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Bless you, Leah.
“I need to talk to Rose.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, I need to talk to all of you, and Rose.”
Huh. Still too chicken to see her alone.
She quickly squelched the thought. That man had the most incredible, powerful body she’d ever seen in her life. He was afraid of nothing.
Besides, refusing to see her alone was exactly what she needed him to do. Even if it wasn’t what she wanted him to do.
Tightening the sash on her robe, she reached for the doorknob and opened the door. Nick’s immediately looked over, stiffening when he saw her there.
He so didn’t want to be attracted to her, his expression said it all. Knowing he didn’t want anyone else made Izzie, the baker he’d made such incredible love to a few days ago, amazingly happy.
“I need to talk to you, and all the other girls, in the greenroom for a few minutes,” he said. Without waiting to see if she was coming, he spun around and walked toward it.
Shrugging, Leah followed. So did Izzie. Once they were inside, Izzie realized all the other dancers-nine or ten of them-were already present, including Delilah with her two-foot-tall pile of red hair on top of her head and three inches of makeup on her face.
In varying states of undress, all the other dancers practically licked their lips when Nick walked into the room. She couldn’t blame them. In his tough/bodyguard mode, he looked incredibly hot. Gone was any trace of the sweetheart who’d helped her deliver baked goods. Or the sensual lover who’d given her more orgasms in one lovemaking session than she’d had in entire previous relationships.
In their place was a frowning-scowling almost-man, dressed all in black, looking not only menacing but dangerous. And absolutely delicious.
“I asked you all in here to discuss your security.”
“Let’s discuss your ass,” one of the dancers cracked.
“I’d rather talk about his shoulders.”
“I vote for his co…”
“Ladies,” another voice said as Harry entered the room. Rolling his eyes, he gave Nick an apologetic look. “Please go ahead, Nick.”
Nick got right back on track, hitting them all over the head with the need for tighter security around the place. Though he was talking to everyone, he looked at Izzie so often, she knew she was the one on his mind.
There wasn’t any reason to single her out. Well, not much reason. Yes, she’d had a few persistent customers. One guy had lunged at her on the stage a few weeks back. Another had burst into her dressing room. And there’d been a few parking-lot lurkers who’d been chased away by one of the bouncers, Bernie, who’d been watching out for her since her first night. Long before Nick had come on the scene.
In this job, she’d expect nothing else. But Nick was relentless in his lecturing. He kept on about how they all needed to look out for one another, report anything suspicious. Yadda yadda. Izzie zoned out somewhere between “drive a different route home from work every night” and “have a buddy when you go to the restroom.”
That one did spark an “I’ll be your bathroom buddy, Nick,” from one of the girls, a glare from Delilah and another long-suffering sigh from Harry.
Finally, though, the meeting broke up and the other dancers raced to finish getting ready. Izzie quickly ducked out of the room, hoping Nick wouldn’t see her. She’d gotten about ten steps from her dressing room when she realized he’d followed.
“Rose, wait a minute.”
She froze, but didn’t turn around.
“I’m particularly concerned about you. The ‘who’s behind the mask’ element puts you at higher risk. Some whackjob might decide to try to find out for himself.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Thanks for the warning.” Now go away.
Before she could look away again, she saw a dark frown pull at Nick’s handsome face. “What in the hell?” he muttered, staring at her face.
Fearing he’d recognized her, she quickly lifted her hands to ensure her mask was still in place. It felt okay-but Nick was still staring at her, blinking in confusion.
“What?” she snapped. Remembering at the last minute that she needed to lower her voice to the sultry whisper he’d grown familiar with, she rephrased. “Is something wrong?”
He reached for her. Izzie immediately lurched back, almost tripping over her own feet. If she hadn’t backed herself up against the wall, she would have.
“Careful,” he muttered, still frowning. “It wouldn’t look good on my résumé if somebody I’m supposed to be guarding trips and breaks her neck.”
Right. He needed to guard her.
