Full Surrender

“Good morning,” she called over the clink of silverware and the hard rock music filtering through hidden speakers in the dining area next to the kitchen.

He stopped what he was doing to turn and look at her, his bold green gaze raking over her as intimately as if they still stood together under that hot shower spray.

“A good morning, indeed.” He gripped her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. “I made you some breakfast in case you worked up an appetite in the shower.”

“If you keep this up, I’m going to have a more important appetite to feed.” She nipped his jaw, liking the feel of his hard body all too well.

He stepped back. “A gentleman wouldn’t let that happen. I need to keep your strength up for the next round, after all.”

Pleasure hummed through her at the thought. She wanted more days like this whenever they could have them. He was a man worth waiting for, even if he was gone so much of each year.

“Danny—”

“But first—”

They started at the same time.

She carried the napkins and silverware over to the table. “Go ahead,” she insisted, savoring the happy warmth between them.

“I just wanted to hold you to your end of the bargain today.” He flipped the eggs and salted them. “You’re going to fire the PR firm that’s handling your mail, right? Because I called the D.C. police to find out about their records of any threats—”

“You what?” The silverware clanked to the table.

“I double-checked with the local cops to be sure they had logged the threats against you.” He plated the eggs and brought them to the small bistro table.

“You didn’t need to do that.” A chill descended over her happy mood as she realized that he hadn’t trusted her to take care of the threatening letters.

That he’d stepped right into the situation and taken control.

“I wanted to,” he clarified, returning the skillet to the stove top and pulling on a T-shirt that had been flung over the back of a chair. “I couldn’t sleep last night and woke up to read through the file you forwarded me. The emails were damn well disturbing enough to warrant some follow-through, so I checked in with your local police station.”

“How did you even know which one was local?” She didn’t realize she held the napkins in a death grip until he stepped closer and pried them from her fingers. “You don’t even know where I live.”

He tensed, no doubt picking up on her mood.

“I looked up your photography business online. Your address is public record since you work out of your apartment—which, by the way, is a bad security risk.” He held out her chair for her, but she’d lost her appetite and remained on her feet.

“And you did all this while I slept.” She couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he’d woken her with kisses and carried her into the shower this morning, all the while having looked into her personal business and made calls on her behalf.

“I was worried about you, Steph.” He tossed the napkins on the table and faced her again. “Doesn’t it concern you to know that PR firm hasn’t reported anything to the cops in all the time they’ve been working for you?”

Had Josh lied? That did bother her. But damn it, that didn’t take away the fact that Danny had taken charge of her affairs without consulting her.

“Yes,” she said tightly, realizing now she didn’t know him half as well as she’d thought. “But I don’t care to be muscled out of my own life so someone else can figure out what’s best for me.”

“I’m not telling you what’s best for you.” His voice took on a remote aloofness that she’d never heard before and she wondered if she’d offended him half as much as he’d insulted her by handling her private concerns without asking. “I did some legwork to help you make an informed decision.”

“But I told you I would take care of that today.” She felt weary from this battle even though she hadn’t waged it with him before. She’d fought it enough times with her mom to know she didn’t need it from anyone else in her life. “You didn’t give me a chance to even look into it.”

Kind of like her mom hadn’t waited for her to call this morning even though Stephanie promised she would.

He took a deep breath and frowned, almost as if he’d stopped himself from saying something. Then, he crossed his arms and started again.

“You’ve had three years to look into it since these threats have been an ongoing problem. I assumed you would welcome some help since this situation has turned serious.”