Page 30 of Dangerous Obsession

He wove his way gracefully around racks and displays, his size and ruggedness a stark contrast to all of the pretty items around him. But make no mistake, there was something innately beautiful in the way he moved.

“What’s up?” He stopped on the other side of the counter.

She crooked her finger, and he leaned across.

“You tell me,” she pretty much hissed at him. “Why are you watching Deborah’s dressing room that way?” She took a quick peek around him.

“What way?” His gaze traveled from her hair and down to slowly scan her face like a touch, then landed on her eyes.

“Huh?” Like her teenage employee, she lost her ability to speak.

One corner of his mouth lifted.

“You asked me why I was watching your customer that way, and I asked youwhat way.” The evil man knew exactly what he was doing to her.

“You’re a butthead, you know that?” She turned her back on him with a huff and busied herself with restocking the tissue wrapping paper on the pull-out shelf behind the register.

Viking rounded the end of the counter, set his hand on her shoulder, and turned her to him.

“To answer your question, there is somethingoffwith her. I can’t put my finger on it, so I’m watching her.” His hand fell away. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m here to do a job, and that’s part of my job.”

He washere to do a job.It was important she remind herself of that and not put too much stock in whatever spark she imagined between them.

The small light outside Deborah’s dressing room lit up.

“Excuse me.” She squeezed by, careful not to touch him because, apparently, touching him made her brain misfire. “I need to help my customer.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

VikingfollowedMarigoldandresumed his position about fifteen feet across from the dressing rooms. He could see most of the retail area from there, including the front door. Most importantly, he had eyes on Marigold.

He watched closely as the two women interacted, during which time Deborah continually side-eyed him. Viking was used to people being uncomfortable under his scrutiny, but her uneasiness combined with the way she reacted when Marigold introduced herself had his instincts pinging. The mask made it difficult to read her facial expressions, but the way her brows furrowed as her eyes traveled over Marigold, combined with the inflection in her voice, had been enough to grab his attention.

He’d learned a few cool tricks about reading people from Andi O’Halleran. Before she joined OSI and married Jonathan O’Halleran, she was an interrogation tactics specialist with the NSA working on the front lines in Afghanistan. He’d never served with her over there, but her reputation for getting intel had been widely known by the warfighters on the ground. She was also a badass who could hold her own in a fight against most men.

A few more things were carried to Deborah’s dressing room, and about forty-five minutes and too many dresses to count later, the curtain slid open and Deborah was wearing her own clothes.

“What do you think?” Marigold asked.

“I absolutely love everything you picked out for me, but I think the royal blue ensemble is my favorite.” She looked at him, their eyes locked, and she quickly looked away. She lifted her arm, and her hand quivered the tiniest bit when she checked her fancy watch. “Let’s go ahead and ring it up.”

“Excellent choice.” Marigold gathered up the items. “If you’ll just follow me to the register.”

“I’ll take care of putting these things away.” Shayna rushed over and started grabbing the remaining items in the dressing room.

“Thanks, Shayna.”

“She’s a beautiful girl.” Deborah watched Shayna move around the racks. “And her style is so unique.”

“Yeah, she’s incredibly talented. She actually made the outfit she’s wearing.” Marigold swiped the tablet screen and tapped it a few times.

“I am so envious of that talent.” She looked back at Marigold and flinched when she noticed Viking had moved back to the end of the counter. She whispered, “He does move quietly, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah. He’s a regular Casper the Ghost,” she muttered and flashed him a dirty look. “Okay, so we’ve got the Vera Wang gown, the Jimmy Choo shoes, and a Swarovski-encrusted clutch. The total is one thousand thirty-seven dollars and thirty-two cents, which includes tax.”

“Seriously? That’s incredible.” She slipped her wallet from her tote. “Do you take cash?”

“Whatever you prefer.” Marigold tapped the screen again, and a cash drawer popped open.

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