Page 19 of Hunted Hearts
He took a single step forward, towering over her, his bare toes almost touching her much smaller ones. “I can see that I get under your skin, and you want to argue about taking orders. But I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
She snapped her mouth shut and whirled in a swish of wavy hair and a peek of pale, flat stomach. She didn’t slam the door but stood in the opening, her gaze riveted on him.
He gave her a faint nod before grabbing his sidearm off the coffee table and striding to the door. A quick glance through the peephole revealed an empty corridor.
With the weapon concealed behind his back, he onehandedly twisted the locks open and cracked the door. A box sat on the floor in front of the door.
Since he’d given the front desk instructions to bring up the package, he didn’t waste time wondering who’d left it—just silently cursed that they hadn’t followed protocol and announced themselves. Still, the label matched the delivery he was expecting.
He stooped to retrieve it, scanned the hallway one more time, then shut the door with a solidclickand reengaged every lock. Satisfied the door was sealed tight, he crossed the room again, placed the box on the table and opened it with the same careful precision he used for field gear—measured, methodical, ready for anything.
When he spotted the contents, he let the cardboard flaps drop. “Juliette.”
She was braced in the doorway. “Yes?”
He carried the box over and held it out. “It’s for you.”
“I didn’t order anything.”
“I ordered it.”
She paused before reaching for the box. When she moved the flap to see what was inside, her lips formed a small, perfectOof surprise.
“It’s an automated pill dispenser and a few replacement supplements to get you through. I couldn’t source everything you need at once, but they’re on the way.”
She cradled the box in one arm and withdrew a bottle.
“I added a new one based off your former supplement stack. I thought you might like it.”
She shook her head. “These dispensers are really expensive. I researched them.”
“Don’t worry about the cost. I also plan to have a lab tech come here and you can get a blood draw to personalize your stack.”
She dragged her stare from the open box and fixed her focus on his face. Her eyes were a blue-green swirl, a mystery he couldn’t pick apart.
The depths softened as though he’d just handed her a puppy rather than a box of pills and a way to keep track of them. Her plump lips parted as a sweet sigh trickled past them.
The slow stirring sensation low in his gut was unmistakable—and totally unwanted.
The kind that came from being close to a woman he found attractive for too long, with zero distance. And the thin barrier of his sweatpants wasn’t going to do a damn thing to hide his arousal.
She was anop. His ward.
Nope. Not happening.
She was still staring up at him with those fairy lights dancing in her eyes and a trace of moisture on her enticing bottom lip.
He needed to kill the mood before it sparked, and nothing would do that better than reminding her why he’d ticked her off before.
“I already went through your bagandconfiscated your pills. I thought asking for blood would be a step too far.”
He felt her soft inhalation. She gave him a flat stare that lasted three heartbeats, then she turned and walked away without saying a word, shutting the door behind her.
Bingo.
Just the breathing room he needed to keep her from noticing how hard it was to keep his mind—and his body—in check.
Chapter Four
