His slow breath was unsteady. “You headbutted him.”
“I wanted to Mace him with his own spray, but I’m bound by minimal damage.”
“How’d you know he was there?”
“I’d been watching the room.” She flicked off a bug as it landed on her thigh. “You know, doing my job. He’d walked past too many times, looking at the back of your head, and eyeing me off when he thought I wasn’t watching. His stance was different that last time. He was moving with intent.”
Adrenaline had barreled through her blood. She’d had to trust that Hanna and Peter would keep Kris safe, that the guy was working alone, because she’d moved with tunnel vision—the clamor of the room reduced to a dull murmur in her ears, victim to her body’s chemistry in the frontline of a fight. Her breathing was still too fast; her skin buzzed.
Kris shifted, leaning forward, stiff with tension. “I was scared for you.”
“I know.” She’d seen how fiercely he’d beaten the floor, trapped beneath his guards, prisoner to his own status. “You’ll probably bruise.”
“Wish it was caused by messing up his face.”
“You’re not a violent guy.” She bumped him with her shoulder. “Let’s keep it that way.”
The contact drew his attention and he swiveled inward to face her. Frowning, he asked, “You okay?”
“Adrenaline,” she said, running her hands up and down her thighs. There was nothing she could do to stop the shaking, the mild nausea, not until her body had leveled out. “It’ll pass.”
“Question,” he said, still twisted to face her. “Is my code name really baby?”
She snickered and made the mistake of glancing at him. The desire in his eyes reverberated through her. “Yes.”
“Because I’m yours?” he asked, the false innocence of the question drowned out by the dangerous undertone. A swollen heat inside her shuddered at the thought of him using the pet name on her. C’mere, baby, he’d growl in her ear, his hands on her skin, I need you to do that again.
“Because you’re the youngest,” she said firmly.
“Sure,” he said. “What’s Tommy’s?”
“Chip.” For the chip in his front tooth. “Mark is Jack and Ava is Pixie.”
Kris opened his mouth, but it was several seconds before he said in bafflement, “Jack?”
“Mark’s totally a Jack,” she said. “You know, the trustworthy hero in every action movie ever.”
“That is very weird,” he said. “I like mine the best.”
Of course he did. With his panic easing, Frankie sensed the prickle of his earlier restlessness settling back into place. He stretched, returning his palms to the cobblestones behind him. But this time, one hand crossed over into her space and he leaned into it, bringing his shoulder so close her whole arm seemed to blush. His attention, when she darted a look at his face, was roaming over her bare legs.
Ignoring the arousal that feathered low in her abdomen, she said, “You’re in a mood tonight.”
He hummed, a deep resonant sound that vibrated down her spine. “Can’t shake it.”
She bit the inside of her mouth, praying for strength, until something he’d said a few nights ago finally registered in a gut-drop of realization.
He hadn’t been with a woman since arriving in Kiraly.
This sex-fueled cowboy was brimming with lust, an overfilled bucket left under a waterfall with no one to empty it, and the last thing anyone needed was his sexual frustration gushing over into his daily life. It would distract him from his training, his duty. Make him brash and careless. Horse riding and intense gym workouts weren’t enough to free this man from his primal urges.
Philip had given her this job because she alone knew these untrained princes. She knew the security they needed. How to prevent trouble, he’d added, and maybe that was true after all, because she knew the man beside her wasn’t built for abstinence.
Well, this was going to be as fun as a bludgeon to the heart.
“I think we both know what might take the edge off,” she said very quietly.
His look was flat-out incredulous.
“I can line up an NDA,” she said, aiming for matter-of-fact. “We can head back to the bar. You won’t be short of willing—”
“Stop talking.” He swooped in, twisting his body around to crouch in front of her, planting his hands on either side of her hips, bringing his face inches from hers. His eyes were bright, burning in the soft garden lights, and his voice was rough as gravel as he said, “Never suggest I have sex with someone who isn’t you.”