Page 12 of Deadly Peril

Thaddeus watched her, as if trying to read her mind. But she wasn’t about to reveal her thoughts. Having him in the same room wasn’t going to work. He had an effect on her that she wasn’t comfortable with. It was more irksome than taking him on as her bodyguard.

Jana was frustrated. How dare the man announce that he was staying? He’d stay if she said so, and not otherwise. “First of all, I didn’t hire you.” She crossed her arms. “And I wasn’t consulted about this.”

Thaddeus didn’t say a word, which annoyed her more. He wasn’t going to get away with this by maintaining silence. “What do you have to say?”

“I’ll give you time to get adjusted to my presence. For many clients, it’s uncomfortable to have a bodyguard with them at first.”

“You aren’t going to be with me,” Jana said. “You don’t get it. I don’t want you here.” Even as she spat the words, her gut said otherwise. A tiny voice spoke, assured her of safety with him around, and she made the mistake of listening.

Jana looked at her bodyguard. She wanted him around, all right, just not for protection. She was about as vulnerable as could be. Her eyes moved of their own accord, scanning his magnificent form. And she thought she saw his eyes gleam with a hidden smile.

“We’ll discuss this,” Jana said. “I need to have a conversation with my grandmother. You’ve come all this way, so you can stay in the guest suite for now. This house is big enough that we won’t run into each other.”

Thaddeus nodded.

What was with the guy? Did he have a limit of the number of words spoken daily? Jana wasn’t used to that. It threw her off. Yet she found it uniquely attractive. She hadn’t known she went for the strong, silent type.

Which she definitely did not. It had been a rough few days, that was all. She was disturbed and furious with her grandmother. She wasn’t thinking straight. If she was, she wouldn’t be drooling over a guy who looked like he’d stepped out of the pages of history.

The guest suite would be more than adequate for him to get lost in, so Jana wouldn’t have to encounter him again. She showed him into the rambling quarters, unnecessarily pointing out the bathroom, closet, and bed. What had gotten into her?

She was nervous around this prospective bodyguard. How utterly ridiculous. “Make yourself comfortable,” she said. “I’ll go have a word with my grandmother and get this whole thing straightened out.”

Jana stared up at those blue eyes, then spun and walked toward the door. She needed to have a heart-to-heart with her grandmother, and right away. Then Thaddeus would receive a polite escort to the door, and that would be that.

There was no reply from Thaddeus. But Jana sensed his eyes on her as she stepped into the hallway, making her feel undressed. The day had started out poorly then had only gotten worse. Eva was going to get an earful.

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