Navy SEAL Rescuer by Shirlee McCoy Page B

jumped, her
pulse racing with the need to walk across the room and accept the comfort his
presence always seemed to bring.
    It was a foolish thought, and she shoved it away as quickly as
it had come.
    “Is everything okay in here?” he asked, the warm timbre of his
voice flowing over her.
    “Fine, but we’ll be a few more minutes,” Officer Kenton
responded, but Catherine didn’t plan to spend another second in the conference
room.
    “Actually, we’re finished.” She needed to check on Eileen, and
then she needed to go home, take a shower, gather her thoughts and pack a few
things for Eileen’s stay.
    “Catherine, it would be best if—”
    “Deputy Sheriff Randal has my contact information. If he needs
anything else, he can give me a call. Right now, my focus has to be on my
grandmother.” She walked out of the room, bypassing Darius and catching a whiff
of something spicy and masculine and very, very compelling.
    She didn’t mean to meet his eyes.
    She meant to just keep walking, ignoring the tug on her heart
and her mind. Somehow, though, she found herself looking into his eyes and his
face, cataloguing little things that she shouldn’t be noticing. A faint scar
just above his left eyebrow. Another on his chin. Fine lines radiated from the
corners of his eyes and bracketed his mouth. He’d lived a hard life, and it
showed, but that only made him more appealing.
    She hurried into the corridor.
    Darius followed, and she could feel his presence like sunshine
on a winter day, warm and soothing and wonderful.
    “Based on everything that has happened, it’s not a good idea
for you to walk around in public without an escort,” he said, falling into step
beside her.
    “I’m not. You’re here.”
    “You should have waited and let me come into the hall
first.”
    “I don’t think anyone would be foolish enough to try to kill me
here.”
    “People are murdered in crowds all the time. Are you willing to
take unnecessary risks when Eileen needs you so much?”
    “I don’t have a death wish if that’s what you’re getting at.”
She stopped in front of Eileen’s door.
    “So, maybe next time, you’ll wait for me before you run
off.”
    “I wasn’t running.”
    “Sure you were. I don’t know what it is about me that makes you
so nervous, but you may as well know that Eileen has asked me to protect you,
and I plan to do it, so you’re just going to have to get used to having me
around.”
    “She asked you to what? ” Shocked,
Catherine looked straight into Darius’s too-handsome face.
    He was serious.
    Very serious.
    “She wanted to hire me, but I told her I don’t charge
neighbors. Besides, I’m on vacation for the next ten days, so whatever help I
offer is on my personal time.”
    “She wanted to hire you?”
    “You sound surprised.” He leaned against the wall, subtly
shifting his weight. Catherine was tired. He must be, too, but aside from that
subtle shift, he didn’t show it.
    “Eileen doesn’t like to ask for help.”
    “You two seem to have that in common.”
    “Maybe. When she’s feeling better, I’m sure she’ll regret
trying to hire you.”
    “She’ll regret it later? Or you regret it now?”
    “I don’t need a bodyguard, Darius.”
    “These are telling me something different.” He ran a finger
along her throat. The bruises she hadn’t thought about in hours throbbed in
response.
    “I didn’t say I wasn’t in danger. I just said I didn’t need a
bodyguard.”
    “Then it’s a good thing I don’t plan to be your bodyguard.” He
walked into Eileen’s room without another word, cutting off the argument before
it should have been finished.
    There was more to say.
    Catherine was sure of that, because she was sure that Darius
had every intention of hanging around and following through. He’d told Eileen
he’d look out for her, and he would. No matter what name he put on it, it would
be the same. Darius would always be around when she needed him.
    In theory, that