“No, and neither are you.” He released my hands and balanced himself on his elbows.
I forced my eyelids open. “Yes, I am. I always go to my folks for the barbecue.”
“I know.” His voice gentled and softened me. “But not this time. This time, you’re going to stay home and safe. No driving over the pass and no making your bodyguard track too many people at once. Got it?”
He was cute when trying to be charming.
“No. I’m going.”
“You’re not.” He bit my bottom lip with just enough snap to catch my attention. “You’re in my world right now, Anna, and that means I call the shots. Until I find out who left a dead woman on your porch, we’re assuming you’re in danger. So you remain in lockdown and safe locations for now. It’s here, work, here, work…”
He was getting less cute but no less sexy.
“You’re not my boss, and my parent’s house is as safe as it gets. Family all around.” I brushed his hair back from his forehead.
“Ha. Your family invites half the entire town sometimes, especially in the summer when everyone can stay outside. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but you are staying home today.” He rolled his hips, still inside me. “I’m trying really hard to be reasonable here, but you don’t seem to be getting it.”
It was difficult to concentrate at the moment. “Stop trying to distract me.”
“You’re in danger and that’s that.” He started to move again. What was he, a robot? How? It didn’t matter. Instead, I held on to his arms. The veneer of civility he often wore began to strip away, leaving pure Aiden in its place. He wasn’t going to argue about it anymore. “Tell you what. Last one to the finish line wins,” he said.
“You’ve got it,” I grit out, trying to think about anything but his hard body.
He chuckled, and even that was sexy. Then he powered harder and changed his angle, hitting a spot inside me I hadn’t realized existed until I’d met him.
Yeah, I got there first. Twice.
It was a good thing I had plenty to do at home that day with Zena.
Chapter 22
Ifelt more like myself when I walked into work on Monday morning, even though Kurt and Zena were both on my heels. I introduced Kurt to Oliver as a private detective we’d just contracted with, which might’ve been a mistake because Oliver instantly found a new hero.
“I’ve always wanted to be a private detective,” Oliver gushed.
I gestured toward the two boxes on his desk. “What are those?”
Oliver grinned widely. “Our business cards. They just arrived, and I was waiting for Pauley before opening them.”
The door to the interior office hallway opened and Pauley walked through. Today he wore tan pants and a red and white striped shirt.
“Hi, Pauley,” I said. “This is Kurt. He’s our new private detective.”
“Hi,” Kurt said.
“Hello, Kurt,” Pauley said, holding a hand out for Zena. The dog approached and sat, and then Pauley patted her head. “Oliver called me to come to reception. To reception. I’m here in reception.” He kept his gaze on the dog.
Oliver pulled a card out of each carton. “We have our cards, dude.” He handed a carton to Pauley and then both cards to me. “Thanks for letting us order them. This is my first business card ever.”
“Me too,” Pauley said.
I smiled. At least something was going right. I looked at the cards with the emblem and office logo I’d created. “Pauley O’Shea, File King?” I read.
“Yes. Like Fisher King, except I am not injured in the leg. I am, however, King of Files and all-knowing.” On that zinger, Pauley turned and disappeared back into the office.
Oh, I didn’t want to look, but I did it anyway to read out loud. “Oliver Duck, Czar.” I frowned and looked up at Oliver.
He smiled. “You said we could choose any titles we wanted.”
