Stirring Attraction by Sara Jane Stone Page B

beard and cupped his jaw. “But I’m going to kiss you.”
    She detected a hint of a smile beneath his beard. “Just so we’re clear, what is the wrong way?”
    She rose up on her tiptoes and pulled her other hand free from his hold. “This kiss isn’t an incentive to do a little detective work.”
    â€œYou’re not trying to bribe me with kisses?”
    She ran her fingers through his hair. “I’d start lower if that was my plan. And the um, evidence”—­she stole a quick glance at his lower half—­“beneath my head last night suggests that you’d agree.”
    His left hand brushed her chin, tilting it back until her gaze met his. “No, I’d start with your lips. But, honey, I know I make a better bodyguard than a boyfriend for you—­”
    â€œI don’t need a boyfriend right now. I just need—­”
    Crash!
    Her body tensed and her fingers dug into Dominic as she swallowed the word “you.” Fear dominated her senses, stripping away the desire as if her need to kiss the man holding her close was nothing more than a Band-­Aid waiting to be ripped off. She heard footsteps, but she couldn’t see who had burst in.
    Because her “bodyguard” had taken control.
    Dominic pulled her close as he guided their bodies back, away from the desk, and through the partially open door leading to the bathroom. “You’re all right,” he murmured. “You’re safe.”
    She nodded, trying to digest the words. At some point, she’d released her hold on his jaw and pulled her hand free from his hair. Her fingers now clung to his biceps. She needed his strength now, not his kisses.
    But I still want that kiss.
    She heard voices—­plural—­in the bar’s back room. There were two ­people out there having what sounded like a very private discussion.
    â€œCaroline.” She formed the name with her lips, barely daring to whisper and give away her hiding place.
    Dominic nodded. And the second person spoke again.
    Josh Summers. The bar’s resident baker.
    She pulled free from Dominic’s hold. One step backward and she felt the sink. She leaned against the vanity’s edge. If she hadn’t let the fear take over, they would be out there kissing right now. Caroline and Josh would have taken one look at the ­couple making out by the desk and retreated to someplace more private.
    But if she didn’t live with fear hovering around her and waiting to strike, if she could snap her fingers and return to her old self, then Dominic wouldn’t be here. And if he had returned under different circumstances, she would be looking for a future he couldn’t provide.
    Dammit, why did Caroline have to choose this moment, when Lily was on the verge of giving in to a feeling that had nothing to do with fear? Why now, when Lily had been ready and willing to steal a kiss from Dominic, did the dishwasher have to burst in and shatter the moment and leave her hiding in the Big Buck’s bathroom with the man she wanted to kiss?

 
    Chapter Nine
    â€œS OUNDS LIKE SOMEONE else decided to tackle the bodyguard-­versus-­boyfriend question,” Dominic murmured more to himself than the frozen, wide-­eyed woman behind him. His training had kicked in when he heard the door swing open and he’d turned his focus to erasing Lily’s rising fear. Now, he moved to the other side of the door, which stood ajar.
    But he sure as shit was out of practice, because he’d landed them in a windowless bathroom. And the threat? Noah’s pie-­throwing friend and Josh Summers, a guy he’d run into a time or two in Forever or around the neighboring town, Independence Falls.
    â€œWhy do you bring pies?” Caroline asked, her voice direct and clear.
    Was “pie” a code word? Judging from Caroline’s guarded expression, and the way Josh followed her into the