Page 24 of Tempt Me-

“No wonder you’re upset.There has to be something you can do.”Mia looks at me with all the faith in the world.

Faith I desperately need to believe in.“I hired a private investigator to look into her life.Top to bottom, from her finances to her personal life, her contacts, friends, men she hangs around with.You name it.I don’t care how intrusive, I want everything he can dig up.”

Mia nods her approval.“Good.I’m sure if she’s willing to play dirty with you, she’s not squeaky-clean in her personal life.”

“That’s my hope.But all this just sucks.Because it comes back to what Bailey remembers.If she does recall what her mom did to her, my custody situation would be that much stronger… assuming a court would rely on the memory of a small child.”I pinch the bridge of my nose, a headache forming at my next thought.“But what kind of shitty father… am I to even want her to recall that just because it’ll help me to keep her?”

Mia leans onto her knees and scoots closer to me, the warmth of her body a much-needed balm to my senses.“You’re the best father I know.Seriously.Bailey is the luckiest little girl in the world.Don’t ever doubt it,” she says, reassuring me.

“You have no idea what it means to hear that.”I pause, thinking about what possible plans my ex could have in the future.I don’t put it past her to act underhandedly.“I want you to be careful when you’re out, especially with Bailey, and if you see Kayla or she tries to approach Bailey, I need to know about it immediately.”

A flicker of uncertainty crosses Mia’s face.“Umm…” Her voice trails off, her tone concerned.

“Mia?What’s wrong?”

She swipes her tongue over lips in a definite nervous gesture.“This afternoon, I was grocery shopping and a stranger approached me.He said something really odd and I couldn’t figure out what he meant, but now that you said Bailey’s mother is playing dirty, I can’t help but wonder if she had anything to do with it.”

I stiffen.“What happened?And don’t leave anything out.”

“Okay.”She raises her gaze to meet mine.“So I was putting the bags into the car and someone slammed their cart against mine.I looked up and there was a man standing there.”

“You’ve never seen him before?”

She shakes her head.“He walked around the cart and got really close to me.He said…” She closes her eyes, as if trying to remember the words exactly.

She opens them again.“He said, ‘Mind your own damned business and you’ll be fine.Stick your nose where it doesn’t belong and you’ll have problems.’Then he shoved me.I asked what he was talking about.And he just said I looked like a smart girl and to figure it out.And then he walked away.”

My hands curl into fists at the thought of anyone laying a hand on Mia, threatening her, scaring her in any way.I think back to this afternoon.She came home from the store and I heard a crash, ran downstairs, and found her on the floor surrounded by broken glass.

I shake my head, understanding now.“You were shaken up and you dropped the glass.That son of a bitch really frightened you.”

She glances up at me with wide eyes and nods.“It reminded me of when I had to testify against my old employer.He tried to threaten and bully me into keeping quiet.”

“But you didn’t,” I say, proud of her for standing her ground.

That is one of the reasons I hired her.Instead of her past scaring me off, I feel the opposite way.In my job as a bodyguard, I know how hard it is for a person to show up in court and send someone else to jail.I’ve seen people run instead of standing their ground.I feel that if Mia was strong enough to testify against her wealthy former employer, she has good moral character and she is someone I want around my daughter.

“Do you think your ex-wife hired someone to scare me away?”Mia asks.

I doubt she realizes it, but her hand is still on my shoulder, stroking me through my shirt.And though I want to answer her, her caress feels too good, making it difficult to concentrate.My body is beginning to respond to her nearness and her fruity, sweet scent.My cock is hard and it is all I can do not to draw her into my arms, devour her mouth, and work my way down her body, tasting every luscious inch of her.

“Come here,” I say instead of replying.Unable to help myself, I open my arms.I tell myself I am offering comfort from her earlier fright, that I need the same consolation from her.

I am lying.I just plain want her.But the choice whether to come to me is hers.It always will be.

***

Mia

I look atthe handsome, sexy man beckoning me to him with open arms.I walked away once before, and I’m not sure I have the strength to do it again.I glance down at his hand before placing my smaller, uninjured palm against his.

Skin brushes skin.An electric pulse dances up my arm, travels through my body to my breasts, hardening my nipples and thudding through my swollen sex.

“Is this wrong?”I asked him, meeting his heavy-lidded gaze.

“Only if we think it is.”He reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers gentle as they slide over my cheek, the featherlight touch arousing me even more.

I lean into him, his masculine scent going to my head.“It feels like a cliché to say this but how can it be wrong if it feels so good?”And it does.My entire body is buzzing with need.