when I was growing up, and I’m pretty confident in the saddle.”
Again, he tried to picture her seated atop a horse, her thighs wrapped around it and her body rolling with its every step.
He blocked the thought from forming in his mind.
“My turn. Tell me a time when you were scared.”
Her question caught him off guard. “Why would you want to know that?”
“Husbands and wives share that sort of thing…at least I think they should.” She slipped her fingers through her hair, and he tracked the movement.
“Okay. Once my brothers and I were hunting and came across a grizzly on an elk carcass.”
“Oh God.”
“It swung its head and looked at us. Ross told us to quietly back away, but I still felt my”—he broke off before saying “my balls shrink” and instead went with—“hair stand on end.”
“How old were you?”
“Fifteen or so. We backed away, and the grizzly went back to eating the elk.”
She studied him silently. “My scariest moment seems tame in comparison.”
“Tell me.”
“Well, I was in college. I didn’t party often, but this time I got dragged to one by a friend of a friend who needed a buddy. But when we got there, things got weird.”
He tossed her a look. “Like binge-drinking weird?”
She shook her head. “Like orgy weird.”
He damn near swerved off the road. “You went to an orgy in college?”
“Not knowingly! As soon as we stepped in the door, we both wanted to leave, but…” She shrugged as if wanting to strip off the memory. “It was a little bit like coming upon a wreck and knowing you don’t want to look but looking anyway.”
Christ, why was he getting hard at the thought of his coworker being a voyeur on a group sex scene?
“What made you frightened?” His voice had grit to it.
“I was afraid of being dragged into a situation I couldn’t handle. I hate being in over my head.”
“That I understand perfectly.”
“Okay, total topic change. What’s your favorite trait about me?”
Since he didn’t know her well, only that she was dedicated to her job and extremely thorough, he tried to pick out something else. “Your freckles.”
Her lips parted. “I thought you said we should stick close to the truth.”
He arched a brow. “Maybe I am.”
She gulped. “Well…thanks, I guess. But I’ve always hated them. I guess it’s my turn.”
He waited.
“I like your…” Her stare dipped to his chest and back up. “Commitment.”
Slicing a glance at her, he said, “My commitment.”
“Yes. To your work. To WEST Protection. To the ranch and your family.”
He could think of worse things for someone to choose about him to admire, but he also wished she’d mentioned something about his appearance. Boone wasn’t an ego-maniac, but he was used to women paying attention to his appearance.
“Where did we meet?” she asked.
“Strip club?”
She balled her fist and punched his arm.
“That’s all you got?” He laughed.
She set her lips into a line of determination, but instead of punching him a second time, she pinched him on the hand, between the base of his thumb and index finger.
“Ow! What the hell is that?” He shook out his hand.
“It’s Hegu—a pressure point used to alleviate headaches. But it’s a painful area too.”
He still felt the sharp stab that seemed to echo through his whole hand. Lauralee settled back in her seat in that self-satisfied way he saw her do in the office. He flexed his hand and stretched his spine. It gave a pop that relieved some of the tension he’d been feeling since Ross handed him this mission.
“On a serious note, Boone… How much danger is Black’s wife really in?”
He compressed his lips. He didn’t want her to be scared, but she deserved to know everything he did before they went in, seeing how she was his partner on the case.
“Is she battered?”
“My guess is yes. I don’t know what we’ll find when we get in there, but we’ve got to get close to her.”
“And you have ideas on how to do that?”
“A few, but I can’t be certain they’ll work until I get in there.”
“So you walk in for the interview with Black and tell him you dragged your wife with you, and he needs to provide housing for us both?”
“He’ll like that we’re a package deal. It means I’m no threat to his wife, because I’ve got my own to keep me satisfied.”
Silence fluttered in the air, so loud he swore he heard the beat of bird wings a mile away. Seconds passed before Lauralee whispered, “Oh.”
“Look, all you need