when we approach the café.”

He looked intimidating even when he furrowed his eyebrows. “And who’s in charge here, exactly?”

She tilted her head. “You are, O master of war and strategy.”

The grin that broke out on his face wasn’t intimidating at all. “I like the sound of that. Can you say it again?”

She punched his arm. “Focus, Yarbrough.”

His grin didn’t waver. “You think I’m intimidating?”

She took the opportunity to let her gaze drift down over him. “If I were a geeky guy who weighed about a hundred and twenty pounds, yeah, totally. Just to be clear, you don’t intimidate me.” Tempted her, turned her on, but no intimidation there.

“Good, because that’s not my goal. But just because this guy is wimpy or geeky doesn’t mean he’s harmless. Hell, I faced down a hundred-pound teenager aiming an AK-47 at me. You can’t judge a person by his skinny exterior.”

“But Gil isn’t a suspect. It’s his boss I’m concerned about.”

“Gil isn’t a likely suspect. That’s all I’m willing to allow. The guy’s a perpetual student, hasn’t held down a job other than on campus.”

“You checked him out?”

“Of course. And I know you’re wondering, so I’ll tell you: He has no criminal past. On the surface he seems all right.” He tapped his temple. “It’s what’s going on in here that concerns me.”

“I wasn’t wondering. Three feet away.” She held up three fingers and then exited the van. Forcing him to get out and follow her. It was nice to have a little bit of power for a change.

She spotted Gil at one of the outdoor café tables and waved. He jumped up and dashed over. His skinny arms wrapped around her, and he nearly lifted her off the ground. “It’s so good to see you! I’ve missed you.”

She really couldn’t say the same, in all honesty. She liked him and admired his tenacity in helping her to expose the university lab. But he was too clingy. She patted his back and wrangled herself out of his hold. “It’s good to see you, too.”

He led her by the hand to the table, even pushing in her chair for her. “I ordered you a caramel macchiato, your favorite. Gosh, it’s just like old times, sitting here conspiring, heads together, whispering.” His hands were clamped over her arm, and she tried to free herself. Gil’s gaze zeroed in on something behind her, something that worried him. Something tall. Something Risk, no doubt.

She turned to see Risk standing right behind her and then, of all things, pulling out the chair next to hers and plopping down. He thrust his hand out to Gil. “Nice to meet you. I’m Risk.”

Gil’s hand was swallowed in Risk’s grip, and he winced, probably at the strength of it. “W-who are you?”

Addie wanted to do things to Risk under the table, but they wouldn’t make him smile or gasp. She shot him a look before returning her attention to Gil. “Risk is my b—boyfriend.” She didn’t want to identify him as her bodyguard.

Gil’s gaze bounced between her and Risk. His voice sounded petulant when he said, “You always told me that you were too busy and dedicated to your organization to have a boyfriend.”

She gave him a forced smile. “Yeah. I did. I can’t really explain how I ended up having one.”
That
was the truth. Clearly Risk was getting way too comfortable in the boyfriend role. She was going to have to set him straight.

Gil started to grab for her hand, flicked a glance at Risk, then let his fingers rest on the tabletop. “You haven’t said anything about a boyfriend on your Facebook page.”

She patted his hand. “Let’s move past the boyfriend issue, shall we? I’m not here to discuss my love life, I’m here to talk about a missing tiger cub. You saw suspicious activity in the defunct lab?”

“Yeah, but I figured we’d be investigating together, you know, just the two of us.”

“Let’s focus on the current situation,” she said. “What did you see?”

“Pretty much what I told you. There were lights on inside the lab, people whispering inside. I thought we could have dinner and figure out a plan. Alone.”

Addie had to fight from rolling her eyes. What was it about men, anyway? One wasn’t listening to her, and the other one was all about reminiscing, just the two of them. “You can see how that would be inappropriate, going off with you and leaving Risk all by himself.”

Risk leaned forward, his hands braced on his thighs. “We can go over the plan right here. So how’s Maynard been acting lately? Has he been secretive, cagey?”

Gil shifted his gaze to her. “You know how he is, always a little off. Walks around like he’s got a pencil up his butt.” He did a bang-up imitation that made Addie giggle, down to the way the man clutched his satchel to his chest as though someone might steal it. “Remember how we could hardly not laugh?”

Risk did not appear amused. Hah. Served him right.

She cleared her throat. “So nothing out of the norm?”

Gil noticed Risk’s expression, and all of his animation fled. “Not a thing.” He opened a leather briefcase and pulled out some sketches, which he laid on the table. “Here’s the layout of the lab, as you’ll recall. When we undertook our operation, we came in through the exterior door here.” He pointed to a door. “I checked. The doors were locked, even when the lights were on. So we’ll have to come in through the sciences
building here. We’re not supposed to go in after hours, but I have a key card.” He whipped out a sketch showing the floor plan. “We’ll come in through the administration side, down the hallway here, and take this interior door to the lab.” Another glance at Risk. “But I can’t get him in.”

Risk leaned in closer. “She goes nowhere without me.”

Addie patted his arm. “He’s a bit insecure. Won’t let me out of his sight.”

Gil lowered his voice. “Addie, I’m already not supposed to be bringing you in. Especially after what you did. I could get into big trouble.”

“I know,” she said. “And I appreciate that, I do, but—”

“She goes nowhere without me,” Risk repeated. To punctuate that he was brooking no further argument, he crossed his arms over his chest, sat back in the chair, and widened his legs.

Addie could only roll her eyes.
What a caveman
. “So where do we meet?”

Risk studied the two sketches as she and Gil made plans to rendezvous behind the lab. Gil snatched the plans and hurried off to class.

Addie swung around to Risk. “What are you doing?”

“That guy’s squirrelly. Talk about out of the norm.”

“And you didn’t trust me to be
three feet
away with him? What did you think he was going to do, shove me into his coffee cup and run?”

“No, I expected him to try to ditch me so he could be alone with you, which he did. The guy’s so gone for you, it’s pitiful. Did you two bang each other when you were involved in the first investigation?”

Her mouth dropped open. “No! I wasn’t even thinking about him that way.”

“Mark my word, he’s thinking about you that way. He’s using your affiliation to bring you close. And you fell for it.”

Addie could only sputter. “So gone for me? Don’t be ridiculous. He’s just excited about the prospect of being involved in a conspiracy. He got a taste of adrenaline and wants more, that’s all.”

“The guy’s hot for you. He was majorly disappointed when you said I was your
boyfriend. How can you not see it? You really don’t see it, do you? Remind me to make it very clear if I fall for you, because you don’t have a clue about men.”

“You being a player and all, I guess you’re an expert on these matters.” She planted her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her upturned palm. “So enlighten me. What does it mean when a guy diddles you under the table?”

“It means he could see how much you needed to be
diddled
.” He’d grimaced at the last word. “Keep your mind—and eyes—open on this guy. I don’t trust him.”

They found a wings-and-beer restaurant a short drive from the college. It was one of those places that should have been called a boobs-and-really-short-shorts restaurant, as far as Addie was concerned. Interestingly, Risk didn’t seem to notice, or if he did—of course he did—he was being very discreet about it.

“You have this boyfriend thing down pat,” she said, taking a sip of her iced tea.

“How’s that?” He settled back in his chair across from her, his full attention on her.

“You haven’t ogled the waitresses. Even the real boyfriends are visually straying.”

He glanced around as though just noticing all the hotties. Still, she saw no interest flare in his eyes. Then he turned back to her. “I used to go for that type, yeah. Now, not so much.”

“See, that’s what the perfect boyfriend would do and say. At least I think he would.”

“Knox was my role model for how a committed guy with self-respect acted. Never once did he come close to straying or even flirting. I have to admit, I like playing the part of the boyfriend. Damn, Addie, don’t look like I just proposed. I’m just saying I like the part.”

She checked her expression. Panic. Good thing he couldn’t know how her heart had jumped or the way her blood had heated up about ten degrees.
Addie, get away from that subject
. “Well, you have the overprotective, overbearing part down pat.”

“Good, since that’s my job.”

What she’d wanted was an apology, maybe a speck of contriteness. She should have known better.

They paid the bill and wandered down a set of wooden steps to a small
observation deck that overlooked a river. Pop music poured out of the speakers, and a cool breeze fanned up from the water flowing over the rocks several feet below. She settled against the railing, all too aware of Risk beside her.