body hummed, a low throb reminding her that impending danger was only a couple of feet away.
She sat back in the luxurious leather, trying to put her thoughts in order. Yet she kept returning to the same conclusion. She might not like his methods. His mere presence may set her pulse racing and her internal alarms on high. But short of a miracle, she needed help finding Ben and sorting out her bank mix-up.
Plus, his staying with her was a perfect chance to convince him to sell.
Her mouth tightened as she turned back to him. “We need to set some ground rules.”
One eyebrow rose. “Okay …?”
“One. We share whatever information we find.”
Luke nodded.
“Two. No physical stuff. I mean it, Luke,” she warned as his eyes crinkled. “No touching. No smiling. Definitely nothing else.”
“So I can’t smile at you now?”
“You know what I mean. No Mr. Charming. Stop it!”
Luke, to his credit, tried to swallow the offending grin. “I can’t promise that, cara. But I will keep my distance if that’s what you want. However,” he added, his mouth kinking up, “if you should change your mind …” Her heart beat a little faster.
“I won’t be asking.”
“Really.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Do you doubt my willpower?”
“No.” He grinned. “Just questioning why I get you all flustered in the first place.”
The arrogance of the man! Beth looked away as the car finally pulled into the driveway and she leaped out as if her life depended on it.
He followed her up the front steps. “Running away won’t do any good, cara.” His liquid voice dropped to a husky rumble. “You tell me I need to relax, but look at you. You’re a bundle of nerves.”
Welcoming the cold indignation that started in the pit of her stomach, she whirled on him.
“You ever think maybe it could be you stressing me out?” She jammed her keys in the front door and managed to break a nail in the process. Cursing, she glared at him. “I’ve spent the better part of ten years getting my life just the way I want it and suddenly it’s snatched away. Do you know how damn frustrating that is?” She tightened her hands into fists and placed them on her hips, the keys forgotten, dangling from the lock. “It galls me to ask for help but yes, I need it. But let me get something straight—I don’t need fixing or saving or anything else. And I’m not going to be your project, so you can get that out of your head, too.”
She paused for breath.
“You finished?” Luke asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“Good. You got the wrong guy. Playing the knight in shining armor isn’t my thing. All I want is to clear my name and get back to my job. And we both want to keep this out of the papers.”
The keys suddenly fell from the lock and they both bent for them. Their hands collided. Then their gazes. Luke was so close he could smell her—lemons and freshness and rain—could nearly touch those soft curls that framed delicate earlobes. Could even feel the slow heat humming through her skin.
The woman was a baffling mix of “back off” and steely determination. She didn’t want him around, yet she wasn’t going to leave. He’d never felt more confused.
She was the first to straighten. She did it so smoothly and with such aplomb that he almost missed the shadow of regret clouding her eyes.
Finally, Beth managed to open the door. Touching is supposed to be a major release for stress, she reminded herself as she walked down the hall. It boosts your immune system, it eases tension. It releases endorphins to help you relax.
Whoever thought that one up obviously hadn’t been touched by Luke De Rossi.
She glanced back. Luke stood in the doorway, looking very large, very male and totally in charge.
The expression on his face made her nerves backflip. “Trust me, Beth, I’ll get to the bottom of everything.”
Yeah, that’s what she was afraid of.
Beth fought the overwhelming urge to pack up her things and drive away until this horrible situation was a distant memory. Instead, she went into the kitchen and watched Luke through the window as he made a few phone calls.
Oh, how she desperately wanted to demand he get a lawyer and she’d see him in court. But that would be supremely stupid, not to mention inflammatory.
Remember who he is and what he could do.
Luke De Rossi. In her home. In the bedroom next to hers.
Letting him in was a mistake. Luke was a very smart man, not to mention determinedly single-minded—and she had so much to lose, so many secrets to guard.
She watched him pace her front yard, phone still attached to his ear as the sun glared down, bathing him from shiny head to toe.
Her stomach made a weird little lurch.
You sure your secrets are all you’re worried about?
With a snort she yanked open her cupboard. He could deny it all he wanted—Luke was a white knight. He obviously believed they would sort everything out, the bad guys would be caught and justice would prevail.
She did not.
It would be better to think of him as a self-absorbed, perfectionist career junkie instead of the truth—that beneath the tough exterior was a man who wanted to spare his family further heartache, no matter how tainted Gino Corelli’s reputation had become. Who held her hand to distract her during that interminable flight.
Who wanted to make her lasagna.
She banged a cup on the countertop with a satisfying crack.
How long since a man had touched her? Wanted her? And he felt so good, smelled like a gift straight from heaven. Celibacy did that to you, made you forget what it was like to need someone.
Oh, boy.
Yanking open the fridge, she pulled out a carton of juice.
Why now, after all those years of denial, all those years spent carving out a life, did she have to start thinking of sex? And with someone like Luke De Rossi, a man whose mere presence could ruin everything?
Because you’ve got a good-looking guy up close, and you know that abstinence has been too much.
Beth poured the juice with an unsteady hand. She didn’t even like
