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“I think we need to consider it.”
Her smile faded instantly. “So what? You follow me everywhere, go with me to the bathroom, escort me to the post office?”
“You get to use the bathroom by yourself, but for a while, until this guy is caught,” Luke paused, trying to decide if a straightforward approach was best right now. Was she prepared for what he had to suggest? He could only hope so. “I think it would be wise to let me move in with you.”
11
Women are not sexual receptacles that exist solely for your pleasure, and if you can’t figure that out, you should probably be looking for your dates in a barnyard.
—Jane Langston, in the August issue of Excess magazine
TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR bodyguard duty.
Jane flung a pair of red bikini underwear into the laundry basket and scanned the bedroom for other carelessly discarded garments on the floor. How on earth could she survive one night alone with Luke, without sleeping with him—let alone an indefinite number of nights? The whole idea was preposterous, and yet, what other choice did she have? The other option was to live in constant fear, afraid even to go grocery shopping or to the gym, her writing ability crippled by the worry that outside her house lurked a lunatic.
And then there was the Luke-in-her-house option. Living here with her, sleeping on her fold-out couch, sitting at her breakfast table in the morning, lurking about when she needed to work. At least she might be able to work, with some sense of protection.
At least she could feel safe.
She hadn’t given him an answer immediately. In the end, she’d fallen asleep on his couch the night before, and he’d driven her back home this morning. He’d told her he would be back by noon, and he’d expect a decision.
Jane carried a basket load of laundry to the washer and dumped it in, then started the machine before she realized she hadn’t added soap. Her annoyance grew as she dug all the wet clothes back out and added the powder soap, then flung everything back in.
Her choices were to live in constant fear, or to live with the greatest sexual temptation of her life, right here inside her house, twenty-four hours a day. She’d been so tough for the past week, so doggedly resistant to Luke’s charms, she had actually been gaining her professional confidence back. But she knew that most of her resistance was aided by her avoidance of him whenever possible, and if he lived here, even for a short while, there would be no avoiding Luke.
She’d be stuck with him, stuck with her overwhelming sexual feelings—and if she slept with him again, stuck with the proof that she was a fraud as a relationship expert.
When Jane heard the doorbell ring, the sound sent a jolt of fear through her. She remembered the disgusting box of magazines from the week before, the feeling of utter violation she’d been overcome with upon seeing the contents of the box. Then her thoughts turned to last night, getting run off the road by someone who clearly meant it as a warning, and she knew. She had to let Luke move in.
She peered through the living-room window and saw him standing on her doorstep, so she opened the door and let him in.
“You look a little frazzled,” he said as a greeting.
“I’ve been cleaning.”
He grinned, glancing around. “I can tell. Something you don’t do often, huh?”
“I tried to talk the lawn guy into coming in and cleaning naked, but he said he doesn’t do windows, so I was planning to ask you next.”
Luke let his gaze travel the length of her and back up. “I’ve got no problem with getting naked for you, but I’m not going to clean your windows, either. Not unless you ask me real nicely.”
“How about twenty-four-hour bodyguard duty. Will you do that naked?”
He laughed. “Does that mean you’re willing to let me move in?”
“I’m willing to try it. Temporarily. For a few days.”
“I want you to commit to this until your stalker is caught.”
Jane sighed. “And what if he isn’t?”
“He will be. Soon.”
“I say we reevaluate the situation on at least a week-by-week basis. Maybe he’ll find some other hobby besides harassing me, and you won’t need to be around me all the time.”
Luke took a step toward her and reached out, slipping his hands around her waist. He tugged her against him, and Jane couldn’t muster the will to resist. Her body melted into his.
“Maybe I want to be around you all the time,” he said.
Jane got a queasy feeling in her stomach. Her heart felt divided in two—one part of it hanging on to the security blanket of all her hopes about the possibilities with Bradley, the other part wondering what could become of her and Luke, if she gave them a chance. But she was so close to asking Bradley out, after all these years, and she couldn’t possibly ignore the opportunity to finally date her dream guy.
