Page 17 of Mr. Dangerous

His eyes sparked with curiosity. Something about that look made butterflies rise in my stomach. It was probably just a reaction to that weird nut-and-seed bread of Rebecca’s that I’d tried when I was making her toast,though.

We parked in front of a row of rundown townhouses, and Rob followed me as we walked around to the back of the townhouse. I was trying to listen for a plaintive meow, but I found myself far too focused on where Rob was, the slight swishing sound of his jeans as he walked, the sense of his body toweringovermine.

I stopped dead when I heard the cat. Rob, who had been following so closely, rested his hands briefly on my shoulders, catching himself, with his big body pressed against mine. Just for a second, I felt the full, muscular warmth of his body against mine. Then he was gone. And Ishivered.

Standing next to me now, Rob listened, with his head cocked and his face intent. He nodded at the siding. “Two feet south of that bathroomwindow.”

Rob bounced onto the back porch and tried the door knob. It didn't turn. "Worth a try.Nowwhat?"

"I was planning to break in. And if I get caught, explain to the nice police officer that I really, reallylovecats..."

"Has that happened to youbefore?"

"Once."

"And how diditgo?"

"I don't have a B&Econviction."

He shook his head. "Well, how do you usually get into one of these houses? Because I can knock downthedoor..."

"No," I said. "That's so disrespectful of the property. Then anyone could just waltz inthere..."

"Anyonelikeyou?"

"I have a good reason," I said, gesturing him out of the way. Rob grinned slightly, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned against the porch railing. That little smile on his soft lips, above that firm and masculine jaw, made my heart doaflip.

"There's a Youtube tutorial for everything these days," I told him lightly, unzipping the side pocket of her bag for her lockpickingkit.

"Naomi Anne Papadopolous, is that what I thinkitis?"

I glanced down at my re-purposed purple makeup bag. "That depends. Do you think it’s a homemade locksmithing kit I loving crafted while watching Supergirl re-runs, with a Dremel tool, a scientific feeler gauge, and 1/4 inch flat rods, which the Internet told me work a lot better for making your own picks than the standard hacksawblades?"

"You," he said, "are awonder."

After we had wrestled the cat out of a wall and into the carrier and settled her in at my house, Rob and I headed back to the Delaney mansion, slightly covered in cat fur. It felt good to beateam.

He nodded his head in time to a woebegone love song by a U.K. rocker, and it made me smile; he stopped, crossing his arms over hischest.

“You like Cailim Reid?” Iasked.

“Is that whothisis?”

"He's just gotten big in the last year," I said. "After he was onGuitar Star.You were probably out of the country, beingahero."

"Okay." He gently nudged my shoulder, and the warmth of his hand on my body was electric. Even though he was pretending to shove me like we were kids. "That's fine from everyone else. But you needtostop."

"You don't like me making fun of you?" I asked. "Or really, of Amy? You make fun of me allthetime."

"I don't mind you making fun of me. Just...notthat."

I felt a lurch of dismay that despite his light-hearted chiding, maybe I had crossed a line. "I really do respect what you do. Obviously.Everyonedoes."

"Naomi. Stop." That reassuring smile was back on his lips. "If you ever need me to be the Navy SEAL, trust me, I can swim, fight, or MacGuyver just about anything. But when it's you and me, I want to bejustRob."

"Okay," I said. "Fairenough."

Exceptjust Robmade my heartpound.

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