"By hiring a stranger to seduce her fiancé."
"It's not seduction if I'm just—" She stops. Swallows. "I'm not actually going to sleep with him."
Something in the way she says it makes me look closer.
The defensive posture. The tight voice. The way she won't meet my eyes.
"You've never done this before," I say slowly. "This kind of job."
"I've done undercover work—"
"That's not what I mean." I move closer, watching her reaction. "You've never seduced anyone before."
Her silence is answer enough.
"Good gracious," I breathe. "Are you a virgin?"
"That's not—that's irrelevant."
"It's extremely relevant if you're trying to honey-trap a serial predator."
Her face flushes. "I can handle it."
"Can you?" I gesture toward the window. "Because from where I'm standing, you can barely handle walking without tripping over your own feet. You think Blake won't notice? You think he won't push further than you want to go?"
"I'll stop it before—"
I stare at this woman willing to dive into a shark tank forfamily and feel the last of my resistance crumble. "You'll get hurt."
"I can handle Blake."
"You can't even handle patio tiles." The retort slips out before I can stop it.
She glares. "I tripped once."
"And I intercepted you three times today." I run a hand through my hair. "You're a virgin playing honey trap with a predator. That's not bravery; it's suicide."
Her eyes spit fire at me. "I didn’t confirm that. Don’t jump to—"
"Because you blush like someone who hasn't been touched." The words hang between us, charged and dangerous. "Blake will know. He'll exploit it."
“I can take care of myself before—"
"Before what? Before he gets you alone on that 'private beach' he invited you to? Before he realizes you're playing him and decides to play back harder?"
I'm angrier than I should be. Angrier than makes sense.
Because Jane Cooper isn't my responsibility. She's a stranger making bad choices for good reasons, and I should walk away.
But I can't.
Because I saw Blake's hand on her knee. I saw the way he looked at her like she was prey.
And I know exactly what Blake does to women who interest him.
"Get out," I say.
She blinks. "What?"
