Playing With Fire

“He wouldn’t, Simon,” she said, more firmly this time. She took a drink of water, giving him a glimpse at her long, delicate neck. What would it be like to run his fingers down her soft skin again? No. Focus.

He hardened his expression. “How do you know whatever suspicious dealings you’re hiding from me didn’t start with your father?”

Marianna choked on her water, midsip. She clanked her glass down hard on the countertop and coughed some more. Simon hovered behind her, and then he touched her, his warm hand moving up and down her back in soothing strokes. She took a couple tentative breaths, finding more air.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

His hand lingered for an extra beat before he pulled back. But he didn’t move away. He stood close, the way he used to, the way she had tried so hard to forget.

She frowned. Marianna tilted her chin up to face him.

“My father earned his money honestly,” she said, her voice icy calm. No. Simon was not coming back into her life to take away the one thing she still had left.

Simon said nothing, but his bitter words from years ago rang in her ears. No one with this kind of money has clean hands. He didn’t have to say it this time. He just stared at her with those deep green eyes. Those eyes with the long, beautiful lashes made it hard to think.

Simon folded his arms. “Whatever you’re up to, I know some security people, people you can trust. If we talk this through a little more, I can arrange for a team to come, starting today.”

Marianna gave a little snort and rolled her eyes. “Oh, is that how it will happen?”

He scowled. “It’s my job, Marianna.”

He said her name slow and soft, distracting her. Yes, she knew this was his job now. He had taken his military training and made a name for himself at Blackmore Inc., one of the most respected security firms in the world. Specialty private security. Which sounded impressive, even if she wasn’t sure exactly how that worked. But he was right. She could trust him, at least in this area. And that was exactly what she needed right now: someone she could trust. She was getting in way over her head. Or maybe she already was.

Simon rubbed his eyes and sighed. “All right, Nancy Drew. So you go down to the pier, make a lot of noise opening up the shipment. What’s the next step of the plan?”

“Talk to William?” Marianna wrinkled her brow. That was supposed to be a statement, not a question, but after the showdown this morning, it didn’t sound like the best idea anymore. She blew out a breath. “If something’s not right, I own half this business. I don’t want to be mixed up in anything illegal.”

He shook his head. “Not a good idea. Did it look like he’d be willing to talk today? And what happens if you do find drugs or weapons?”

Marianna bit her lip. Good point. How the hell would she deal with that? Call the authorities on her own company?

“Look, I’m still figuring this out. Maybe you can come with me to check it out. Help me decide what to do,” she said softly. “I’ll pay you.”

A stormy glower flashed across his face. He came up closer and rested one arm on the counter next to her, using his body to block out everything else from her sight but him. Over the last eleven years her heart had jumped too many times when she passed someone with the same aftershave, with the same build.

“I made myself clear a long time ago, Marianna,” he growled. “I don’t want your money.”

Marianna gritted her teeth. Right. That decade-old wound was still between them. But right now, she wasn’t going to expose it further. Besides, she knew from her cyberstalking he was wealthy enough that he really didn’t need her money. So what was he after? Marianna couldn’t let this end until she had an answer.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Over the last few years, I’ve learned that everyone wants something from me,” she said.

Her words probably would’ve had more impact if she could keep her eyes from drifting down to the hard muscles under his T-shirt every time he moved. How could she lust after a man who had changed overnight and left her behind? But there was so much heat in his gaze right now. And then there was the anger, the same scorn he used to reserve for her father. He pressed his lips together, and his hot gaze was gone.

“Before you do anything, you need to talk to a lawyer,” said Simon. He looked around the kitchen and out the window. “You’re living in this house alone?”

She nodded slowly. “It was supposed to be temporary. Just until I got through the divorce.”

“You need security.” He continued to scan the room.

“Exactly what I don’t need. More men watching every move I make.” She gave him a dry smile, but she was dead serious. William had given her a lifetime worth of that. Never again.

Simon scowled. “William knows you’re taking a closer look at the business, and there’s a good chance he’s not the only one. If you’re right about any of this, they’re going to make sure you’re not sniffing around.”

He was standing so close. The heat of his body called to her, taunting her. This is what you missed.

They were having two conversations at once. One was with words, and that one she understood. It was one she had had too many times before, where a man tried to coax her into something without telling her the real reason behind it. First it had been her father, then William. She knew how to deal with that conversation.

But the other one? The conversation she and Simon were holding with every nuance of their gestures, his touch on her back earlier, the way their gazes lingered longer, burned hotter? Marianna had no idea what to do with that one.

This was the man who had dropped her for a better offer. Any sane person would never forget that. And she hadn’t. At least, most of her hadn’t. Her body didn’t seem to care one way or another about their past. The electric spark of his hot stare together with years of unaddressed issues were brewing dangerously inside.

“Ruiz Imports has connections with everyone in Miami,” he said gently. “I think you need a new plan.”

Marianna took a steadying breath. He was right, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something.

“So you’re just swooping into town for the day to save me?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “Something like that.”

“And what if I don’t want to be saved by you?”

CHAPTER TWO (#ub6423e12-17f1-5f35-87b5-c123f537ae9e)

SIMON INHALED DEEPLY and tried to calm the fuck down. But he was standing so close to Marianna, and instead of pulling away, he was finding reasons to move closer. His heart had just about stopped at her last question.

“What the hell does that mean?” he asked softly. “Why wouldn’t you let me make sure you’re safe?”

She took a little drink from her glass. “I’m not eighteen anymore, Simon.”

Then she licked her lips.

His gaze was fixed on her mouth, taking him somewhere else entirely. Somewhere his mind hadn’t gone in so long. To the day he and Marianna had taken her boat far away from everything. The day they shifted from lust-driven encounters to something more. Anchored off a hidden beach, the water still and no one in sight. They had the time to explore. It was the first time she had been shy. Different. He tasted every part of her body, and he lay back while she played with her hands and her mouth, discovering, her brow furrowed in concentration until he came. And then she started all over again.

Shit. Those memories were so well-worn that they shouldn’t get him hard anymore. But they did. Now, eleven years later, he was in her kitchen, staring at her lips, and his tongue was probably hanging out.

Marianna’s gaze suggested she could see exactly what he was imagining. Her eyes narrowed. “The last time you offered to be there for me, you backed out, remember?”

He leaned closer and touched her chin with his fingers. She shivered as the rough pads of his thumb traced along her jaw. “Don’t pretend it was that simple, Marianna.”

She just shook her head.

He let his fingers slide down her neck.

“Let’s just put those last days aside for now,” he whispered. It was simpler to be in the moment, ignore the complicated past between them—when her father had nearly destroyed his family. When his family had learned just how manipulative Alex Ruiz could be, threatening their livelihood, spreading terrible rumors. Besides, if he’d stayed back then, Simon would have only prolonged the inevitable. As his own father had so bluntly put it, he wasn’t part of the kind of life Marianna would want.

He continued a slow exploration of her skin with his hand. Soft curves and slopes. A crease formed between her eyebrows.