Page 50 of Her Delta Force Protector

His face turned to stone. “I’m not intentionally jerking you around. I don’t know why things changed between us, but they did. As much as I want my mouth on yours, my mouth all over you to be honest, it can’t lead to anything, and that’s my problem. I don’t want to lose my best friend, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

They’d gone over this last night, and she’d agreed to his rules, but maybe he was right. She didn’t want regrets either, and she couldn’t promise herself or him that she wouldn’t have them. “Well, it’s settled then, no hanky-panky.” Now she just had to figure out how to put a stop to this attraction she had for him. She also hoped things weren’t going to be awkward between them now.

“If we can’t play hide the sausage, let’s go shoot some guns.”

She rolled her eyes. “You did not just say that.”

“What, go shoot some guns?”

The mischief was back in his eyes, and there was his signature smirk. Maybe they were going to be okay. “Here? How close are your neighbors?”

“It’s pretty spread out around here, but no, there’s an outdoor shooting range about thirty minutes from here. We can stop for breakfast on the way. Did you bring your gun with you?”

“Yeah. It’s in the bottom of my duffel bag.”

“Great. Come with me first.”

She followed him back to his bedroom and into his closet. He pushed aside some hanging shirts to reveal a mounted cabinet.

“Is that a gun safe?”

“Yes. If something happens, come here to hide.” He read off the combination as he opened the cabinet. “The closet door locks from the inside, and you’ll have weapons at your fingertips.”

“I’d say.” There were several handguns, a long gun, three wicked-looking knives, and... “What’s that? Pepper spray?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, you weren’t kidding when you said you like being prepared.” There was also a cell phone in a charger.

“A consequence of my job.”

They were standing close, her arm pressed to his, and his scent—something fresh and woodsy—washed over her. Why did he have to smell so good? She ordered her feet to step away from him, but before they obeyed, she made the mistake of lifting her gaze to his. He was staring at her mouth, and she half expected to see flames dancing around them from the heat blazing in his eyes.

“Kade?”

He blinked, then shifted so they weren’t touching anymore. “Ah, you remember the combination?”

“Uh-huh.” What just happened? If she was going to get rid of this attraction to him, he couldn’t look at her like he wanted to devour her. Although... She smiled to herself at the thought running through her mind. Maybe he deserved to get a little taste of his own medicine after giving her whiplash with his running hot and cold. Something to think about, and how to go about doing it. She’d never tried to seduce a man before.

“Ready to go get some breakfast?”

“Sure.” She was blocking his exit from the closet, so he couldn’t move until she did. Should she? Why not? As she turned to leave, sheaccidentlybrushed her bottom against the zipper of his jeans. Oops. Her back was to him, so he didn’t see her smile when he grunted.

Take that, Mr. Hot and Cold.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Harper was being weird, like she knew a secret he wasn’t privy to. He hadn’t missed the side eyes she was giving him or her pleased-with-herself smile when she thought he wasn’t paying attention.

It was not the attitude he’d braced for after he’d told her he’d changed his mind. He should have been happy she didn’t seem upset. He was not. He was irritated. It appeared that her friends-with-benefits offer was no more than that, that she didn’t have feelings for him like he’d thought. That was what he wanted, so why was he cranky?

At the outdoor shooting range, she used her SIG Sauer for target practice. For a noncombatant soldier, her accuracy impressed him. “Do you practice a lot?” They’d never gone to a range together before, so he’d never seen her shoot.

“I grew up shooting. My dad was on the US men’s shooting team during the Summer Games in Barcelona. It was something we did together from the time he deemed me old enough to handle a gun.”

“You never told me that. That’s cool. Did his team win a medal?”

“A silver.”

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