Putting a hand over his throat, Craig shook his head. "I really don't. But I can see it must be pretty serious stuff if you thought you needed to attack me in my own office. What's going on?"

"I can't tell you that. But I will apologize for my behavior. I see now that I made the wrong a.s.sumption based on your previous relationship with Suzanne."

"I'm not going to lie to you-there was a time when I did want something more from her than just a couple of nights together. A h.e.l.l of a lot more. So I get why you're here." The other man walked behind his desk and sat down, impressively composed and in control again. "But whatever's happening to her, I'm not behind it." He pointed to the framed pictures of himself with his arm around a pretty blonde, pictures Roman should have noticed before now.

Jesus. He'd really screwed this one up. Suzanne had already been furious with him before he'd left her office. When he went back and told her where he'd been, she was going to be absolutely livid. So much for convincing her that having him work as her bodyguard wouldn't interfere with her life.

He pulled out a card and laid it on Craig's desk. "If you can think of anyone who might not have her best interests at heart, I'd appreciate the name."

Right then, another man pushed through the door. Where Craig had a slightly rugged look to him, this man was polished, from the top of his head to the tips of his shiny thousand-dollar shoes. "Craig, is there a problem? Eloise said you had an unexpected visitor."

Roman could hear the hint of an Irish accent in this man's voice as well. From the backgrounds he'd done on Suzanne's compet.i.tors, he recalled that the men had met at school in Ireland before coming to America to make their fortunes in high tech. Not only did they make digital security software, but they had also ventured very successfully into home automation systems. Their units were in most of the high end homes in the city.

"Roman," Craig said, "this is my partner, Patrick O'Conner. Patrick, Roman works for Suzanne Sullivan. He had some questions for me about a couple of conferences Suzanne and I both attended last year."

Patrick looked at Roman suspiciously, obviously wanting to ask more questions. But when his cell rang, whoever was calling was obviously important enough for him to leave to take the call.

As Roman turned to see himself out, he was surprised to hear Craig say, "Hey, Roman. If I ever find myself needing someone to watch out for my soon-to-be wife, I'm going to give you a call. Despite the bruises I'm bound to have tomorrow, I appreciate the fact that you'll do whatever it takes to protect your client."

Craig was right. Roman would do whatever it took to protect Suzanne. And not just because she was his client.

But because, despite knowing better, he had started to care.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

Suzanne knew it must be Roman knocking on her office door by the sound of it-solid, steady, firm, s.e.xy. Okay, so maybe a knock couldn't sound s.e.xy, but somehow he managed the impossible.

A part of her wanted to tell him to go away. The other part wanted to fling open the door and kiss him with all the pent-up pa.s.sion she'd been trying so ineffectively to shove away.

G.o.d. For the first time in her life, she was an utter mess over a guy.

She took a deep breath to try to ground herself, but it was no use. And she couldn't leave him standing outside for much longer, or Harry would wonder what was going on between the two of them. As it was, she was afraid she had already said too much over lunch.

"Come in."

Her office was large and s.p.a.cious. But the moment Roman stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he dominated the room. And all of her attention.

"I apologize for needing to step out," Roman said to both of them before turning to Harry. "Thank you for staying with Suzanne until I returned."

"My pleasure." Harry immediately rose from the couch. "Thanks for lunch, sis." After she stood too, he hugged her good-bye. "Your ideas on how to approach my new research were excellent, just like I knew they would be. I swear, you could almost guest teach my cla.s.ses at this point."

"I'd be happy to take you up on that sometime." She always liked a new challenge, and after reading so many of Harry's books and papers about medieval history over the years, she was nearly as fascinated by the subject as he was. Though she knew Roman was listening, she refused to monitor what she said because of it. "Remember when I was a little girl, how I used to want to do whatever you and Alec did?"

He smiled at her exactly the way he used to when she was constantly trailing behind them with her hair bursting out of pigtails and dirt beneath her fingernails. "You were our little shadow."

"Just imagine if I'd stuck with that plan. I'd either be sending people off on fancy planes like Alec or teaching them medieval battle plans like you." She grinned. "Actually, both of those things sound like fun."

"Alec's clients would drive you crazy," Harry pointed out, "and my students probably would too."

He was right. She had little patience for the filthy rich men and women who used Alec's private planes. So many of them thought the world should be handed to them on a diamond-encrusted platter. And she would have been a terrible professor. Teaching had never been her gift. She was so impatient to see results that she had a bad habit of accidentally steamrolling past people who didn't understand what she was talking about.

"Call me if you need anything," Harry said, and then with a nod to Roman, he was gone, leaving the two of them alone in her office.

There were a dozen things she needed to work on this afternoon, but as she looked up and found Roman staring at her with his dark, intense gaze, she honestly couldn't remember a single item on her to-do list. All she could do was heat up, inside and out.

And want.

"I just spoke with Craig."

Roman's unexpected statement jarred her brain out of its blank state. Her body, however, stayed stubbornly in want, even as she said, "You called him while Harry and I were having lunch?"

"I went to his office and confronted him, face-to-face."

"You went to see him?" Shock that he'd acted so quickly after their conversation made her brain feel rusty, as if the gears inside her head needed to be oiled. "Why would you do that?"

"After what you told me about your previous relationship with him, it seemed obvious to me that he must be involved in the attacks on your servers and your phone."

She didn't realize she was moving toward Roman until she was standing chest to chest with him. "Are you crazy?" She didn't normally get this emotional in her office. Yes, she was pa.s.sionate about what she did, but she knew better than to let anger take over on the job. Only, when Roman pushed her b.u.t.tons over and over again, in a way no one else ever had, all those lessons kept falling away. "I told you he wouldn't do something like that just because we slept together a couple of times. Why wouldn't you listen to me?"

"Do you have any idea what sleeping with a woman like you does to a guy?" Roman's words were low. Raw. "Do you have any idea what your beauty does to a man? The way your laughter reaches all the way inside his chest? The way he can't stop breathing in your scent? How he's constantly marveling at how d.a.m.ned smart you are and just wants for one second to be able to see the world the way you see it? Because you're the brightest, most beautiful woman he's ever known." He erased the distance between them as he moved forward to close the final gap. "Any guy who's lucky enough to be with you isn't going to want to lose you. Unless he's a complete fool, he's going to do whatever he can to convince you to come back. And to stay."

She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came. Not when every one of Roman's pa.s.sionate words were reverberating through her.

No one had ever told her that her laughter, her scent, or her brain affected them this way. And no one had ever looked at her this way either. As though he wanted to kiss her more than he wanted to take his next breath.

When Roman's gaze dropped from her eyes to her mouth, she could almost taste his kiss from that look alone. Could almost feel the heated sizzle of his skin against hers.

She had never wanted anything more than she wanted to feel his arms around her, the tangle of his hands in her hair, the press of his muscles all along hers as he finally- "d.a.m.n it."

His curse came a beat before he stepped back from her. Coolness from the air conditioning rushed to fill the s.p.a.ce between them...but it wasn't nearly enough to douse the flames inside her.

"I overstepped, Suzanne." Each word sounded as if it came from between clenched teeth. "I shouldn't have said that. Any of that."

She wanted to move closer again, wanted to tell him she was glad he'd said it. That he'd made her feel special in a way no man ever had before. Because no one had ever noticed her the way he did. Not only as a brain. Not only as a woman.

But as both.

Instead, she said, "Never apologize for being honest with me." Her words were soft, but serious. "If that's what you feel, if that's what you think, I want to hear it."

"You didn't want to hear it before." He wasn't accusing now, simply pointing out the facts.

She let out a long, hard breath. "I know I can be stubborn." By the look in his eyes, it was obvious that she needn't have bothered telling him that, since he'd already figured it out. "But I usually come around when something makes sense."

"So you agree that talking with Craig made sense?"

She nodded. "I was going to speak to him tonight."

"With me there?" She couldn't read Roman's expression. Not when his man-of-stone mask was back in place. "Or without?"

She'd asked him to be honest with her, which meant he deserved the same from her. "Without. Which I now see might also have been the stubborn route. But now you've beat me to it." Her anger mostly gone now, she asked, "What did he say?"

"He isn't behind any of it."

She couldn't stop "I told you!" from bursting out.

"I now believe that he's not the one causing you problems," Roman said again, "but you were wrong that you didn't mean anything to him. He wanted you back, Suzanne. More than he ever let on."

That gave her pause. "How do you know?"

"He told me."

She hadn't seen that coming, hadn't guessed that Craig's feelings for her might have gone beyond a few hours of letting off steam together in the dark. "What did you tell him about the"-she paused to search for the right word-"problems I've been having?"

"I didn't give him any details. But he was concerned enough to offer to help if we need it."

We.

The tiny word leaped out at her. Her brothers, her friends, had always been there for her. But she'd never been a we with a man. The thought of being a we with Roman filled her with crazy longing. Even though it was the very last thing she should want.

"Next time," she made herself say in the midst of her rampantly conflicted thoughts, "I'd like you to tell me what you're planning so that I can either talk you out of it or go with you. I guess your talk with Craig wasn't that big a deal."

Roman looked uncomfortable. "I was pretty rough with him."

"Define rough."

"I shoved him up against the wall." He paused a beat before adding, "By his neck."

"Why?" She couldn't understand what would have driven Roman to such lengths. "Why would you do that?"

"I need to protect you."

"You've got to see by now that I'm not fragile."

"I know you're not. You're anything but fragile, Suzanne."

"Then..." It felt like she was trying to pick her way through a minefield to get to the other side. And yet she couldn't stay where she was. Not if there was a chance that reaching the other side would be worth the risk. "Why are you so h.e.l.lbent on protecting me?"

Her phone rang in the s.p.a.ce where his answer might have come. Standing closest to where the device lay on the corner of her desk, he looked at the screen, likely to a.s.sess whether it was another one of the junk calls.

"It's Smith," he said as he handed it to her.

Though she was always happy to hear from her cousin-he was so busy with his film projects that she didn't see him nearly often enough-she couldn't help but wish he'd waited another five minutes to call today.

"Smith, how are you?"

"Couldn't be better, Suz. Any chance you can come to Summer Lake for a couple of days?"

Joy jumped inside her as she instantly guessed why he must be calling to ask that question out of the blue like this. "Is Valentina finally going to take you off the market for good?"

"I've been off the market since the first time I laid eyes on her." Suzanne could hear the love in Smith's voice for his bride-to-be. "And yes, we've finally picked a date. How does Friday at noon sound to you?"

As it was already Wednesday afternoon, she would have to wrap up anything pressing at the office, pack her bags, and head to the Adirondacks first thing the next morning. She had a multinational corporation to run. She had a ma.s.sive task list ahead of her for Rosa's foundation. And she was just beginning to accept that the server and phone attacks deserved more of her attention.

But none of those things was anywhere near as important as celebrating with Smith and Valentina as they made their vows of forever to each other.

"It sounds absolutely perfect. And I won't tell a soul. Well," she amended so that Smith would know she'd be bringing a hired plus-one, "no one except for my bodyguard, Roman."

She could easily imagine Smith's eyebrows rising. "I don't like the sound of that. Why do you have a bodyguard?"

"I'll explain everything when I see you. But until then, don't worry, I promise you I'm safe and sound." Roman, she was starting to understand, wouldn't allow anything else.

"I've got to tell you," Smith said, "you've got me worried. If you need help with anything-"

"I swear, I'm fine." Her cousins were as overprotective as her brothers. She loved them all, but sometimes it wasn't easy to be part of such a big family with so many alpha males surrounding her at every turn.

"We'll talk more when you get to the lake," Smith said, making it clear that they weren't done with this conversation, even if he was dropping it for now. "I've got most of Alec's planes on call to get everyone here on such short notice, so let him know what time you can be ready to head out."

"Thanks, but I'll probably drive." Her brother's planes were a really nice ride, but she wanted the flexibility to be able to come and go as she pleased for the next few days. "Give Valentina my love and let her know I can't wait to see her dress."

"You and me both," Smith replied. "I hope I can still form a coherent sentence when I finally see her in it. I've waited so long to make her mine..."

Suzanne sighed. Smith and Valentina were so sweet together. As one of the biggest movie stars in the world, it might have been difficult to see Smith falling this hard for anyone. But Valentina was special-the perfect woman for him. Not at all interested in the spotlight, but willing to brave it for the man she adored.

For a few moments after they hung up, she savored the sweetness of knowing Smith and Valentina were finally tying the knot. There was nothing more wonderful than true love turning to forever love. One day, she wanted the same thing for herself.

Despite the way her parents' marriage had turned out, Suzanne still believed in love, still held out hope that she'd find a man who cherished her, who appreciated her. That future love had always been nameless, faceless. Until today, when for some crazy reason, Roman's face-and all those breathtaking things he'd said to her in the heat of the moment-were suddenly filling in the blank s.p.a.ces.

"Change of plans," she told Roman. "My cousin Smith is getting married on Friday. Since he's super famous, it's super secret and totally spur of the moment."

"I figured, based on your side of the call."

She appreciated that Roman wasn't freaking out over the fact that he was going to be attending Smith Sullivan's wedding with her in a couple of days. So many other people had such stars in their eyes when it came to her family. Sometimes it felt as if she was nothing more than a stepping stone for people who were hoping for a piece of her family's money and fame.

"Wherever you go," he added in his deep voice, "I'll be there."

Perhaps she should have been irritated by this reminder that his job was to keep watch over her at all times, but the truth was that right this very second, she was more rea.s.sured than anything. Although maybe rea.s.sured wasn't exactly the right word for what she was feeling.

The simple comfort of knowing no one would harm her while Roman was there was one thing. But the b.u.t.terflies in her stomach at the thought of attending a family wedding with him at her side-and the antic.i.p.ation of sharing a dance with the most attractive, intriguing man she'd ever known-were something else entirely.