pulled up to the gate of the Winston Estate, no closer to the truth than when he’d left and a whole lot more frustrated by a couple of incredibly hot kisses.
He parked at the front of the house. As late as it was, he didn’t want to make Shelby walk any farther than she had to. She was still asleep when he rounded the car, grabbed her duffel bag out of the backseat, looped it over his shoulder, then opened her door.
She tipped slightly until her seat belt caught her and kept her from falling out.
Daniel reached across her lap and unbuckled her belt, then gathered her in his arms and carried her up the steps to the big house.
The door opened as soon as he stopped in front of it and Kate Winston stood there in her bathrobe, her face clean of makeup. “I was beginning to worry, until Patrick texted me to say you were on your way back. Any mishaps?”
“Not on the trip back. Let me get her up the stairs and then we’ll talk.”
“I can get there myself.” Shelby’s eyes blinked open and she stared up at him. “Put me down.”
“Are you sure, dear?” Kate asked. “You look so very tired.”
“I can walk.” Shelby pushed at Daniel and he set her on her feet, keeping one of his arms behind her back to steady her.
“Let me check your room before you go up,” Daniel insisted.
“I’m sure it’s the same as I left it. You and Mrs. Winston need to talk, and I need a shower. I can manage on my own.”
Daniel hesitated. “I’d rather not leave it up to chance.”
“And I’d rather be alone,” she said. “I’ll be sure to scream if there’s a monster under my bed.”
Kate touched Daniel’s arm. “Thad was here earlier. I had him check things in Shelby’s room. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
Shelby cocked an eyebrow. “See? Even the lady of the house thinks it’s safe here. If it isn’t, I might as well go back to my home.”
With a smile, Kate took Daniel’s arm. “Let her have her peace. Shelby, honey, do you need help getting up the stairs?”
“No.” Shelby took the duffel bag from Daniel and set off across the foyer toward the stairs, her gait more wobbly than Daniel liked. She made it to the stairs and gripped the rail all the way up, half carrying, half dragging the duffel bag. The whole time Daniel watched, wanting to go after her and carry her and that damned bag up to her room.
“Come, Daniel,” Kate said. “I want to know everything that happened today.”
Daniel followed Kate into her study, determined to tell her only the things pertinent to the case. Kate didn’t need to know he’d kissed her granddaughter.
What would she do if she did know? Have him reassigned?
Without knowing who to trust, he couldn’t leave Shelby in someone else’s hands.
Shelby had to drag herself up the stairs. The nap she’d had in the car had done little to banish the exhaustion she was feeling. Working at the bar had been a stretch after two weeks in hell with no exercise. Though it had felt good to be back to normal, she’d been tense and jumpy all night. Partly because she wasn’t sure who to trust in the crowd at the bar and partly because of Daniel watching her.
Her lips still tingled from the kiss on the landing outside her apartment and the kiss in the hallway outside the bathroom in the bar. She’d kissed a few boys in her life, but nothing had compared to what she’d experienced with Daniel. Not only had it been good, it had sparked desire so strong, she’d almost forgotten where she was.
She moaned softly. The thought of kissing Daniel heated her blood and pushed her exhaustion aside. Now that she was awake, her body recalled the way it felt pressed against his. He’d been hard with desire, of that she was certain, and it made her hot and bothered all over.
A cool shower and her own nightgown would help her settle in for a good night’s sleep.
Dropping her bag on the floor, she rummaged inside until she found clean panties and her favorite baby-doll nightie. She’d bought it on a whim and hardly wore it. Living in the apartment over the bar, she’d always worn an old T-shirt and stretchy shorts to bed.
Living in the Winstons’ mansion made her more conscious of everything she wore, including her nightclothes. At home, instead of grabbing the ratty T-shirt she normally wore to bed, she’d dug the pretty teal nightgown out of her drawer. Now she almost changed her mind and scrounged for a T-shirt, but one glance at the connecting door made her hold on to the gown.
The man had some serious commitment issues and prejudices against people with a lot of money, not that she was one of them. Shelby had served all kinds at the bar and they all put their pants on the same way. Her connection to Kate Winston was an accident of birth. She was not connected to Kate’s bank account and wouldn’t want to be, even if she was asked.
Shelby had inherited her grandfather’s sense of responsibility and drive. If she made it in this world, it would be because of hard work and her intelligence, not because she’d been born into wealth.
Gown in hand, she entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her. The bathroom was bigger than her bedroom back home and almost as big as the living room. The counters and shower were made of a beautiful white granite with brown and black speckles. The floor was covered in white marble tile and the fixtures were a shiny gold.
She glanced at the bathtub she’d used the day before and her cheeks heated. That was the first time Daniel had seen her naked.
And the last time he would, she decided. He’d have to beg her to make love to him after he’d been so callous earlier. Even then, she’d tell him where he could get off.
She stripped out of the clothing Kate had given her, now rumpled and stained from waiting tables at the bar. She glanced down at the sweater with regret. It was nice and she’d hate it if the stains wouldn’t come out.
She filled the sink with water, applied some of the hand soap to the spots and then let it soak.
Stripping off her undergarments, she couldn’t help but think of Daniel sleeping in the room on the other side of her bedroom. All she had to do was walk over there, open the door and let herself in.
Her core tightened, electric tingles spreading through her body, angling downward. She jerked the handle on the shower, setting it on cool and stepped beneath the spray. The chill of the water made her catch her breath, and her wrists stung when the water hit the sores she’d created scraping the zip tie off. Both shocked her back to sanity.
Daniel was off-limits. He was her bodyguard, a Secret Service agent and a damned good kisser. But that was all. He wasn’t the stuff relationships were made of. He’d told her that in no uncertain terms.
Knowing him only a day was not long enough to form an attachment to her guardian angel, the man who’d pulled her from a burning building. Hell, a fireman could have done the same and she wouldn’t be drooling over him or wishing he’d kiss her again.
