Solid Steel (Unseen Enemy Book 6) (4 page)

“Hey, it’s OK.” He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, pushed her dark hair off her cheekbones. It had grown in quite a bit now since she’d finished chemo and some of her wild curls had returned. “I mean, you
do
have to do this part all on your own, angel, no arguing with that. All’s I can do is rub your feet and buy you clothes.”

“It’s enough. It’s
more
than enough.”

“Yeah? You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“OK, so.” He pulled back a bit, hating to let her go, but time was ticking down until her doctor’s appointment and they had to haul ass. “Here’s your coffee. You get ready and I’ll start breakfast. Toast and eggs? Maybe some fruit?”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

“You got it, angel.”

“Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you so damn much.”

“Oh, Emma.” Dean’s hand fell to her stomach and he tenderly caressed their son. “I love you, too. I love you both.”

Chapter Four

Selena signed her time sheet with a sigh of sheer exhaustion, got to her feet wearily. Thank Christ she’d gotten through another shift with Diana Keeler drunk off her face and being impossible to work with. The night before, Diana had barricaded herself in her bedroom and spent hours on social media, tagging herself in endless photos, changing her privacy settings to show her location, and posting her upcoming work and personal schedules. Stupid, reckless, dangerous stuff for a woman with a stalker.

Griff was as done as she was, and was down in Dallas’ office right this second talking to the boss. They weren’t about to drop Diana as a client, Selena was sure, but it was time for Dallas to have a word with her about how she was compromising her own safety. And when the client’s safety was compromised, so was the safety of the people standing between her and a threat. Selena’s and Griff’s, and Sully’s and Mark’s too. They were the day shift and now, thanks to Diana, the world knew where and when she had meetings and movie shoots scheduled, and lunches and drinks planned.

Stupid, stupid woman
.

Selena yanked her hair out of its snug chignon, ran her fingers through it a few times until the unruly curls were semi-tamed. With a sigh of relief now, she headed for the door, dropped the time sheet on the front reception desk. The new woman, Roxanna, gave her an open, friendly smile.

“Hi, Selena.”

“Hi, Roxanna. Bye, Roxanna.”

Roxanna laughed. “Long night?”

“Oh, man. The longest.” Selena stifled a yawn. “I think I’ll go down to the track, do a few laps.”

“You’re not going home to collapse?”

“Not yet.” Selena gave her a small grin. “I love to work out after a shift, then grab something to eat,
then
go home and fall in to bed.”

Roxanna nodded, amazed yet again at Selena’s discipline. Hell, if that were
her
and
if
she’d
just finished work at eight a.m. on a Monday? She’d be begging for mercy by now. She supposed, though, that Selena and Griff were used to the night work. They seemed to really love it, in fact, and they were a great team.

Her eyes traveled over Selena’s body now, envious and admiring. Wow, the woman was all taut, tight muscle and streamlined curves, without an ounce of fat anywhere on her long, perfect frame. It was clear as day that Selena worked for that body, worked like hell for it, but in her line of work, fitness wasn’t a vanity: it was a basic job requirement. It was survival and it could mean the difference between life and death when Selena was in a tight spot.

Yeah, the guys at Solid Security were all huge guys, strong and powerful, but Roxanna was damn sure that Selena could give them a run for their money in terms of speed and stamina. And the word around the office was that Selena was one hell of a shot: she never missed. Not ever. Not even when she was backed in to a corner and had no time to do much more than just react.

Roxanna watched as Selena stretched, those amazing, full breasts pushing against the buttons of her blouse. She dropped her arms now, flushed a bit, glanced down at her chest. A look of anger and disgust flashed over Selena’s beautiful face and she turned abruptly, hauling her beaten-up leather backpack over her shoulder.

“Bye, Roxanna. See you tomorrow morning.”

“Sure,” Roxanna said, a bit taken aback at the other woman’s sudden change in mood. “Take care.”

“Yeah, you too.”

And Selena was gone, headed out in to the crisp, bright September morning. Roxanna glanced down at her thighs, briefly considered the box of doughnuts on the counter in the staff kitchen, then thought about Selena’s strong, curvy body. Nope, she was
not
going to eat four doughnuts. She
was
going to look to the older woman for inspiration and motivation – she’d never have Selena’s perfect figure, but Roxanna could definitely be healthier.

I’d kill for that body, I swear to God. The woman is goddamn G.I. Jane crossed with a supermodel with all-natural breasts. I will not hate her; I will
not
hate her.

Well. Maybe just a tiny bit.

**

Selena pulled her car keys out of her jean jacket pocket and shut the office door behind her. When she turned around, she was stunned to see Luke standing right in front of her.

“Hi,” he said, his voice as gruff and sexy as she remembered. “How you doing?”

“Luke! I – what – you –” His obvious amusement at her stuttering took her from horrified to enraged; she immediately regained the power of speech. “What in the actual
hell
are you doing here?”

He held up a brown paper bag. “I brought you breakfast.”

“You – you what?” She stared at him. “Why would you do that?”

He shrugged. “Why
wouldn’t
I do that?”

“Because I didn’t ask you to,” she pointed out.

“No.” His grin was devastating and her heart jumped in her chest. “But don’t
you
ever do nice things without being asked?”

She ignored that. “Well, I’m not eating right now. Thanks, anyway.”

“No? How come?” He leaned against his pickup truck and crossed his arms loosely. “You going home to sleep?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m going to work out.” She waved her hand at the bag. “So I’m afraid that Mexican food is out right now.”

“You’re going to the gym?”

“Again, none of your damn business, but no.”

“Oh, right.” He tilted his head at her and looked her up and down and she was suddenly incredibly self-conscious. She stood up a bit taller, trying to stop the blush that was no doubt working its way across her face at his scrutiny. “You’re a runner.”

“How did you know that?”

“Griff said that you were a marathoner.”

She paused. “He did?”

“Sure. We talk about our work, you know, so he told me a bit about you. You
are
his partner.”

“Oh. Right.” Selena wasn’t sure if she was pleased that Luke knew things about her or not, decided that on the whole, she was not. “Well, I’m off. Have a good day.”

“Hey, wait up. I have an idea.”

She turned back to him, straining hard for patience. “Yes?”

“Well, it just so happens that I’m off to work out too.”

She rolled her eyes.”What an astounding coincidence.”

“No lie, I swear.” His eyes were wide and innocent. “I usually finish my shift at Curves around eight or nine, then I head off to The Rock to work out.”

Despite herself, she was interested in that fact. “The Rock? The martial arts gym?”

“Yeah. I kickbox.”

Now Selena was the one looking Luke up and down, frankly and with a hint of appreciation. Yeah, she could
totally
see him in loose black sweatpants and nothing else, spinning and kicking a punching bag, sweat glistening on his massive shoulders and broad chest.
No
way
a man got a body like Luke’s without working for it… and the man clearly worked. His arms alone were staggeringly impressive.

She wondered about his hand, though: did he have some way to use his missing hand to punch? Did a boxing glove cushion his stump, or did he just use one hand and have strategies to protect himself with the other? She stared at him, not about to ask because surely it was horribly rude… but she was inexplicably curious about Luke. She wanted to ask him things, all of a sudden. She wanted to get to know him a bit.

Luke saw the spark in those amazing dark eyes and hope rose in his chest. Maybe, just maybe, she’d start to let down her guard around him. Maybe just a bit.

“OK,” she said now, abrupt and defensive, effectively crushing his hopes that she was coming around. “So you’re going to work out right now. And?”

“
And
,” he said. “I’ll make you a deal.”

“I’m all ears.”

Ignoring her sarcasm, he gave her his most charming grin. “So here it is: I come with you for a run.”

“
What
?”

“Yeah. We’ll do a one-mile race, OK? If I win, we go on a date. I choose where and when, and you just show up looking gorgeous. Hopefully in a short skirt that’ll show off those long, hot legs.”

Selena opened her mouth, closed it. This was fucking unbelievable.

“Uh,” she said at last. “And if
I
win?”

He shrugged. “I leave you alone.”

That stopped her dead in her tracks. “You – really?”

“Really. I’ll never come near you again.”

“Will you call me?” she asked suspiciously.

He laughed and she liked it: Luke’s laugh was open and deep and husky. Oh,
Lord
, he was attractive.

“You looking for loopholes that I may exploit, babe?” he teased her.

“Yeah.” She disregarded the fact that she
also
really liked it when he called her ‘babe’. “So… you won’t come near me, won’t call me, won’t contact me in any way, shape or form. Right?”

“Right.”

“You won’t send me notes passed to me by Griff?”

“What, like grade six math class, passing the cute girl notes? Nope, I won’t do that.”

“Smoke signals?”

He laughed again and she found herself smiling back.

“Nope.” He ran his hand through his messy dark hair. “No Morse code or flag semaphore or signal lights.”

“Telepathy?”

“Fuck, you’re adorable. Nah, babe. No telepathy.”

She looked at him now, really considered his offer. She could run a six-minute-mile without any major effort and she knew that Luke would never be able to keep up at that pace. His body was built for strength, not speed, and she would leave him in the dust. No debate and no doubt.

So, yeah, if she took this deal, she’d kick his ass and then he’d leave her alone. Easy-peasy solution, all resolved, headache gone. The surprising and upsetting thing was that she was actually hesitating. She didn’t want Luke to stick around since she felt like she was just leading him on, but she didn’t want him to go, either.

Shit. I actually like the guy. Dammit.

OK, so. She liked him. She was attracted to him. There was chemistry. Fine. But she was damaged goods and a guy like Luke would never find her attractive once he got under her shirt. Best to just kill this where it stood. Best to just send him on his merry way. Best for both of them that way, whether he knew it or not.

“OK,” she said. “One mile race. I win, you leave me alone. You win, I put on a skirt and a smile and show up for a date.”

“Great.” He pushed himself off his truck and she almost sighed at the strong movement. “So, I’ll drop this food off for Griff and then I’ll meet you at the track?”

“Yeah. See you there.”

**

Thirty minutes later, Luke watched as Selena walked towards him. She was in a red hoodie and dark blue spandex and her legs just went on forever. Her hair was tied up tight, her cheeks were pink in the morning chill. She looked stunning and he felt his cock harden at the sight of her long, curvy body in those running pants. He wanted to cup her pert ass in his large hands, pull her in close. Kiss her until she begged for him to peel off those tight little pants and fuck her.

Despite her holding herself away from him and her coldness, he knew she’d be responsive. He knew she’d writhe under him and scream his name as she came, shaking and clutching him close.

Selena tried hard to not notice how goddamn hot Luke looked in workout clothes. She was a tall woman, but he towered over her; she wasn’t a pixie, but his bulk made her feel tiny, delicate. Impossibly feminine. He made her feel like a woman, despite it all. That was a surprise to her, that she could still feel that way. And it only happened around Luke.

They stared at each other, took each other in fully. Then Luke smiled.

“You ready?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “You sure you want to do this?”

“Sure I’m sure.” He stretched a bit and helplessly, her eyes were drawn to the way that his long-sleeved shirt sculpted to his chest muscles. “I want to see you in a skirt.”

She shook her head, amused and exasperated. “Uh-huh. So… let’s do it.”

“OK.”

“You did a few warm-up laps?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Yeah, around the other side of the building.”

“So we’re on,” he said.

“It seems so.”

They walked over to the starting point and stood with their toes on the line. The track was quiet that morning, with only one other person making leisurely circles. Selena sighed a bit, tightened her ponytail.

“OK, so,” she said. “Four times around.”

“Got it.”

“You want to count down?”

“Sure. From three, yeah?”

“Fine.” She pointed and flexed her feet in her sneakers, bent over with her fingertips on the track. “Ready when you are.”

“Oh, I’m ready. “ He bent over too and balanced perfectly on his one strong hand, turned his head to grin at her. “So here we go.”

She nodded, trying not to notice how blue his eyes were in the morning sun.

“Three… two… one!”

Selena exploded in to movement, her legs pumping under her without any conscious thought at all. Her body loved running, went in to sprint mode easily, and she hit her stride right away, fell in to the rhythm as naturally as she breathed.

For two weeks or so after recovering from her surgery, she’d found running awkward. Running without the weight of her breasts on her front had thrown off her balance, she’d been surprised to discover, and it had changed how she’d moved her arms. She’d had to relearn how to move, how to run, how to find her center. She’d done it, of course, and now she found it effortless. Well, it was
physically
effortless, but still a source of emotional pain.

Wrenching her mind away from the scars on her chest, she heard Luke’s heavy footsteps pounding on the track behind her. He sounded surprisingly close, actually, but she wasn’t worried. No way he’d be able to maintain that speed for the whole mile – his body simply wouldn’t be able to keep moving his massive weight at that momentum. Physics were physics, and it was pretty damn hard to argue with the relationship between mass, speed and force.