“It was only for a split second, and it sounds stupid because there wasn’t even a single drop of blood, but—” His voice cracked. “For one terrifying second, I thought you’d been hit.”
“You didn’t lose me, Emmett.” Janie brought her free hand to one side of his face. “I’m right here, and I’m fine.”
“I’m supposed to protect you. It’s literally my job.”
“Okay, then.” She shrugged. “You’re fired.”
Wait, what?
“I’mfired?”
Another shrug. “If the job is the reason you don’t want to be around me anymore, then I’ll just hire a different bodyguard until we can find Amy’s killer.”
“The hell you will.” Emmett pulled her body flush with his.
Janie smiled, letting her palm fall away before bringing it to a rest against his chest. “There he is,” she whispered softly. “I’ve rather missed my stoic protector.”
A deep chuckle bubbled free before he could stop it, but then he shook his head with a sigh. “What are you doing to me?”
“Best guess? The same thing you’re doing to me.”
“You can fire me, but I won’t stop looking for the threat against you.”
“I know.”
“I’m going to kill them.” He needed to get that part out of the way now.
She didn’t so much as flinch. “I know that, too.”
Emmett wasn’t sure who moved first. It could’vebeen him, or it may have been her. One minute, he was laying it all out on the table for her to see, and in the next?—
His lips were on hers.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Janie slammed her mouth to Emmett’s as he held her in his warm embrace. She’d taken a big risk walking out in nothing but his dress shirt and her lacey white thong. Luckily the gamble had paid off in spades.
His breath was hot, his taste sweet. And he kissed like he couldn’t get enough. Janie gave as good as she received, the craving she’d felt before exploding into a voracious, animalistic need.
They barely knew one another, yet somehow, she felt more connected to this man than any others from her past. And while it seemed crazy, deep down, Janie knew what she felt for Emmett ran far deeper than physical attraction.
She didn’t just want him. Sheneededhim. And though she couldn’t be sure, the way he was kissing her now made her think he needed her, too.
“Emmett.” His name fell from her lips like a prayer.
Speaking of lips, his left hers to create a hot, wet, invisible trail over the delicate line of her jaw. Hecontinued lower, moving down the side of her neck, the tip of his tongue licking that shallow dip at the base of her throat.
Janie gasped as a shiver of goosebumps raced across her skin. And when his mouth returned to hers, it was with a maddening fervor, their tongues following a dance so magical and surreal, it could have only been choreographed by God.
“More.” Emmett lifted Janie into his arms.
On reflex, she wrapped her bare legs around his waist. Emmett’s impressive bulge pressed eagerly against her wanton sex. A flood of arousal rushed through her body as he carried her out of the kitchen with ease.
Per his earlier comments, Janie fully expected to be pressed up against the nearest wall. But the surprising man bypassed the wall and headed for the hallway.
Wall. Couch. Floor. It didn’t matter. All she cared about was him.
The man had starred in every one of her most recent fantasies. He’d risked his life for her. Had shot andkilleda man for her. And then, he’d avoided her like the plague.
