Page 20 of Exposed

Yeah, he’d already arrived at that conclusion. He hadn’t forgotten the intentional damage to her climbing equipment, either. That had been in the back of his mind all along.

“You’ve been attacked twice now, Beth. I understand you want your story, but do you have to kill yourself to get it?” His words had come out harsher than he’d intended, but dammit. This was life-threatening. The image of Beth hurt or dead somewhere had his chest aching with emotions he didn’t want to think about too much right now. “No. We need to go back to the bungalow and think logically about our next steps.”

Anger flashed in her eyes and color flushed her cheeks. “I’m not under your command—you don’t get to give me orders and just expect me to fall in line.”

“I’m not trying to be your CO, sweetheart.” He raked a hand through his hair, feeling more frustrated by the second. “I care about you, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt. And it’s my job here to protect you. That’s part of the reason you brought me along—to watch your back. Listen to me. Whoever that was obviously won’t hesitate to resort to violence if necessary. I just don’t want you out in the night alone facing that again. If that makes me sound bossy then, so be it. Hell, maybe we should just chuck this whole idea altogether and head back to San Francisco.”

“No, I’ve come this far, and I’m not backing down now.” She scowled at him, her lips compressing into a tight line. “Is this because we’re sleeping together? Is that why you’ve turned into Mr. Overprotective? God, I get enough of that with my brother. I don’t need it from you. Let me be clear. I’m staying. If you want to leave, you can. I have no hold on you. You don’t do commitments, right? And I don’t expect one from you—not as my lover or my bodyguard or whatever other role you think you have in my life.” She turned on her high heel and headed back toward the smashed open door, ignoring the gawkers outside, peering in at them.

Swearing under his breath, Eric took off after her. No way was he leaving without her. He might not be able to get her off the island, but he sure as hell could protect her while she was here, whether she wanted him to or not.

He owed that much to Heath. He owed that much to himself because he’d never forgive himself if harm came to her.

Beth woke up early the next morning after a lousy night’s sleep. The previous evening, Eric had followed her back to the bungalow where they’d spoken no words to each other. She’d gone into the bedroom and closed the door, making it clear he wasn’t sharing her bed.

But after a night of tossing and turning, some of her fury from the night before had softened. She’d lashed out at Eric—partly to cover her own fear—and when she looked back on what she’d said, she realized she’d gone too far. Accusing him of wanting to control what she did because they had slept together had been unkind and untrue. He naturally protected those aroundhim, probably made him a great SEAL. Unfortunately, it got in between her and her goal for this trip.

Despite that, though, that she cared for him, too. More than she should, since this relationship could only be a fling. It felt real, but it couldn’t be. She needed to remember this and put aside her emotions to focus on why she was here at all. She needed someone to help her get her head screwed on straight because it was all over the place thanks to the handsome guy on the couch in the living room.

All right. It was phone a friend time. Before she knew it, she was dialing Leila.

“Hello,” her friend answered, sounding sleepy.

“Oh, shit, sorry. It’s super early in Vegas, isn’t it? Ignore me. Go back to sleep.” Beth was about to hang up when Leila stopped her.

“What’s the matter, sweetie?” Leila’s tone was sympathetic, but firm. “Your investigation not going well?”

“Progress is slow, but that’s not…”

“So the issue is with your SEAL,” Leila guessed when Beth didn’t finish her sentence. “Did you sleep with him?”

“Yes, and it was kind of spectacular, but now?—”

“Let me guess. He’s become overly protective and wants to prevent you from doing what you need to.”

“How’d you know?”

“I’ve got some personal experience with that. Let me tell you, you can’t change the way these guys are wired. If he thinks you’rein danger, he’ll do whatever he thinks he has to in order to keep you safe,” Leila said.

“What do I do?” Beth asked. If anyone could come up with an answer for her, it would be Leila. Her friend’s fiancé was a former SEAL. Clint was reserved, but so in love with Leila and her little boy.

“You can’t stop Eric from protecting you. So the two of you are either going to fight the rest of the trip or find a way to live with it.”

Beth sighed. “I don’t know if I can make peace with him since he’s stepping all over my independence, but I guess I should appreciate what he’s offering.”

“That’s the spirit.” In the background, a child cried. “I gotta go. Sounds like my little man’s up. Take care, Beth.”

“I will. Thanks for talking.” Beth hung up, feeling marginally better. Leila was right. Nothing was going to change Eric. She was going to have to accept that and try not to bristle against his protectiveness too much.

After she showered and got dressed, she went into the living room and found the couch empty. A note was on the counter. “Gone for a run. I’ve got my cell if you need me.”

She grabbed the pen and scribbled a message of her own. “Meet me at the group therapy session at nine.”

After grabbing her bag and making sure she had her phone handy in her pocket, she left the bungalow to explore some. Maybe she’d get lucky.

An hour later, she wasn’t feeling lucky. She’d tried to talk to various members of the staff, but they all clammed up whenshe asked questions about the resort and its owner. Everyone seemed to follow the party line from the guys doing the gardening to the concierge. She had to do something to break this wide open.

She got to the open rec room for the session just before it was scheduled to start. Eric was waiting for her outside. She turned and looked at the other participants already seated in a circle.

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