“I’m sorry, Lara. I had no right to interrogate you in that manner.”

  But it was his nature, and he’d flat-out told her that she couldn’t change his. She’d gotten sucked in by his beauty and the tenderness he’d shown her when he had held her as she cried. She’d been duped by how good it felt when he’d covered her body with his. He’d been doing his job and she’d been crushing, like some teenaged girl on a pop star. “It’s fine.”

  “It’s not.” He was right behind her, and her stupid body reacted. It was as if every sense she had went on high alert the minute he walked into a room. “I was mean and I was wrong and my only excuse is that I acted out because I was jealous.”

  He couldn’t have said a single thing that surprised her more. She turned around, nearly colliding with him. She had to look up to see his face. “Jealous of what?”

  “I didn’t like Freddy in your kitchen this morning. I didn’t like those college boys around you last night, and I definitely don’t like the thought that Tom feels as if he has any right to your time or attention. I want those things for myself.”

  What kind of game was he playing? “You don’t even like me. You’ve said it.”

  “When did I say that? Did I say that when I kissed you? When I picked you up and carried you to bed? When I tricked my way into sleeping beside you?” His head shook in a sharp, definitive no. “I’m a man, Lara. I’m a one hundred percent testosterone-laden Neanderthal. You can’t judge us on our words. We’re not good with those. You have to look at our actions.”

  “Your actions are those of a man doing his job. And you can’t put that on me. You said hurtful things to me and now you’re telling me I misinterpreted them? It’s my fault?” She wasn’t going to get caught up in that. She’d had enough of that crap with Tom. Besides their lack of heat in the bedroom, Tom had a bad habit of never taking responsibility for anything.

  He didn’t give her any space to breathe, just kept looming over her with dark eyes. “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not making you do anything, Connor.”

  “I want you.”

  She rolled her eyes. Yeah, that wasn’t going to work on her. His “confession” was enough to break the spell. He’d said the words in a cold, almost hostile way, as though he resented it. She wasn’t going to be resented. She walked to her closet and selected a couple of pairs of comfortable jeans. “Let me spare you the dissatisfaction, Mr. Connor.”

  “Just Connor, and I’m screwing up again. Tell me what I did wrong. I don’t understand.”

  “Fine, Just Connor. You picked the wrong subject to come at me with. You should have tried to tempt me with something a little more academic like your friend, Niall. Now there was an asshole who knew how to manipulate a woman. I’m not some sex kitten who’s going to go crazy the minute you touch me. Others have pointed out that I’m a little frigid.”

  And maybe that was okay. That’s what she told herself every night she went to sleep alone. It was all right to not need sex the way everyone else seemed to. She had other gifts. As far as she could see, sex really only got a girl in trouble anyway. She’d had a high school boyfriend and Tom. Neither had praised her as a lover.

  “Did Tom tell you that?”

  He might have screamed it at her when they’d broken up. He might have written it in a couple of letters, but she understood he’d been hurt. “That’s none of your business.”

  “So let me get this straight. The sex wasn’t great between you and Tom, and that little fucker made you feel like it was your fault. It’s not. You’re just as sexual as the next woman. What you two lack is chemistry.”

  “Chemistry? I loved Tom.” She did love him. She just hadn’t been in love with him.

  “Love has nothing to do with it. It’s hard to explain but sometimes two people just click and every touch between them is electric. I’m not saying it doesn’t lead somewhere else, but that spark is all about sexual compatibility. We’ve got chemistry, Lara. That’s the whole problem. That’s why your nipples are hard right now.”

  “Could you please stop talking about my nipples?” It was embarrassing, but she did understand what he meant by spark. She’d felt them flying through her system since the moment she’d laid eyes on him. Was it true? Did they have some kind of chemistry that only came along once in a while?

  “Do you think this happens to me all the time? Let me tell you, prin—” He paused. “Lara, it doesn’t. It’s very rare that I meet a woman and want her like I want my next breath. And it’s never happened this hard and fast. It’s thrown me for a loop and I have no idea how to handle it. That’s why I’m doing such a terrible job of dealing with you. I need you to be a little patient with me.”

  Her patience got her in all kinds of trouble. It was why he was here in the first place. Of course it was also likely the only reason she’d survived yesterday’s attack. “We’re kind of opposites. I know they attract and all but they rarely work out in the end.”

  “Does everything have to end in marriage? Were you thinking about the long term with Niall? Don’t answer that. I know what you’re going to say.”

  This was not how she’d expected the conversation to go. She’d been waiting for some protest on his part, but in a professional manner. She certainly hadn’t expected him to initiate any kind of intimate dialogue. Was she, like he’d suggested, reading too much into his words and not enough into his actions? He’d been tender with her the night before. She would bet he wasn’t tender very often.

  “Yes,” she admitted. “A couple of days into talking with Niall, I was thinking about a future. It’s what I do. I know I shouldn’t. Kiki thinks I need a few flings to loosen me up.”

  “And now I kind of hate Kiki, too.”

  “Why?”

  He threw his hands in the air. “I have no idea. I am utterly irrational when it comes to you. I’m being honest with you, Lara. Why was I mean? Because I want you and I don’t think I can have you. Because I’m a jealous, possessive prick who doesn’t deserve you any more than Niall did.”

  She shook her head. “It wouldn’t work. We just met and we’ve already argued.”

  “Because I’m fighting this. Because I don’t want to be vulnerable to you or anyone. It’s totally against my nature. I don’t like the feeling. But I also know that I don’t want you to walk away. I can’t give up the responsibility of watching out for you. If anything happens to you, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

  “Why? I have trouble believing that you’re feeling too much for me or whatever. You just met me.”

  “I didn’t say it was rational. I just said it was.” He sighed. “Look, Niall is a player. He figured out very quickly what you wanted in a guy and gave it to you. I’m the opposite. I won’t pretend. I’m just the asshole who makes you feel like crap because I like you and I don’t understand why or know how to say it.”

  Actually, she understood that entirely. Still, his admission stirred up a bunch of girly, fluttery emotions. She’d been very open with Niall because he’d seemed so honest with her. They’d had a lot in common. At least she’d thought so. She and Connor came from completely different worlds. But that only made him more dangerous.

  She tried to shove her feelings back and focus. “I thought I wrote a rag.”

  That hadn’t been the most hurtful thing he’d said, but it was the easiest to address.

  “I might not believe in everything you do, but I like that you stand up for what matters to you. And I admit I don’t understand it completely. So why don’t you teach me, Lara? Let me really get to know you.”

  She liked it better when he was being an ass. He was way easier to deal with. This new Connor had soulful eyes and she halfway believed what he said, even knowing it could all be a ploy to win her trust so he could keep his paycheck. “Against my better judgment, I kind of like you, too. This seems like a bad idea.”

  He invaded her space again and cupped her shoulders. “Kiss me. That kiss in the elevator meant something. You know it did. It was more than just setting our cover. Just kiss me once and if you don’t want to do it again, I’ll leave. If you still think I’m only here for the money, I’ll walk out the door. But if you get even the slightest thought floating through your brain that you might enjoy being with me, then let me stay.”

  Simply being close to him messed with her mind. His touch was potentially addictive. She’d slept better last night than she had in weeks because he made her feel safe. Despite every snide word he’d tossed at her earlier, despite the fact that he was a distrusting carnivore with a worldview that ran counter to her own, he tempted her like mad. All she wanted to do was put her lips on his and explore.

  She’d never done anything like that with Tom or her high school boyfriend. She even shied away from playing with herself because she liked connecting with people. So there hadn’t seemed much point in masturbation. But she’d stood in that elevator with Spencer Connor and she’d wanted to wrap her arms around him, spread her legs wide, and welcome him inside her. She’d rubbed against his leg because her every instinct told her this man could make her feel.

  “I don’t do flings.” That wasn’t something she could manage, at least not yet. She needed time to think things over.

  He finally took a step back, placing much-needed distance between them. “Okay. I didn’t jump on you last night and I won’t now. But you won’t find another man who will protect you the way I can. You won’t find another man who will let you work the way I will. And if you want to experiment, if you want to explore this chemistry between us, I’ll let you do that, too.”

  In a flash, she knew she’d regret it if she didn’t. She would always wonder if Connor was the one man who could have set her sensuality free. Why should she have to live like a nun for the rest of her life?

  The things she was best at had always been things she practiced. Like the piano. She’d hated the lessons when she was a kid and now she found a deep peace in being able to sit down and play Bach or Chopin. She was a better writer for having done it over and over throughout the years. She could look at some of her early pieces and cringe, but she’d gotten better.

  What if sex was like that? What if her supposed ineptitude really hadn’t been her fault and all she’d needed was some instruction and practice?

  Lara shook her head. This train of thought was stupid. She wasn’t as dumb as he suspected.

  Still, she had that meeting coming up and she was sure that keeping it while staying in the city would be easier than trying to rendezvous from her dad’s.

  “All right. You can stay, but only as a bodyguard and you have to sleep on the couch.” She couldn’t risk physical intimacy with him, not until she’d really prepared herself.

  “Lara . . .” His face had fallen and she could see him working up to argue his case.

  She shook her head. She’d let him call all the shots up to this point, and that time was over. “No. If you can’t handle the couch, I’ll go to my father’s.”

  It was time to take control back. He was too different, too dangerous, but he was also her best option in a bad bunch.

  He stood there and she could practically see that sharp mind of his working overtime. He wasn’t slow at all. She no longer bought the “I’m a lowly sailor” routine.

  Was he telling her the truth about wanting her? Did it even matter since she knew what a horrible idea sleeping with him would be?

  “All right,” he relented. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  She held out a hand. “Then we’re good.”

  He took it in his own, but instead of shaking it, he cupped his other hand over hers. She was surrounded by his warmth, his strength. And she definitely felt the electricity between them. “But sweetheart, we’ve already set our cover in motion. In public, you have to act like you’re in love with me.”

  “Can’t we break up?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “I thought you’d say that.” He was good at saying no. She pulled her hand from his and began putting her stuff away.

  “I’ll go reheat breakfast and we can start over. You need your strength. We have a lot to do today.” He was gone before she could reply.

  Lara stood in her bedroom and had to wonder if she hadn’t just made a deal with the devil. A handsome, glorious devil, but the devil all the same.

  * * *

  Three days later, Connor wondered if he was going just the tiniest bit insane. He had the dog on a leash as he walked by the statue of Mary McLeod Bethune in Lincoln Park, praying the little thing didn’t shit all over the place. Oh, he was prepared for it because Lara had given him a biodegradable bag to scoop up Lincoln’s waste.

  “You started him on the meat,” she’d said earlier that morning with a wrinkle of her nose. “You can handle the consequences.”

  How the mighty had fallen.

  Lincoln—the constipated dog—barked and strained against his leash.

  “Lincoln, heel,” he said in a low growl.

  The little thing sat back, its bug eyes wide. If only his mistress was so easily handled.

  “Nice day for a walk. Like the pooch. She’s exactly what I would have gotten you,” a familiar voice said. “You know they say pet owners choose pets that are very similar to themselves.”

  Roman Calder was right on time, but then he always was. Connor took in the sight of one of his oldest friends, dressed in workout pants and a Yale sweatshirt covering his chest with the hood pulled low in deference to his semi-celebrity status. It looked as if he was well into his daily five-mile run. Most of the time he went with Zack, but they couldn’t have this conversation surrounded by ten Secret Service agents.

  “It’s a he and obviously he’s not mine.”

  Roman’s lips curved up even as his feet moved, keeping his heart rate up. “I never thought I’d see you domesticated.”

  Connor heard the laughter in Roman’s voice. His buddy would be on the phone with Gabe in a heartbeat. Zack would likely know Connor had become Lara’s errand boy before Roman even got back to the White House. Bastard gossiped more than any old lady. “Could we move on? I have to be back in ten minutes.”

  Roman finally stopped his slow jog, looking out over the park. “Where is she? I’ve seen pictures, but I have to admit, I would love to see the woman who bosses your ass around.”

  Oddly, he kind of wanted Roman to meet her. She was smart and funny and she kept him on his toes. Though if she met Roman, Connor’s cover would be blown, so that couldn’t happen. At least not until this whole thing got sorted out. “She’s meeting with her father and a friend in another part of the park. She’s got two guards I approved watching her so I figured I could break away to see you.”

  “So everything’s been quiet since the initial attempt on her life?”

  Connor nodded, his eyes never stopping their scan of their surroundings. “Yes, but we haven’t left the apartment to do more than grocery shop. If you can call it that.”

  His fairy princess lived off berries and salad. He was fairly certain that any moment he was with Lara, birds would come to carry her biodegradable bags filled with rabbit food, and all the woodland creatures would keep the palace spick-and-span.

  She was the Snow White of the tabloid world. She was idiotically naive at times, and then she would stun him with her honesty and her backbone.

  He had whiplash from being around Lara Armstrong. And he definitely had a hard-on. He’d had it for freaking days.

  “The police found the motorcycle the shooter used in his attack abandoned outside the city. It was stolen, naturally.”

  “I want a full write-up on whoever owns it.” It would be simple enough to use his own ride and then claim it had been stolen. He wanted to know if there was any connection at all between the owner and Lara.

  “I’ve got them working on it. I’ve explained that the White House wants updates because the victim was the daughter of a senator. They’re buying it for now. I’ll get the reports and send them to you. From what I understand, Everly’s worked up profiles of the people in Lara’s building and her friends. She’s got some interesting pals.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Did you know Kiki Ross is having an affair with a married congressman?”

  Shit. “You’re sure?”

  “Oh, I have the photos in both color and black and white. They should come in handy at election time.” Roman wore his shark smile.

  “You can’t.”

  “Of course I can. We’ve been wanting that district for years and we always fall just short. This coming year, I’ll release those photos shortly before the election. There’s a reason we call it an October surprise.”

  He would handle that later. The elections were months off, but somehow he couldn’t see letting those photos get leaked. Lara would be deeply upset. She would do that thing where her eyes got wide and her bottom lip would tremble just the slightest bit before she nodded as though accepting the weight of the world on her shoulders.

  How could he know so fucking much about the woman in so little time?

  “What about the rest of them?”

  “Tom Hannigan’s father was a federal judge. He stepped down three years ago. To the public it was nothing but an early retirement, but according to buried DOJ files, they were about to indict him on twelve counts of accepting bribes for judgments.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Oh, yes. The only reason they didn’t go through with it was the chaos it would have created. All of his cases would have been thrown out, including judgments against two of America’s biggest corporations. It was decided that putting Hannigan in jail wasn’t worth the risk of letting those FTC-violating bastards walk free.”