Wolfe contemplated her answer. Was that why she’d cancelled? ‘It wasn’t guilt.’
She arched a brow. ‘No? So why run off so early? I don’t even think the birds were up when you left.’
Wolfe’s mouth tightened at the insouciant boredom he heard in her voice. It was the same tone she’d used with her father before. ‘I left because I had to provide last-minute details to two of my men before they left on another job.’ And he’d wanted to surprise her by replacing her damaged phone with one of his.
Her eyes flicked to his briefly, as if she hadn’t considered that. But why would she? In hindsight, it had probably looked bad to her, waking up alone after the passionate night they had spent together. Which, he acknowledged to himself now, was another reason he’d left. He’d woken up with such a strong sense of wellbeing his instinct had been to pull back. It was so ingrained in him he hadn’t even thought to question it at the time. Hadn’t wanted to question it. Now, looking at it from her point of view, her reactions that morning made more sense.
‘I’m sorry if I hurt you,’ he murmured sincerely.
Ava’s chin came up and her eyes shot sparks at him. ‘Hurt me? You didn’t hurt me, Wolfe.’
Wolfe’s mouth tightened at her vehemence.
‘Quite the contrary. In fact you did me a favour, because I didn’t have time to have dinner with you and...’ She shrugged again. ‘It’s too late now anyway.’
Was it?
Yes, of course it was.
‘You’re right.’ For one thing he was now her bodyguard and she was his client, and for another he wanted her just a little too much for comfort. ‘That ship has definitely sailed.’ Wolfe paced the length of an antique rug, agitated by the situation he had inadvertently created for himself. ‘And your father wants you to marry!’ Which would effectively remove her from his orbit altogether.
‘Something you’ll never do!’ The heated statement was almost a question.
‘Something I’ll never do,’ he agreed. He’d spent his adult life avoiding that particular institution, and he’d never felt any need to reconsider his views.
Ava nodded sharply, as if somehow his response had been predictable, and Wolfe ground his teeth together. This situation—his total physical awareness of this woman, his total agitation at this woman—was going to make his job almost impossible. Never before had he felt as if he was at the mercy of his emotions as he did with Ava, and he hated the feeling that he was not as in control as he would like to think he was. So much for his old nickname. Thank God his army mates couldn’t see him now!
Ava started pacing in front of the high bevelled windows again, as if she had too much energy that was searching for an outlet. Her fitted trousers pulled tight across the rounded curves of her backside.
‘You do realise if my father knew of our history together there is no way he would let you guard me?’
Wolfe brought his attention back to her face. ‘So will you tell him or will I?’ he asked silkily, irritated with himself and with her hot-headed stubbornness. She threw him a look and he swiped a hand through his hair. ‘Will you just sit down?’
‘Another order? Let me just set you straight on something, Monsieur Wolfe.’ She set her hands on her sexy hips. ‘If you think I am going to do everything you tell me to do you have another thing coming.’
Her accent had thickened with her agitation and it drove his mind right back to the bedroom.
Wolfe released a slow breath. ‘Believe it or not, I’m trying to help you.’
‘Oh, that’s right—my own personal protector.’
He crossed his arms and waited for her to run her anger out, determined not to get into any more arguments with her.
Seeming to sense his newfound resolve, she prodded at it like a child poking its fingers inside a lion’s enclosure. ‘So, do I get to order you around, as well?’
‘I work for your father.’
Her gorgeous mouth thinned. ‘Two peas in a pod. How cosy.’
‘All that energy you’re burning up is just going to tire you out unnecessarily,’ he offered amiably.
‘You should be glad I’m using it up on pacing,’ she snapped.
Wolfe’s body caught fire at her words. Down, boy. She didn’t mean that was an alternative. It would probably never be an alternative again after today. No, it definitely couldn’t be.
He watched her ponytail trail over the soft skin of her neck before he sat on the edge of the low, plump sofa that was surprisingly modern in a room that dated back centuries. ‘Take your time. I have all night.’