DeliciousDanger Read Free

to have a
direct line to her nipples and her womb. Heat bloomed between her thighs and
rushed along the fair skin of her cheeks.
    What’s going on? I don’t ever react this way. To anyone.
    Maybe you should , her inner devil whispered. He’s
damn good looking and I’ll bet he’d be hell in bed.
    Kelly brushed at her face with her hand, hoping to wipe away
any visible trace of what she was thinking.
    “I don’t dribble my food or chew with my mouth open,” Rick
joked. “And I actually clean up pretty good.”
    “Go on, Kelly,” Harry urged. “Have a night out for a
change.”
    “All right.” She couldn’t believe she was saying that.
“Thank you.”
    “You can stay in my guestroom,” he grandfather put in.
“Rick, you know where I live, right?”
    Rick nodded. “We have some work to do at the office right
now but I’ll pick you up at seven. That okay?”
    “Yes. But I should tell you I don’t have anything with me to
wear besides jeans.”
    “Jeans it is.” He winked. “See you at seven.”
    She watched them climb into the big SUV and drive through
the gate.
    “Well, Xena, you picked a winner.” She ruffled the dog’s
ears. “But how come you didn’t stop me from breaking my ‘no date’ rule? If I
get into trouble it’s your fault.”
    She’d taken herself out of the social circle after too many
abortive tries at a relationship with men who didn’t play well with strong
women. They were either intimidated or challenged. Somehow she didn’t think
Rick Latrobe would be either one.
    But training guard and security dogs was more than a
full-time job and one that left little or no time for relationships. Her
business was thriving. That’s what she needed to focus on.
    Sighing, she turned back to Harry.
    “Okay, Granddad. I hope we both don’t live to regret this.”
    * * * * *
    Rick leaned his head back against the headrest and closed
his eyes. Holy Hannah. Every cell in his body had stood at attention when he’d
felt Kelly Monroe’s softness against him, her breasts pressed into his chest.
He could have lost himself in those eyes, emerald green with licks of golden
fire in them. And hair that he wanted to tug loose and run his fingers through.
    Dinner, you idiot? With all you’ve got going on?
    “Harry’s granddaughter’s a real dish, isn’t she?”Mike had
trouble keeping the laughter out of his voice. “Lucky you having her fall into
your arms.”
    Rick grunted. “Yeah, right. Why the hell did you let me make
a date with her? Right now the last thing I should have on my mind is a date.”
    “Give yourself a break. You look like you could use one. Too
long without any downtime at all and you lose your edge. And that means
danger.”
    “I know, I know. But we’ve got big problems, Michael. And I
sense more coming.”
    He tried to gather his thoughts to brief his partners about
the mess they were all in. Even so, he couldn’t wipe away the image of the
slender redhead and her unusual dog. And the promise of the evening ahead.
    At the office his partners were waiting for him, their eyes
filled with questions. He’d sent a couple of brief messages before leaving
Iraq. Now they wanted details. But after an hour, the five men who formed the
partnership of Phoenix didn’t seem to be any further ahead than when they
started.
    “So the weapons are just disappearing?” Dan Romeo, CEO of
the agency, asked for perhaps the tenth time.
    “Jesus, Dan.” Rick dry-washed his face. “How many different
ways do you want me to answer you? Yes, they keep disappearing in small
amounts. As if someone thinks we won’t notice. Either that, or they’re testing
our reaction and waiting to see what we’ll do.”
    “And Jordan insists it’s kids pilfering them, right?”
    Greg Jordan was the man Phoenix had hired to ramrod their
operation in Iraq. Mike D’Antoni, another partner, had served with him and
recommended him as someone who could keep a tight rein on the security
operations they’d