“Mysafety?” Suspicion floods her face now. “Alexei, you don’t just randomly start assignin’ giant Russian men to protect me.”
I almost smile.
“What happened?” she demands.
“Nothing happened.”
“That ain’t a real answer.”
Her eyes stay locked on mine, stubborn and searching, and for a moment I almost tell her more than I should. I almost tell her about the photographs sitting on my desk and the men watching the shelter.
Instead, I say, “I prefer caution.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
Silence stretches between us before she studies my face more carefully, and her voice eases just enough to pull at something inside me.
“What aren’t you tellin’ me?” she asks.
Too much.
“Nothing that needs to ruin your evening.”
“That still sounds suspicious.”
“It probably is.”
That earns the smallest breath of a laugh from her, but the concern never fully leaves her eyes. Before I can think better of it, I reach for her hand, and the moment she lets me take it, her fingers slide into mine with an ease that irritates me almost as much as wanting it.
“I’ll have Viktor take you home,” I say quietly.
Her attention drops briefly to our joined hands before focusing back on my face. “Are you askin’ me to leave?”
“No.” I step closer until the space between us disappears. “I’m making sure you get home safely.”
“And after that?”
My thumb moves once over the inside of her wrist, feeling her pulse jump beneath my touch.
“After that,” I say, “you answer when I call.”
I lift her hand to my mouth and press my lips against her knuckles. She sucks in a small breath, and the sound slices through every disciplined thought in my head.
I lose the remaining distance between us. My hand slides to the back of her neck as I pull her against me and kiss her deeply, the taste of wine and warmth and Maggie hitting me hard enough to make my pulse race. She makes a small, startled sound before melting into, her fingers tightening against my shirt while mine spread along her waist.
It’s too easy. Too reckless. I deepen the kiss anyway.
Her body presses closer, and the quiet sound she makes against my mouth nearly snaps the last thread of restraint holding me together. For one reckless second, I think about walking her upstairs and locking the rest of the world outside the bedroom door.
Then the photographs flash through my head again. I force myself to pull back before I do something stupid.
Maggie’s breathing comes faster now, her lips pink and swollen from the kiss, while her eyes search mine like she’s trying to understand what just happened.
Viktor waits beside the car, his posture straight and his gaze constantly moving across the driveway and the surrounding trees.
Maggie pauses near the open door and looks back at me. She stands there, lips parted slightly like she has a hundred things she wants to say and no idea where to begin. In the end, she only smiles.
