Tough Luck (A-List Security 1)

Wait.

“Did Duncan send you?” Untangling myself from my inelegant heap on my yoga mat, I squinted at the guy who, truth be told, didn’t seem in much hurry to get on with the killing. And apparently, what I’d interpreted as reaching for a weapon was actually him holding out an ID card. A military ID.

Damn it, Danny. I cursed myself for choosing to put on my yoga playlist instead of checking my messages. I’d missed a call from Duncan, but I hadn’t bothered to track down the voicemail. Oops. But maybe I wasn’t about to die at the hands of sexy redneck SEAL here. Win.

“Yup, I’m a friend of Duncan’s from the SEALs. Cash Erwin. I said that, but I guess you were otherwise occupied.” He gestured at my yoga setup, and he wasn’t wrong. I’d barely turned my attention to the chime of my doorbell app, more concerned with my sun salutation flow. “I brought you breakfast for while you tell me what’s going on with you.”

“Nothing’s going on.” I scrambled to a standing posture. “Duncan’s overreacting.”

I should have known Duncan would want to follow up on my entirely harmless and speculative questions.

“You…uh…” A rosy flush spread up Cash’s neck. “You wouldn’t want to put on some pants, would you?”

“Oh, right.” I was naked. Somehow, I’d forgotten that. And usually, I wouldn’t care, but something about Cash’s caramel-colored eyes made me feel extra bare and exposed. Not to mention that in my relief over not dying, my cock had taken the opportunity to weigh in on this guy’s off-the-charts hotness factor. I needed to cover up before he noticed that reaction too.

“You…um…there’s a robe on that bush.” His ruddy blush had reached his cheeks now. Yeah, he’d noticed. Setting down his fast-food bag, he retrieved my robe with more care than I would have expected and gently draped it around my shoulders.

“Thanks.” Now I was the one blushing as I wrapped myself in the silky robin’s egg-blue fabric adorned with a swooping bird print. I loved it, but Cash’s penetrating gaze made me feel like I was also a silly bird about to take flight. “It was such a gorgeous day that I decided to do my morning yoga out here. I do that now. Mornings. And yoga.”

I hated how I managed to sound both rambling and defensive.

“Good for you.” There was a certain wariness to Cash’s expression, like I might be about to ask him to join in the naked yoga. “Duncan said you’d…been making some changes. Good on you, kid.”

The kid part chafed, as did Duncan apparently warning him about me.

“I got sober. It’s okay. You don’t have to pretty the truth up.” I kept my voice matter-of-fact. “I’m an addict. I got help, and yeah, I’ve made a lot of changes. I wasn’t sure whether Duncan had noticed.”

“He noticed. He cares about you. We were both deployed a bunch, as I’m sure you know, and he’s probably still trying to catch up. Last I knew, you were some freckle-faced kid with too-big glasses and pulled-up pants. Not…” Cash made a vague gesture. He had a soothing voice, radio deep and smooth, but it wasn’t working on me.

“Surprise. I grew up.” I tried to ignore how my chest twinged at the news that Duncan cared about me. “And I’m sure he complained about my stunts. He undoubtedly thinks this is another of them. Making up a stalker for attention.”

“No. Look, Danny—”

“Daniel,” I corrected. I didn’t hate my name quite so much when Cash said it, but most days, I felt galaxies removed from Danny Love, America’s sweetheart.

“Daniel. Your brother is proud of you for getting sober. He said as much just this morning.” Somehow Cash managed to keep a patient tone. “And he’s worried about you too. So maybe you can turn the attitude down?”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Duncan’s actually my half-brother.”

“That limits how worried he gets to be?” Cash lifted an eyebrow. Damn, even his eyebrows were thick and rugged. Just unfair, really, the way he radiated hotness simply by breathing.

“Guess not.” I exhaled hard. “Sorry. I feel stupid to have bugged Duncan so much he sent you over. What are you anyway? You don’t look like a bodyguard.”

More like a bouncer at a seedy club, but I at least had enough of a filter to not add that.

“Ha. That’s what I keep telling Duncan. I’m not bodyguard material. I just got out of the navy. Your brother wants me in a slick suit like him, but I’m not about to hang up my chance to laze around in jeans or sweats.”

“Or nothing,” I added absently. Oops. Apparently, I didn’t have that filter after all.

Luckily, Cash simply laughed. “I’ll leave the naked yoga to you. But anyway, I’m just doing Duncan a favor because he really is worried and would have come himself, but he had a flight.”