“What are you? What do you do?”

“Security.” He shrugged, a casual roll of his shoulders. “Work for a company and we get sent out on different types of jobs.”

She frowned at him. He found her frown adorable but refrained from saying so.

“Like the security sitting in an office building looking at computer monitors to make certain no one’s stealing anything? That kind of security? Or the kind that puts you in the path of a bullet because you’re guarding someone else.”

Catarina’s blue eyes moved over his face, and his entire body tightened. Lethal as hell she was. His body was full and hard just from one look under her long sweeping lashes.

“I do install systems once in a while,” he admitted, “but I’ve never actually sat in front of a monitor in an office building.”

She slid her lips over her fork, a completely innocent gesture, but his groin throbbed in response. “So the take-a-bullet-for-someone-else kind of security.”

He shrugged, concentrating on breathing.

She shook her head. “You’re nuts, you know. Taking bullets for other people is just plain nuts. Is that other person worth more than you are? No.” That was firm. She leaned toward him, gesturing with her fork again. “The answer, Ridley, is no. They aren’t. I don’t care how rich they are or how famous. They aren’t more important than you are. You have no business risking your life like that.”

“It pays well.”

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Now you’re just trying to get a rise out of me.” She sat back again and sipped at her espresso, watching him carefully over the rim of the mug.

“Well. Yeah. I have to admit when you get all fired up with that attitude of yours, I’m a goner for you. That does it for me the way Zen does it for you.”

She burst out laughing. “Eat a beignet, Ridley, and your fantasies will really take off. They’re better than my attitude.”

He found himself laughing with her. She was even more beautiful when she laughed. The sound was soft and musical, and her eyes lit up. Her perfect bow of a mouth drew his attention, and his fantasies turned totally erotic just sitting there at the breakfast table. He snagged a beignet. The sugary, doughy dessert was still warm, the taste mixing with the espresso in his mouth, and he knew he would never forget that moment, sitting across from her, laughing and eating the best meal of his life.

No one had ever given him the kind of concern she had, worried about what he did for a living, and damn, she did it looking so beautiful his heart ached. She had pulled her legs up onto the chair and was sitting tailor fashion while she ate her breakfast. It was the first time he had ever seen her truly relaxed. She wasn’t thinking about being scared. For those few minutes, he’d chased the shadows from her eyes, and he liked being the one who’d done it.

He was older than she was, and he didn’t settle down with women, but he’d had a lot of them. He’d never sat across with one of them having breakfast, so relaxed, and that was saying a lot. He didn’t share breakfast with women. They used each other and then he left. Period. No sleeping in the same bed, no breakfast in the morning. He was gone.

“Got to get back to work, but this was fantastic, Cat. I appreciate you going to all the trouble.” He stood up and pushed back his chair.

She tilted her head up toward his, her blue eyes moving over his face as if memorizing every detail. “Thanks, Ridley, for the security system. It really helps. You can’t know how much.”

Her eyes were soft. Her perfect mouth smiled at him. Her gorgeous hair spilled around her like a waterfall of dark silk. His hand moved before he could think. He had no idea what possessed him, but he couldn’t stop himself, and he was a man all about control and discipline. His fingers buried in all that silk and fisted there, tugging until her head was back. He leaned in and brushed a kiss across her mouth.

His stomach rolled. His cock hardened. With one touch. One. Fucking. Touch. Electricity crackled and his pulse thundered in his ears. Lightning flashed through his veins so his blood ran hot.

He stepped away and turned without another word, not looking at her face, not daring to. He might have just blown it big-time, but now he had her taste in his mouth and it was far sweeter and tastier than the beignet.

Catarina closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her trembling lips. He’d kissed her. Kissed her. She knew, to him, it was just a small gesture of thanks, or “you’re welcome,” depending. He probably hadn’t felt anything at all. It wasn’t like it was a real kiss, with mouths open and tongues involved. It was brief. Hardly there. But she didn’t care. It was a kiss. And from Ridley. She could perv on that for months.

She risked a glance and he was back installing cameras, so she rose and did the dishes, hugging the moment to herself. Their perfect moment. No one could ever take that away from her. Not even if everything went south and she was found and dragged back or killed, she would have that moment.

She was wrong to be friends with him. To risk him. But maybe, if she was careful, she could keep the risk to a minimum.

4

“WE’RE going to have to hire some help if the crowds get any bigger,” David announced.

Catarina glanced up from behind the coffee machine. The crowd vying for coffee was three deep. She could speed up, but the machine couldn’t. “I’m sorry, David, I can only work so fast,” she told him.

“No, this is good. I’m loving this,” David said. “Your boyfriend’s back.”