Guarding Kelsey ((Books We Love Romantic Suspense)) (26 page)

“Good morning to you
,
too.”
He stretched the cramping from his muscles.

“You could have slept in the guest room instead of the reclining chair.”

He must have misread her comment for concern because he smiled.
“I have a better view of the door from there.”

“What’s the difference?
Weren’t you the one who said there are other ways into an apartment besides the door?”

“Yes, but only one way out.”

So he didn’t trust her.
Good, she thought, then immediately felt bad.
She wasn’t a vindictive person and she wouldn’t let him turn her into one.
He had done his job.
If she read more into the affair, she couldn’t fault him for that.
From here on, she knew where she stood and she wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

She inched past him, brushing her hip against his thigh.
The touch was brief, her reaction was not.
Moisture pooled in her abdomen and her breasts felt heavy and taut.
She had no business reacting to him in such an erotic manner.
Was she destined to be in a constant state of arousal in his presence?
She couldn’t look at him because he was too good at reading her emotions.

She dumped the newspaper in his hands. “I have to take a shower.”
An ice cold shower.

“Do you want me to make breakfast?”

“Why?
Are you afraid I’ll poison you?”

He laughed and his warm breath played over her neck like a summer breeze. “It crossed my mind.”

“Don’t worry, Wolf.
I want you around so I can say I told you so.”

His eyes narrowed.
He cupped his hand along the side of her face and drew her closer.
“I hope you do,” he whispered against her ear.

Before she had time to absorb the words or formulate an answer he turned her loose and walked away.

No! No! No! He was not allowed to be caring.
He was not allowed to take her feelings into account.
He was not allowed to break down the shaky wall she had erected around her heart.
How would she protect herself from inevitable heartbreak without the anger?

* * *

As days went, this one sucked, Wolf thought as he walked th
r
ough the condo to stretch his legs.
When the highlight of the morning had been a trip to the dry cleaner, he knew he was in trouble.
Kelsey, at least had her thesis paper to keep her occupied.
He had a file full of information that led nowhere.

Maybe he was taking the wrong road.

He had assumed that money was the motive.
Get rid of Kelsey and her father, and someone stood to gain a lot.
What if the reason her father had been killed had something to do with his business and once his will was fully settled, Kelsey too would become privy to that knowledge.
He needed to contact her father’s lawyer and the accountant handling the estate matters.
They could have had some answers surrounding Richard Carlyle’s death if they had been asked the right questions.

As he returned to the study, he found that Kelsey was no longer working at her computer.
She was curled up on the sofa, with her reading glasses resting on the bridge of her delicate nose, reviewing a report she had removed from the file.
He didn’t need to see the paper to know she was reading about her father’s accident.
Nothing else would have caused tears to stream down her cheeks.
He thought about all she had been through in the past week, the past few months.
She deserved a good cry.

He stood next to the sofa and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Kelsey?”

“Leave
.
. me
.
.alone,” She sniffed and wiped her hand across her cheek.

“No can do, ma’am.”
He dropped down on the couch next to her.
His weight caused her to bounce and land half in his lap.
She struggled as he pulled her the rest of the way.
He anchored her against his chest with his arm.
“You’re stuck with me for now.
Deal with it.”

Her nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
She tried to stop her tears.
He felt her holding back, but the sadness, the pain was all too much for her.
With trembling hands clenched tightly around the report, she continued to read the account of her father’s death and sob like a child.
Apparently, she had never seen the details of the investigation, if he could call it that.
In her grief, she had probably accepted the police conclusion of a tragic accident caused by an unidentified vehicle.

Causing her more pain was the last thing he wanted. Especially since he knew it would get worse before it got better.
He thought about the irony of his situation.
He had said there was no future for them after the case.
Their worlds were too different. Still he couldn’t picture a future without her.
And by going after her family, he was blowing any chance.
If he was wrong, she would never forgive him.
If he was right, she wouldn’t be thanking him for jailing the guilty party.
It was a no win situation
.
. except that Kelsey would come to no harm.

He stroked
his
hand over her silky hair, down her shoulder and across her back.
Her cries quieted, but tears continued to spill from her shimmering eyes.

She pushed her glasses to the top of her head and met his gaze.
“You don’t think it was an accident, do you?”
Her murmured words were choked with raw emotion.

He would have preferred to change the subject, get her mind on other matters, but she was not going to be distracted. “I don’t know.
What was your father like?”

“He didn’t have an enemy in the world.
He was wonderfully generous to everyone.
His employees adored him.”
Spoken like a devoted daughter who loved her father.

Wolf wasn’t about to dispute her account, but self-made millionaires didn’t often reach that pinnacle without
ticking off a few people along the way.
Particularly the family members who didn’t get taken along for the ride to the top.

“Conditions were dangerous that night.
Was it like him to take risks?”

“In business yes.
But not with his life.”

Something had induced a cautious man to disregard personal safety and venture out.
“Do you know what he was doing at his hunting lodge when it wasn’t hunting season?’

She raised a sad smile.
“He didn’t hunt, even in season.
He liked the woods.
He used the cabin when he wanted to get away and think without distraction.”

“Any idea what he wanted to think about that particular weekend?”

“No. He didn’t tell me.”
The fight seemed to drain from her.
She answered as if she felt she was to blame for not reading her father’s mind.

He had to stop pushing her.
Let her ask the questions.
His style of interrogation wasn’t helpful now.
Maybe he should have taken a few pointers from Martinez when it came to questioning Kelsey.

“What do you want to do today?”

She shook her head.
Suddenly aware of their intimate position, she squirmed off his lap.
“I’m not making a raspberry torte, it that’s what you’re thinking.”

“The thought never crossed my mind.”
He chuckled.
“Apparently it crossed yours.”

She sprang to her feet.
Her cheeks flushed a rosy shade of indignant.
She looked like she was about to explode when the door chimes sounded through the apartment.
Saved by the bell!

“Remember.
I’m not here.”

“I should only be so lucky,” she muttered loud enough for him to hear.

She stormed from the room with a stride that drew attention to her slim hips and long legs encased in black denim.
Her exit caused his body to stand up and take notice.
More than was physically comfortable or emotionally sound.
He grabbed the file and disappeared down the hall to the guest room.

* * *

Kelsey glanced though the peek-ho
le.
Only when she saw her cousin
standing on the
doorstep
, did she remember she was suppose
d
to send paperwork back to him.
She had trouble remembering to breathe when Wolf was around.
Business was the last thing on her mind.
Particularly a business she had never wanted in the first place.

Sh
e opened the door and let Richie
in.
“I’m sorry I never got those contracts back to you
r father
.”

“That’s why I
am
here
,” he said with a
n annoyed
wave of his hand.
As if the trip put off his entire day, when he didn’t have a job.
He glanced around the foyer
. “Dad said you had
a
cop
living in the condo with
you
.
”

“
Not any longer,” she lied.
“
They found the
hit man
and the case was closed.” And her life should have gone back to normal.
Only her life would never be normal again.

“T
hat
must be a relief
.
According to Dad, the one guy was a real SOB.
”

“He was doing his job.”
With more concern for her safety that anyone else had showed.

“He could have done it from outside the door as easily as inside.”

Kelsey
sighed.
Wouldn’t her dear fami
l
y
be shocked if he knew that she had wanted to spend her nights with Wolf?
She enjoyed his company and cherished the way he made her feel when they made love.
It was difficult to remain emotionally cool when warm memories blanketed her. As much as she wanted to stay mad at him, she was beginning to see his reason for keeping his investigation a secret.
He knew how she would react.