him to ram the Escalade back into gear. With one eye on the traffic and another on where she was headed, he cut across a lane and swung around the corner. It might have taken five minutes of screeching tyres to get there but by the time she exited the rear of the store he was casually leaning against the side of the vehicle with his arms crossed.
The victorious smile on her face faded the instant she saw him. ‘How did you—?’
‘Clue’s in the word detective.’ He pushed upright and opened the rear door. As she reached him he swung it shut in her face. ‘Which part of our talk this morning wasn’t clear to you?’
She angled her chin and looked him straight in the eye. ‘Which part of your job description suggested you were the boss in this relationship?’
‘Who exactly is it you think I work for?’
‘You’re my bodyguard.’
‘The city pays my wage.’
‘Is there a bonus for being a pain in the ass?’ She smiled sweetly.
‘Where were you going?’
‘That’s none of your business.’
‘Yeah, it is.’ He reached into his pocket for a folded piece of paper and held it up in front of her face. ’Cos if it’s not on here, you don’t get to go there....’
‘It’s a free country. I can go where I want.’
Tyler wondered how much effort it had taken not to stamp her foot. ‘Let’s check the schedule, shall we?’
She crossed her arms as he shrugged back the sleeve of his jacket to consult his watch. ‘Eleven fifty-seven.’ He glanced over the sheet of paper and shook his head. ‘Nope, can’t see anything on here about playing hide-and-seek. Maybe yours is different from mine.’ His gaze locked with hers again. ‘Since we’ve established other people do the reading for you, maybe I should check that one, too.’
‘You carry a gun, right?’ she asked with a completely deadpan expression.
Two as it happened but she didn’t need to know that. ‘You gonna make me use it?’
‘I was going to ask if I can borrow it.’
Drawing in a long breath, Tyler refolded the paper and put it back in his pocket. ‘If I were you I wouldn’t waste time thinking up ways to cut me loose. This is strike one. Three strikes and you won’t get to visit a restroom alone.’
‘Your last assignment was at Guantanamo, wasn’t it?’
The old Tyler might have laughed at the comment. The one standing in front of her simply leaned closer and informed her, ‘I’m in your life now. Get used to it.’
The flecks of gold that flared in her eyes hinted at a temper to match her hair. For a split second he wanted her to get mad enough to swing for him—to spit fire and passion and remind him of the woman he’d kissed.
As if sensing a weakness ripe for exploitation she switched tactics. The curve of her full lips became sinful, drawing his gaze to her mouth and calling him to taste her again. She slowly ran the tip of her tongue over the surface, leaving a hypnotically glossy sheen in its wake.
In an instant he remembered how she’d felt when her body was melded to his, how soft her skin had been beneath his fingertips and how badly he’d burned for her. Just as suddenly he was aware of how close they were standing. One more step and their bodies would be touching again.
It took almost as much effort not to frown at his reaction as it did to snap his gaze back up to her eyes. ‘That won’t work either, so you can forget it.’
‘I have no idea what you mean.’
Sure she didn’t. He reached for the door handle and jerked his chin. ‘Back up a step.’
The order was met with a defiant lack of movement, her luminous eyes narrowed in thought. ‘Is my father aware of how you got me out of the nightclub?’
Tyler’s arm dropped. He’d wondered how long it would take for her to go there but if she thought she could use it against him, she was wrong. ‘You want to tell him where you were?’
‘He doesn’t know?’
‘I thought the mayor was supposed to know everything that goes on in his city.’
‘You didn’t answer the question.’
‘Didn’t I?’
The battle of wills made the air between them crackle and when her gaze briefly flickered to his mouth Tyler knew that kiss was as much on her mind as it had been on his. Her awareness of him was in the darkening of her eyes, in the