Reckless (Benson Security 1)

“This would be so much easier if you’d back off,” Megan grumbled.

They’d been in the shooting range for hours and so far she’d only hit the target once. It was humiliating. Not as humiliating as stomach problems during an operation, which was now her gold standard for all things humiliating, but this experience still rated. She probably would have done better if she’d been allowed to shoot more. Instead she’d had to sit through the world’s most mind-numbing safety talk—apparently she shouldn’t gesture with a gun while she was talking. Like she couldn’t figure that out for herself. Men. Now the same idiot man was crowding her space and it was messing with her concentration. It wasn’t fair. In a real gun battle she wouldn’t have Dimitri plastered to her back. If she didn’t have him there now, she was sure she’d do a whole lot better.

“I would back off if you’d get your grip right.” He wrapped his arms around her to cover her hands where she held the gun at arm’s length. The feeling of his body wrapped around hers was beyond distracting.

She tried to shrug him off, but he was immovable. “Can’t you just tell me what to do? Do you need to stand so close?”

“This is better,” he said against her ear, making her shiver. A reaction she, unfortunately, couldn’t hide.

“Better for who?” she grumbled.

His hands engulfed hers as he moved their position. “Like this.”

She couldn’t decide what was getting to her more, his scent or the sensation of his muscles moving as he pressed against her back. Scent, she decided. She wanted to breathe it in deep, immerse herself in it and rub up against him like a kitten.

“You’re sighting too low.” His words made her eyes snap open. Honestly, if Claire could see her now, her sister would laugh until she toppled over.

“I’m serious,” she said. “You need to back off and let me get on with it.”

“When you’re ready. Keep your elbows loose and raise the nose of the gun.” He physically moved her into position. All she heard was blah blah blah blah as the feeling of his strong hands on her body short-circuited her brain.

“Yeah, like that,” he rumbled. “That way you’re more likely to hit the greatest mass of your target.”

She snapped her head around to look at him. He was driving her crazy. He needed to back off and take his sexy smell along with him. And what was with the terms he was using anyway? When something was a spade, you called it a spade. Damn it. “You mean body. Why don’t you just say body?”

“Because the thought of you pointing a gun at anyone again makes me break out in hives.”

She scowled at him. It was very tempting to swing round and point the gun at his greatest mass until he apologised for being a dickhead.

“Don’t even think about it. Do I need to go over the safety talk again?”

And that was another thing that drove her nuts, his mind reading trick. It wasn’t impressive. It was just plain irritating. Along with his shirt. What was with that T-shirt? It was at least two sizes too small. He wasn’t Captain Freaking America. There was no need to flaunt his pecs to the world. Indecent. That’s what it was.

“Remember what I told you,” he said. “Don’t jerk the trigger, ease it softly.”

He stepped back from her so she could shoot and her body felt instantly cold. Already she missed his arms around her and it irritated the hell out of her. Her body was confused. It didn’t know whether it wanted to kick the man for driving her mental, or kiss him until he took off his annoying shirt and let her loose at his pecs.

Pheromones! That’s what it was. Now it made sense. He was oozing pheromones. Essentially, he was drugging her. No wonder she couldn’t think straight.

“Are you going to shoot anytime soon?” he drawled.

She glared at him. As she faced the target, her shoulders became solid and her arms stiffened. The gun jerked upwards and she missed it entirely.

“So much for keeping those muscles loose,” he mumbled.

Megan spun on him. “I hate this.”

“Maybe you should stick to the Taser?” he suggested for the millionth time.

If he mentioned that Taser one more time, she was going to get the thing and zap him until he cried uncle.

“Just because I hate training doesn’t mean I won’t eventually get there. It takes practice. Distraction free practice. Why don’t you run along and play with the other boys while I work on this?”

He shook his head. “Good try, but someone needs to keep an eye on you.”

“Have it your way.” She turned back to the target, fury building inside her like a fireball. “How about you put your damn pecs away and let me focus? Huh? You want to be helpful, dress in clothes your size.”

She didn’t take time to perfect her stance, instead she fired angry. Several shots barked out in succession as she cursed the man under her breath.