Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  “Have you thought about what you’re going to do if she calls again?”

  He looked at her for a few seconds, then faint amusement lined his eyes. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

  “Nope,” she said cheerfully as she popped another piece of steak into her mouth.

  He sighed. “I’m not sure yet, okay. I think I might listen to her someday, just not yet.”

  Fair enough.

  “You’re a good man,” she said and patted him on the thigh.

  She felt him freeze at her touch and she snatched her hand away as she felt an electric current zing her where she’d touched him. She glanced at the offending hand, wondering what the hell was going on. Okay, so she was familiar with sexual attraction and how it worked, but she really did not want to be attracted to this man, other than at the surface level, you know…woman admires hot male and all that. This zinging thing that was going on was too damn personal.

  Rusty cleared his throat and when she looked up, he was staring at her, his gaze hooded. Her breath caught in her throat and she prayed that he didn’t bring up what had just happened. She needed to process and understand it herself first.

  “Have you tried the barbecued prawns?”

  Hope blinked and looked at him confused. “Huh?”

  “The prawns…have you tried them?” he asked, pointing to the plate he carried.

  Hope shook her head.

  “Here.”

  Before she knew what was happening, he’d slipped a prawn off the skewer and slipped it into her mouth. His fingers brushed her lips, sending shivers of awareness down her spine. Her eyes flew to his and she felt hers widen at the twin pools of desire looking back at her. She sucked in her breath, arrested by the look in his eyes.

  Rusty dropped his hands and suddenly, she was free to look away. She chewed mechanically, not really paying attention to the burst of flavors that exploded on her tongue. Absently, she reached for another prawn and stuck it in her mouth as she tried to bring her racing heart under control. This was bad. This was really bad. She should not be reacting this way to him. Actually, she did not normally react this way to anyone.

  That fluttering in the stomach, the racing of her heartbeat, the tingles of desire that were still going through her spine…? She had always thought those reactions were a bit exaggerated. Well, now she was not only feeling them, she was suddenly feeling a desperate urge to kiss the man seated beside her, which was insane.

  She glanced at him from beneath her lashes, her gaze going straight for his mouth. It would take so little to close the gap between them. Her gaze moved to his eyes and she gasped. He was…was he smoldering at her? Damn. She’d never seen a guy smolder so successfully. She was suddenly feeling hot and breathless. His gaze dropped to her mouth and she just knew he was going to kiss her.

  She took a deep breath, then reached for another prawn and threw it into her mouth. She needed to not think about kissing him. Since they practically lived in the same house, at least until the trouble with the hacker was sorted, it would be a huge mistake to start anything.

  “Hope?” a bright voice called out, breaking the lust-induced haze that had surrounded them.

  Hope broke away from Rusty’s arresting gaze and focused on the woman who was walking towards them with a broad smile. She stopped right in front of them, grabbed Hope’s hand and drew her up for a big hug.

  “I wasn’t sure you would make it, thank you so much for coming.”

  Hope smiled at Sierra. “You have a really nice place, Sierra.”

  Sierra laughed. “Oh yeah, Ace outdid himself and I love it!” She glanced at Rusty. “Hey Russ, how are you doing?”

  “I’m doing okay, Si,” Rusty said with a wink.

  “That’s great because you’re going to have to excuse us. Me and this lady have some stuff to discuss.” She was already leading Hope away as she spoke.

  “Um, wait up. I’m not granting you an interview,” Hope stated right away.

  Sierra looked back and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, so you keep saying.”

  Hope dug her feet in so that they both came to a halt. “I’m serious.”

  “Jeez, are you paranoid or what?” the other woman said with a sigh. “Listen, I just want you to meet the girls okay? No pressure.”

  Hope thought about it and shrugged. “Alright then.”

  “Great. You can grant me an interview right afterwards, or anytime really,” Sierra said with a wink.

  “Sierra…” Hope called her name in warning and the other woman laughed.

  “Just relax, okay? Gosh, you’re too wired up.”

  They had gotten to the door that led into the house. Sierra led the way into the warm interior. Hope liked what she saw. The décor was soothing, without clutter, yet welcoming. It made her want to curl beneath a warm blanket with a cup of hot cocoa. It had that sort of effect.

  They walked past a few rooms till they got to one that was decorated like a lounge. It already had some occupants.

  “Guys, I brought Hope with,” Sierra announced.

  Four pairs of eyes swung to her.

  “Awesome, we can get her to spill all about her deep, dark secrets,” one of the women, whom Hope did not recognize, said with a gleam of the eye.

  “Laura, come on,” an older woman, whom Hope recognized as Emily’s mom, gently chided.

  “Ignore her, Hope,” Sierra said. “You know everyone, right? Emily, Mrs. S., and Tamika…”

  “Hey,” Tamika said with a warm smile.

  “Hi,” Hope said responding to the warmth in the other woman’s eyes.

  “And this smart-mouth here, is Laura, Ryan’s sister,” Sierra said, pointing to the woman who had first spoken.

  “I was serious about the deep, dark secrets part,” Laura said with a smirk, her eyes alight with mischief.

  Hope smiled at the woman with corn blonde hair. She was stunning, and looked like a cover girl. Hope’s experience with gorgeous women was that they were often snobbish and had a tendency to feel superior. But this woman had eyes that were filled with laughter and she looked so down-to-earth. Hope could not help returning her smile.

  “Sure, I’ll dish, but you go first,” she said, settling down on one of the comfy chairs.

  The others laughed.

  “I like her,” Tamika said.

  “Told you,” Sierra said smugly, settling into a chair beside Hope.

  “I’m really likable. A veritable Shirley Temple.”

  They all glanced at her short, spiky black hair and burst into laughter. Hope chuckled, knowing she looked nothing like the curly-haired, dimpled actress from the nineteen thirties. She had an edge to her and she liked it that way.

  “I’m surprised Sierra got you away from Rusty so easily,” Laura commented.

  “Ha! I practically had to pry her away with a wrench. He wasn’t very happy, I can tell you.”

  They all exchanged knowing glances.

  Hope frowned, confused. They seemed to know some secret about her that she was unaware of and it bothered her a bit. She knew she was new to the scene, but she hadn’t thought they were the type of women to communicate over her head, leaving her in the dark. A thin thread of disappointment went through her.

  “You don’t know, do you?” Sierra asked her.

  “Know what?”

  “That darling boy has been a bit obsessed with Hope Conran,” Emily’s mom said.

  “It’s because you’ve always been so mysterious and he couldn’t seem to find anything about you. He was fascinated by your programming, but no info about the woman,” Tamika added.

  “See why you really need to let me interview you?”

  Hope rolled her eyes at Sierra, which got the other women laughing. She didn’t say much about the darling boy’s obsession with her but instead gently deflected the conversation by steering it in another direction.

  “Is she always this pushy?” she asked, referring to Sierra.

  “You have no idea
,” Emily said with a smile.

  “But she kind of saved my life,” Laura added with a sad smile.

  “She did? How did that happen?” Hope was intrigued and glad that the attention was finally off her.

  “I was dating this…man who for some reason sold me off to a prostitution gang. I thought I was going to die there…it was so hopeless. Anyway, Sierra was investigating the man and the trail led her to my brother. She badgered him until he told her I was missing. Long story short, these folks recued me.”

  Hope listened to her with awe. For a woman who had gone through so much, even if she made it sound so matter-of-fact, Laura was surprisingly without bitterness. She only sounded emotional when she talked about how she was rescued, but Hope did not sense any anger towards the man who had put her in the mess.

  “What happened to the man?”

  “He crossed the wrong people,” Emily stated blandly.

  Hope nodded, not really understanding but not willing to pry further. She got the impression that these people played in some really big stakes arenas. Somehow, that comforted her. She knew that if the threat to her life was serious, she’d come to the right place. These people could keep her safe.

  “Oh, I tried your dating site and I love it. I especially love reading the erotica series,” Laura said.

  “You have a section with erotic stories?” Tamika asked, sitting up.

  Hope nodded.

  They all burst into excited chatter and Hope answered their questions as well as she could. Then they moved on to Tamika and squealed in delight when she said she was pregnant. She told them that she’d set a date for her wedding and it was to be on some tropical island and they were all to be bridesmaids.

  “You too, Hope,” she said.

  Hope opened her mouth to say something, but the conversation had gone on. So she just settled back and enjoyed being part of a group of women who genuinely liked each other and were not trying to outdo the other.

  She thought about what they’d said about Rusty’s so-called obsession with her. He had not shown any sign of that in any way, at least, none that she’d noticed. Then again, people were really good actors. She wondered if the desire she’d seen in his eyes was not really desire for her, the woman she was inside, but for the fictional character he’d created in his mind. How was she ever to know if he was attracted to her? She laughed to herself. Who was she kidding? She knew exactly how he felt about her. The way he had reacted at the night club, when he’d had no clue who she was? That was probably the way he really felt about her. Any attraction she’d perceived was probably a result of his discovery that she was a programmer he’d long admired. It had nothing to do with her.

  “What do you think, Hope?”

  Hearing her name, she blinked and saw that everyone was looking at her expectantly. She felt her fact go warm in embarrassment.

  “I’m sorry, guys, I must have spaced out.”

  “Thinking about the darling boy, eh?” Tamika said with a sly grin.

  Since she’d called him the same thing in her mind, Hope had no trouble knowing that the other woman was referring to Rusty.

  She met Tamika’s gaze head on. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said with a straight face.

  There were chuckles all around.

  “Nicely done,” Tamika said, looking impressed.

  “Well, I’m going to be the first to call it.”

  They all turned to Sierra, but it was Laura who asked, “Call what?”

  “I sensed some fireworks between you two, so I’ll say there’s something brewing there.”

  Hope shook her head. “Oh no. You are barking up the wrong tree, lady.”

  Sierra just gave her a knowing look. “I know what I saw.”

  “What did you see, woman?”

  They all turned towards the door as Ace walked in.

  “Hey, Ace, what gives?” Laura said with a smile.

  “I’m good,” he said, but his eyes were fixed on Sierra. “You all don’t mind if I steal her away for a moment, do you?”

  “I’ll even pay you,” Hope quipped.

  There was a stunned silence, then everyone burst into laughter.

  “It didn’t take you long to get to her, did it, sweetheart?” Ace asked, drawing Sierra to her feet.

  “I will get that exclusive interview yet,” Sierra winked at Hope as she left with Ace.

  “C’mon Hope, let’s go check if the hamburgers are ready,” Laura said, getting to her feet.

  She was even more elegant than Hope had first thought. Dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and what looked like a cashmere sweater, with ballet flats, she should have looked well, drab. But she only looked fab. Hope would have felt slightly jealous, but she liked Laura too much.

  She followed the other woman out. It was already dark outside, but everywhere was well lit. They went straight for where the hamburgers were being prepared by Ryan and took one each. It wasn’t long before the others joined them.

  There was lots of laughter and Hope had a great time relaxing with everyone. It was a nice experience and a first for her. She had lived her entire life on the fringes, in a way. She had been sent to families, but never felt a part of them. Even in college, she had never felt like she belonged. But here, among these people who were more or less strangers to her, she felt like a part of them…like she was not the outsider. It was a humbling feeling for her.

  At the end of the cookout, as everyone took turns to hug her goodbye, Hope knew that for a moment at least, she had felt what it was like to be accepted without question. For that moment, she was one of them and the feeling was heady.

  She was glad she came, even if it had been a somewhat confusing time for her. She had learned that she was attracted to Rusty and that the attraction was mutual. What she didn’t know was if his attraction was the real thing. Not that it mattered in any case because she did not get involved with people she worked with.

  As they walked to Rusty’s SUV, she made up her mind to let it go and do her damnedest to get over the attraction she felt for the man.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Did you have a nice time?” Rusty asked, casting a sideways glance at the silent woman sitting beside him.

  “Yeah, everyone was great.”

  “So you’re glad you went?”

  “Hmm.”

  He clenched his jaw and concentrated on the road. He had no idea what was up with her, but she’d been withdrawn. After she’d gone with Sierra, he almost felt like she’d avoided him afterwards and any time he got close to her, she was polite and distant. And it was driving him crazy.

  “Okay, why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?”

  From the corner of his eyes, he caught the gleam of her teeth and saw that she was worrying her lower lip with her teeth. It had an instant effect on him and the desire he’d done his best to tamp down during the cookout suddenly reared its head.

  “Hope?”

  She glanced at him. “There’s nothing going on, Rusty. You’re imagining things.” She turned to look out the window.

  Rusty took his eyes off the road briefly and watched her. She looked worried about something and he didn’t know how to help her if she would not talk to him.

  They drove in silence till they got back to Hope’s house. Rusty parked the SUV in the driveway, right next to Hope’s car, and undid his seat belt, but he did not turn off the engine. Hope turned to look at him.

  “What’s up? Why’s the engine still running?”

  Rusty sighed and turned to face Hope. “Did something happen at the cookout to upset you?” He came right to the point.

  Hope shook her head. “I like your friends, they were real cool.”

  “Yeah, I think they’re cool too, but you’ve been giving me these funny vibes since we left. I can’t make it right if I don’t know what’s up.”

  She looked down at her hands and let out a big sigh. “It’s nothing, Rusty. Don’t sweat it.”

 
“It’s because you know I’m so damn attracted to you, isn’t it?”

  He heard her gasp as she raised her head to stare at him in shock. She obviously wasn’t expecting him to speak so plainly.

  “No…Yes…No…” She shook her head. “Look, it’s complicated.”

  “I don’t think it’s complicated at all. I think you’re beautiful, smart and spunky. A little crazy, but you keep things interesting. I’ve been going crazy all evening, wanting to kiss you, to know how you taste and if I’m not mistaken, you’re not entirely immune either.”

  She was staring at him as though he’d taken leave of his senses, and Rusty could not blame her. This was crazy, but he wanted this woman, and his desire for her just kept building. He reacted to her in ways he could not even begin to explain and thoughts of her were beginning to take over his mind.

  “Does it make you uncomfortable? The thought of my kissing you?”

  Hope raised a hand to stop him. “Just stop it, Rusty.”

  “Stop telling you that I want you? Or that I can’t stop thinking about you?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Stop the bullshit. This sudden attraction of yours, does it have anything to do with your long-time fascination for Hope Conran, the programmer?”

  As her words sank in, Rusty closed his eyes and swore. She was right, it was complicated. More complicated than he’d thought. How did he make her understand that even though he loved her brain, his current obsession was with her body? There was no way it wouldn’t come out sounding wrong, no matter how he said it. And damn his friends for running their mouths.

  He opened his eyes and focused them on her. “I’ll be honest, I’ve always been a little obsessed with your code and the person behind it.” At her raised eyebrow, he shrugged and grinned. “Okay, maybe more than a little obsessed. But it was always a mental thing. And then I met you and was not really sure if I liked you. Don’t look at me like that, you went out of your way to aggravate me.”

  She shrugged and rolled her eyes.

  “Yeah, well…then I started to get to know you and I can’t stop thinking about you. You do all sorts of things to me.”