“Are you sure you’re not too tired to drive?”

“Thanks, but I’m fine really. I don’t sleep all that well anyway.” He bet she didn’t. She was probably suffering from PTSD and didn’t realize it.

“Just doing my job or trying. I have a feeling you’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

“Why do you say that?” She never turned in his direction, just kept her eyes on the road.

“Just a feeling. I’ve survived many missions by trusting my gut.”

“Until the last one? The scar on your cheek doesn’t look very old, and you’re limping.”

He was impressed, he barely limped, but she’d still managed to pick up on it. The scar was an easy guess. It would take another year before it faded enough to not look angry. If she thought that looked fresh, it was good she couldn’t see his leg.

“My last mission went to hell before our team realized it. But bad intel is part of the job.”

“Do you miss it? Ten years is a long time.”

“Yes and no. I miss my team and feeling like I am accomplishing something. But it was time to move on. Besides my injury, my heart wasn’t in it anymore.”

“Oh.” He’d spent a lot of time reading people, it’s part of what had made him good at his job. He knew without a doubt she wanted to ask him why, but she didn’t. It was a relief, he wouldn’t have known what to tell her. In the last few minutes, he’d already shared more with her than he had with anyone else, even his team. He was going to have to watch himself. Focus. It’s what he had to do. Then maybe after he knew she was safe he could see if there was a future for him in Montana.

They arrived at the bakery without incident, but his senses were on high alert. He’d learned to trust them long ago.

“Why are we here? I thought you didn’t have to be at work until two a.m.?”

“I don’t. I live upstairs. I bought the building when I decided to open the patisserie. I figured why live outside of town when I could live upstairs. It gives me an extra hour of sleep every night.”

“I didn’t realize you lived upstairs.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not as small as it looks. It’s got three bedrooms even, so you have your own space. I know it’s kind of awkward but…”

“Hey, don’t worry about me. I’m used to sleeping wherever I happened to be—jungle, desert, cave, so no big deal.”

Rori pulled the car into the spot marked “Reserved for Prince’s Patisserie” and turned off the engine.

“I want to check it out first. Stay here and keep the doors locked.” When she didn’t answer, he added, “Okay?” This wasn’t going to go well if she was going to fight him every step of the way. How was he supposed to keep her safe?

“Okay. This is the key to the upstairs apartment.” She handed him her key ring with one key separated out. “It’s the door next to the back door of the bakery.”

“Got it. Be right back.”

Raptor would have preferred to have done this the first time in daylight, but surveilling in darkness was no problem. He’d left his pack in the van but had the Glock he’d borrowed from Hank’s stash at the ranch. Armed and ready, he looked around then approached the door. One key, one lock, no deadbolt. It would be changed tomorrow as soon as whatever passed for a hardware store opened. He could have pushed his way in without any effort at all.

A glance toward the van verified that she was still inside. Stepping through the doorway he shouldn’t have been surprised it was pitch-black, but he was. He’d expected some light in the hallway. Seriously? She was just asking for trouble. He pulled out the small flashlight he was never without and found the switch, which did jack shit when he flipped it on. Of course. Rolling his eyes for the second time in less than five minutes, he wondered what he’d find at the top of the stairs.

Another door with no deadbolt that would need to be changed as soon as possible, and he was in the apartment. At least she’d left a light on when she’d left for the ranch. It smelled like sugar and cinnamon, and he wondered if it was from the bakery downstairs. Nothing was out of place as he went from room to room, opening all the doors until he was satisfied it was all clear.

He’d just walked back into the front room when she appeared at the door.

“Is it safe?”

“I thought I told you to stay in the van until I came back.”

“You did, but I got tired of waiting. I knew it would be fine.”

“Listen, angel, I know you’re not thrilled to have a bodyguard, but you have one. That means you’ll listen to me so I can make sure you’re safe. Got it?”

Their eyes met, and in a silent battle he stared her down. She blinked first, and he knew he’d won that point. But damn if she hadn’t brought his pack in with her.

“Fine. But if I think it’s stupid, then I’m going to tell you.”

“Alright, I agree to that. But we’ll discuss it, and if I have a good reason, you’ll follow orders?”

“Orders? I think not.” He winced, poor choice of words.

“How about direction?”

“That works. Now that we got that out of the way let me show you which room is yours. I really am beat and need to get some sleep.” He was surprised when she didn’t say something about him calling her angel, but maybe she was just too tired to realize.

“Did you lock the downstairs door already?”

“Yes, do you think I’m stupid?”

“No, but again, it’s my job.”

Shaking her head, she started down the hallway off the living room. It led to three bedrooms and one bathroom. He’d realized that when he was doing his recon. He hadn’t shared a bathroom with a woman since he’d left home. But other than that, the apartment was nice sized, and they wouldn’t trip over each other.

“Here’s your room. The bathroom is down the hall next to mine. There are towels on the dresser, and I made up the bed fresh this morning. Is there anything else you need? If you’re hungry help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

“It’s great, thank you. I’m not trying to give you a hard time, just keep you safe.”

“I know, but that’s the problem. I don’t think I need protection. I guess time will tell.”

“Yes, it will.”

“I’m sorry to be rude and leave you on your own, but work starts early.”

“That’s what I’ve been hearing. Sleep well, Rori. See you at two.”

“Night.

***

Rori closed the door to her bedroom and leaned against it. Wow. Can you say muffin man? Or maybe that should be stud muffin man? It was all she could do while she was driving not to lean over and give him a lick. He smelled like outdoors and citrus…something. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she wanted a taste. And there was something familiar about him, but she couldn’t figure that out yet either. Maybe she was just too tired. The last few days had worn on her.

First the flat tires on the van, that she hadn’t told Sadie about, then the plate glass window, and now a new bodyguard who was the best thing since freshly baked bread. But he wasn’t here for a relationship, and she wasn’t looking for one. Was she even over Jim’s death yet? Not that she’d even tried to date in the last two years.

Since coming back to Eagle Rock, it had been all about the bakery and closing her parent’s house. She still needed to figure out what she was going to do with it. It was just too hard to stay there without them. It made sense to put it on the market, didn’t it? There, think about that, Rori, instead of dwelling on the gingerbread man down the hall.

She changed into her PJs. It was way past her bedtime, and her bed was calling to her. No wonder her mind was scrambled, usually asleep by eight, it was almost eleven now. Tomorrow was going to be like pulling taffy.

Throwing her robe on just in case she ran into Raptor on the way to brush her teeth, she was thankful two minutes later when she opened the door and walked in on him.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I should have knocked.” Her face burned as she backed up and slammed the door shut.

“It’s okay, I’m just brushing my teeth. C’mon in.” Should she? It didn’t seem like such a great idea, but then he opened the door, and she got a good look at him. With her cheeks already burning and probably beet red, she stared at his bare feet. Her gaze traveled up his jean-clad legs, to the open button at his waist, and continued to travel up to his naked, oh my God, chest, and then to his face where their eyes met. He was smiling around his toothbrush, and that made her face heat even more.

“I’m sorry. I’m not used to having anyone else here. It won’t happen again.”

He spat toothpaste into the sink and rinsed his mouth. “It’s okay. We’re going to have to get used to each other, it’s not a big deal. If I was worried, I’d have locked the door.”

Good point. It wasn’t locked, she’d need to remember to do that herself, especially when she was showering. It would be horrible if he walked in when she was naked. Wouldn’t it? Damn, girl, brush your teeth and go to bed, you’re totally losing it.

“Okay.”

“I’m sorry I’m upsetting your routine. I’ll leave you to it. Night, Rori.”

“Night.” She waited until she heard his door close and then brushed her teeth and put on her moisturizer.

Back in her bedroom, she debated on whether to lock the door. From the size of his muscles, if he wanted in no lock was going to keep him out, so no on the locked door. She finally climbed into bed, and turned out the light and drifted off to sleep with visions of Raptor dancing in her head.

The alarm went off at one fifteen, and if she’d had a gun, she would have shot it. With so little sleep, it would be a rough day. Add to that her new houseguest/bodyguard, she was going to need a lot of coffee.

Opening her door, she peered down the hallway and listened to see if Raptor was up yet. When she didn’t hear anything, she rushed into the bathroom and locked the door. The hot shower helped to get her blood flowing, but now she needed coffee to complete her morning process. A quadruple espresso sounded about right. She’d forgotten to ask if Raptor drank coffee last night, but she couldn’t imagine anyone not drinking copious amounts of liquid energy in the morning.

Rori was dressed and in the kitchen grinding espresso beans when Raptor appeared by her side freshly showered and smelling delicious. Distracted by his presence, she over ground the beans and had to start over.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just tired and I mutilated the coffee beans.”

“I can see that. I was worried you were hoping they were me.”

“Uh, no. But that’s a thought,” she said and turned her face so he could see her smile. “Do you drink coffee? Espresso?”

“If it’s caffeinated I’ll drink it.”

“A man after my own heart. I usually have coffee up here then make a large pot for the customers when I get downstairs. I think I end up drinking more of it than they do though.”

“You’ll have plenty of help today,” he said with a laugh. The sound poured over her like molasses and warmed her to her core. What was it about this man that could turn her into mush?