Enticing Liam (Big Sky Royal 2)

Ellie’s sitting on the edge of the dock, her legs crossed, her eyes closed as she listens to the quiet.

I’m at once turned on by her and pissed that she’s out here alone.

I’m not quiet as I approach, but she doesn’t open her eyes.

“I could be an assassin.”

“But you’re not.” Her lips tip up into a small smile. I want to cover her with my body, right here on the fucking dock, and take her immediately. She’s so damn beautiful it takes my breath away, even when she’s in her workout clothes with no makeup.

Especially with no makeup.

“But I could be,” I repeat and prop my hands on my hips, still breathing hard. “I didn’t know you were an early riser. I wouldn’t have gone for a run.”

She opens her eyes and looks up at me. “I didn’t sleep much last night. I decided to come out here and watch the sunrise.”

“With your eyes closed?”

“I was meditating.”

“I have to go change,” I say, looking back toward HQ and cursing myself for not taking my communication unit so I could call up for someone to come stand here. Reynolds should have seen her on the live feed.

“I’m fine.” She smiles up at me innocently. “You can go change.”

“I don’t want you out here alone. I’ll send Reynolds out until I can change.”

“I can come with you,” she offers.

If Ellie comes with me, I’ll tumble her into my bed.

No. Bad idea.

“Can you just stay out of trouble for ten minutes?”

The smile remains in place. “Of course. I’m just sitting here waiting for the sunrise.”

I nod and jog away. When I walk into the kitchen, I see red.

“Wake the fuck up.”

Reynolds’ head pops up. “What? Who?”

“You’re fired.”

“Ah, shit.” He rubs his hands over his face. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. It wasn’t more than five minutes.”

“Long enough for Her Highness to walk out onto the dock and sit alone for God knows how long. She could have been shot, taken, anything. Because you weren’t doing your fucking job. Now, collect your things and get the hell out of my headquarters.”

“I don’t deserve this,” he mumbles as he fetches a lunch box out of the fridge and slams the door shut. “I’ll sue for wrongful termination.”

“I dare you to do just that,” I reply calmly. “We don’t employ anyone who doesn’t take this job seriously, Aaron. I told you that when I hired you. You said you could handle it.”

“Night shift has me all fucked up. Put me on the day shift.”

“The low man on the totem pole always gets the night shift. And now you don’t get that either. Go on.”

He glares at me and then barrels out of the house, slamming the door behind him. I make a call to the two guys who were scheduled to come on duty in an hour, and they both agree to come in early.

Then I make one more call, clean up, and pull on clothes before jogging back out to the dock, where Ellie’s still sitting as calmly as can be, staring up at the bright orange sky.

“It’s so pretty here,” she says without looking over at me. And I can admit, right here and now, I want her gorgeous blue eyes on me.

“I could have been an abductor.”

She laughs and turns to look at me. “Sit.”

“I’m officially on duty.”

She shrugs a shoulder and pulls her knees up to her chest as she looks out over the lake again. “I just saw two bald eagles fly over the water. It was magical.”

“There’s a lot of wildlife here.” I shove my hands into my pockets and skim the area with my gaze. It’s calm and quiet. “We haven’t had any issues with the press since you’ve been here.”

“Only my family and a few close friends know I’m here,” she says. “It should stay pretty quiet.”

I’m grateful that she didn’t make a big production about leaving England. It makes my job easier.

“I have a plan for today.”

She glances up and arches a perfect eyebrow. “And what is that?”

“A breakfast picnic.”

“A date?”

“A lesson,” I correct her. “Lesson number two.”

“What was yesterday?”

“That was an extension of lesson number one.”

She laughs and then pushes herself gracefully to her feet. “Well, if frustration is lesson number one, I’ve mastered that. What do I need to wear for number two?”

“Casual. Pants, if you have them.”

“I’ll find something. We won’t be going out in public?”

“No.”

She nods and walks up into her apartment to change. Baxter and Bartlett arrive, and I brief them about firing Reynolds.

“I’ll find someone else soon. In the meantime, we’ll all be pulling a few extra shifts.”

“Not a problem,” Baxter says. “My wife wants to go to Hawaii for Christmas, so I’m saving up. I’ll take some shifts.”

“Thanks. I’ll block the time off on the calendar for you during the holidays.”