Samantha Hunter - Unexpected Temptation

Luke knew it was difficult. No doubt Vanessa felt out of control of her life, and he was asking her to put herself in his hands. Well, technically she had insisted...figuratively speaking, anyway. But if she wanted to see this through, she had to trust him. He’d heard his cousins talk about the immediate bond that had to be forged between a bodyguard and the client they were protecting. Usually, the principal—the person being protected—would resist it. No one liked losing control, but control was illusory, at best. Luke knew that better than anyone.

He’d thought he had everything under control when Nicky had come into his life. He didn’t realize he’d been fooling himself until it was too late. Nicky was gone, and a man was dead.

Vanessa wasn’t Nicky.

He had to get that through his head. It was difficult, though. How could he look at her and not think about those times with Nicole? She’d been a wildcat in bed and out of it. The memory shot a bolt of desire through him. He’d been with some women since he was with her, of course, but none who were the same. Nothing as intense.

Until he’d kissed Vanessa. Touched her. But that was when he thought she was Nicky, right? He switched his gaze to the city’s lights that shone over the water in the distance.

This woman was off-limits. He had to stay focused if he was going to do this right. Nicky had to be at the center of this, somehow. Ultimately, finding her was what would make Vanessa safe again and allow him to get on with his life.

Luke peeled the door of the storage unit open, watching Vanessa drive in and shut off the engine. Climbing out of the driver’s seat, she grabbed her few things and joined him.

“What now?” she asked after they delivered her belongings to his car and he closed the storage unit door, bolting it.

“We go back to my place. You can’t go to the hotel. Did you need anything there?”

She hesitated. “I left all of the clothes I bought and my cosmetics there.”

“I’ll get you new. Now, let’s move.”

“Thanks for the help, Luke,” she said quietly as they returned to the main road.

“It’s what I’m here for.”

He needed to remember that.

* * *

“TAKE OFF YOUR BLOUSE,” Luke said once they were inside the door of his hotel room.

Vanessa stood in the middle of his suite like a startled deer.

“What?”

Vanessa could count the times she’d been in a strange man’s hotel room on exactly one finger.

At thirty-one, maybe that made her naive or inexperienced, but her life had been her work and her family. She’d had a few lovers, but they were usually men she’d known for a while. None of them had been spectacular or lasted for very long. She always managed to screw up the relationship somehow. She knew she maintained too much distance between herself and men. She didn’t let them in, didn’t open up. Emotionally or sexually. She didn’t know how to change that. Luke’s demand made her back up a step.

He seemed to understand, nodding. “I only want to look at that cut. Then I can go get you what you need while you shower.”

“I can go. You don’t know my size, or what I like,” she objected as he approached her.

“Please, let me see how bad it is, Vanessa.”

His green eyes were kind and focused, though exhaustion was showing in the strain in his face. It was only evident if you looked really close, like she was doing now. It reminded her that pretty much everything she’d been through in the last twenty-four hours, he’d been through, too.

Even so, she wasn’t about to take her shirt off on his command, but she did shrug off her blazer, lifting the edge of her blouse where blood had soaked through, partly drying the fabric to her skin. She jumped as she pulled gingerly at it.

“Don’t do that. Wait,” he said and stalked off down the hall, returning with a wet towel. “This will loosen the fabric from your skin.”

The warm, wet towel felt good against her sore side as they peeled her blouse back from the wound, and Vanessa was shocked to see how much she’d bled.

“Oh,” she breathed out, dizzy.

“Here.” Luke guided her to the sofa.

She eased back, letting him investigate her injury. From a knife. That someone had wanted to use to kill her.

Unreal.

“It bled a lot, but it’s not bad and the bleeding has stopped. It won’t need stitches. You got lucky.”

“Why does everyone keep telling me that?”

Luke smiled and looked closer at the wound. “I can get some butterfly bandages, antibiotic and gauze. We’ll be able to fix you up quite easily. Will you be okay to take a shower on your own?”

Vanessa’s heart skipped a beat. For a second, she thought he was going to offer to help her.

What would she have said?

He’d been a complete gentleman. There was no hint of anything suggestive or sexual since their kiss in the parking lot.

Confusing.

Especially as she stood here, thinking about Luke in the shower with her and not automatically dismissing the idea.

“I’ll be fine. It doesn’t hurt that much. I was just surprised by how much blood there was,” she said with a weak laugh.

“It’s understandable. I saw a Marine faint at the sight of his own blood once, so don’t be too hard on yourself.”

Vanessa smiled. His hands were gentle around the wound, and his tone was soothing. She studied his hair as he knelt before her, and she wanted to push her fingers through it. Everything had done a complete turnaround since a few hours before, when she was sure he was the one after her. Now she wanted him to stay close. Very close. That was so unlike her, and a sign that she really wasn’t herself.

“Okay, then,” he said, standing quickly. “Tell me what else you need, and I’ll go to the store while you shower.”

“Let me give you my credit card, or my ATM—”

“No. You can’t use any of those things until we know what’s going on. I’ll contact the detective and let him know you’re with me, so the police don’t go looking for you, but that’s it. Otherwise, you need to stay off the radar as much as possible.”

Vanessa blinked. “How could anyone track my money, or my car? I mean, who does that other than the government?”

Luke frowned. “You’d be surprised. It’s how I found you.”

“Yeah, actually, I meant to ask you about that. How did you find me?”

“We can talk about it later. For the moment, let’s get the basics attended to.”

She told him what she needed. “I feel awkward having you pay for all of this. Keep the receipts, at least, so I can reimburse you.”

“Sure, no worries,” Luke said, though she doubted his tone. “I’ll be back in an hour or so. I have a key. Do not open the door for anyone, under any circumstances. I don’t care if it’s life or death, room service, whatever. You keep it locked. Keep the curtains closed, too. Clear?”

She nodded soberly. Vanessa couldn’t help but feel that this was overkill, but then again, someone had tried to kill her twice in one day.

“Yes.”

“Good. Take your time, relax. I’m going to get us some food, too.”

“I ate earlier,” she said, not wanting to cause him any more trouble.

“I didn’t,” he said with a grin, and she felt her cheeks heat.

“Sorry, I just... Never mind.”

Luke offered one more smile and headed out the door, closing it firmly behind him.

Alone, Vanessa thought she might be swallowed by the sofa as her muscles turned to jelly. She’d held herself tense the entire time Luke had been touching her.

He’d only been checking her injury. There hadn’t been anything more to it than that. But still, his touch, and how he looked at her... She couldn’t help but feel something.