"It's not as orderly as usual, but I can sort it out. He has three different storage units. It could take some time to go through everything and get it inventoried."

"Sounds like an outing." He could go with her, stop to pick up the things he needed for the house security, maybe a few more groceries, too. It'd be a full day, especially if he got everything installed.

"I thought of something." Smiling, she turned, saw him in his jeans, a black T-shirt in his hand, and she stalled.

Enjoying the way her face went rosy and she breathed deeper, Cannon took his time pulling on the shirt.

When he finished, her chin went up. "I like to jog early."

"Yeah, me, too."

She waved a hand at his body. "But you're coming off a long trip and you're going to be out late, so-"

"No worries. I can handle it."

She leveled a frown of concern on him. "You're still bruised and recovering from that last fight and-"

No way did he want her to list his injuries, to mention how he'd screwed up, or how he'd d.a.m.n near lost. "It's no big deal."

"But if I'm up before you tomorrow I don't want to wake you."

"What time do you usually take off?"

She pursed her mouth. "Six?"

"You don't know?" Or was she making up a time in hopes of putting him off?

"Six."

"Good. Six it is. I'm usually up by five-thirty anyway." True, he'd looked forward to sleeping in during his visit, but for Yvette, he could handle a little less sleep. "Anything else?"

"Well..." She blew out a breath. "There is one other thing."

"Okay."

Another breath, and she blurted, "I do like it."

Now, why was she blushing? "It?"

"That...that I'm special to you." She rushed on. "I know it's for horrible reasons, that what happened has kind of tied us together, but...I'm still glad to have you as a friend."

Friend, h.e.l.l. He'd disabuse her of that notion very soon. But not right now, when he was on his way out. "Me, too." As naturally as he could manage, he went to her and kissed her goodbye. "Don't leave without me in the morning."

"If you're sure..."

"I'm positive." More so every minute that he spent with her.

And if he didn't go now, he wouldn't go at all, so he turned on his heel and walked out.

t he minutes, the hours, dragged by at a snail's pace until Yvette couldn't bear her own company anymore. She'd tried TV. Tried stuffing her face with popcorn, and then later chocolate. But being alone in the big empty house had her hearing things that weren't there. She needed to take off for a while, to do something to keep her brain occupied.

She wasn't dumb enough to jog alone this time of night, and as she'd told Cannon, she didn't have any friends around. The idea of sitting at the movies by herself didn't appeal to her at all, so instead she decided to rent a DVD. She pushed her feet into sandals and shrugged on a b.u.t.ton-up shirt over her T-shirt. Within a single minute she was out the door, locking up securely behind herself.

It was only sensible, she told herself, for a woman alone to be skittish while out and about after dark, never mind that tall streetlights kept the area well lit. After driving toward the small commercial area, she searched for the rental shop she remembered, but it had been replaced with a secondhand clothing store. She drove on, past Rowdy's bar until, farther down the road, she found a video store.

She parked at the curb, got out and locked her car door, then kept her keys tight in her hand. She knew exactly where to find the mace in her purse, and made a point of scanning her surroundings as she crossed the street and went into the slightly run-down shop.

Uneasiness throbbed beneath her skin, but she told herself to ignore it. If she ever wanted to get over the past, she had to push herself past ridiculous fears.

To give herself a moment to figure out the layout, she studied the interior. There seemed to be only men inside, five of them, not counting the clerk. Dusty racks held dated DVDs sectioned off by genre in the front of the shop. Lights surrounded a back door that led into another room, but Yvette made a beeline for the action flicks to her left.

Unfortunately, two men loitered there, talking to each other. It wasn't until she got nearer to them that she wondered if they were making a drug deal, given the close, quiet conversation combined with their shifting gazes.

Looking for something to catch her interest, Yvette pretended to ignore them as she perused the shelves. They got quiet, watching her in such a calculated way that she could actually feel their smarmy attention moving over her. Growing nervousness made her hands clammy.

Anxious to be on her way, she s.n.a.t.c.hed up an older Tom Cruise movie and headed to the register. The clerk was younger, his shaved head tattooed, but it was the way he smiled at her that made her want to mace him.

Get it together, she told herself. You're in a public place. The front door is open. People are on the street- "Anything else?" he asked with sneering suggestion.

She jumped at the sound of his deep voice. "No, thank you." As quickly as possible she finished up. It wasn't until he handed her the movie that she saw the stack of returned DVDs behind him.

s.e.x videos.

p.o.r.n.

She jerked around to stare at that d.a.m.ned lit door in the back of the room.

How could she have been so stupid?

Seeing her realization, the two men leered at her.

She snapped around to leave, and ran face-first into a tall, hard body. The guy caught her arm to steady her. "Hey now. Easy."

She looked up into deep brown eyes and wanted to melt. "Armie."

The shock on his face might have amused her at any other time. "Yvette?" Still holding her arm, he glared around the room, mean mugging all the other customers.

Everyone turned away.

Voice lowered, he asked, "What the h.e.l.l are you doing in here?"

She held up Tom Cruise-and saw the tremor in her hand.

His mouth flattened with disapproval. "You shouldn't be in here."

"I didn't realize..."

He looked over his own shoulder, then back at her. "Cannon is going to have a cow."

She almost choked on her laugh. Seriously, Cannon was the very least of her concerns. Freeing herself from Armie's hold, feeling plenty brave now with his presence, Yvette relaxed her knotted muscles. "So what are you doing here?"

"Buying p.o.r.n."

Now she did choke. "No, I meant..." She rolled her eyes. Armie was one of those s.e.xually outrageous guys that no woman could take seriously, but that every woman probably felt safe with. "I thought you were with Cannon tonight."

"Yeah, I am. He stopped to visit with some, ah..." He rubbed the back of his head, making his already spiky blond hair messier. "Some local people, so I came on ahead to do my business." Clearly trying to distract her, he gave a shameful grin. "I'm entertaining a lady tomorrow who goes wild with a few visuals."

Yvette crossed her arms and tapped her foot, and d.a.m.ned if Armie didn't squirm. "So," she said, squinting. "Cannon is visiting some women?"

"Not the way you're saying it, no. I mean, he could visit them that way because they're all kinds of willing, you know. But he's been dodging them for years."

Sort of the way he'd dodged her years ago? "Who are they?"

Now that he'd partially fessed up, he jumped in with both feet. "Topless dancers. Used to work at Rowdy's bar before he bought it. Rowdy got rid of the pole, and all but one of the gals moved on to another place so they could keep the tips they made from working their wares."

Wow. Yvette had no words. Just...wow. Why was Cannon visiting with them if he wasn't interested? She seriously doubted they discussed the weather.

Finally, when Armie said, "There are five of them," she found her tongue.

Five? "Wonderful. I'm sure they appreciate his attention." She made a move around Armie and he, the jerk, fell into step with her.

"Ready to go, huh? No more shopping to do? Got everything you...need?"

Yvette didn't answer, but that only encouraged him.

"You check out the back room? No? It's a sight. They have toys hanging from the ceiling."

Sheer surprise tripped her up and she stopped to stare up at him. "Toys?"

"Yeah, you know. Different-size vibrators, some clamps, a variety of dil-"

"No!" She started walking again, a little faster this time. "Just hush."

Grinning, he said, "Okay. But I'll walk you out."

Glad for the company after getting shaken, she still said, "Aren't you forgetting your p.o.r.n?"

"It's not going anywhere."

Yvette could hear the snicker in his every word. She sighed.

"They have plenty to choose from."

"I wouldn't know. I went only as far as the action section."

"Oh, they have action. Naked action. Threesome action. Discipline-and-bondage action. Backdoor action. Doctor-and-nurse action. Every kind of action you could think of."

He couldn't know about her past. About the animals that had forced her to watch as they'd videotaped a drugged woman. The sick cretins who had threatened her- "It's not all like that, you know."

Okay, given the gentleness of his tone, maybe he did know. She must've been obvious without meaning to be. Yvette wasn't sure what to say so she looked away.

He dipped his head into her line of vision. "Sometimes," he continued, now all teasing and silly, his eyebrows bopping, "it's just dirty fun."

"Armie."

Satisfied that he had her attention again, he straightened. "Yeah, doll?"

"This is my car."

His grin was so big that he almost made her grin, too. "Can't make you blush, huh?"

Cannon made her blush all the time. She gave another sigh. "Not over something so silly."

"So maybe I need to try harder."

She unlocked her car door. "And why would you want to do that?"

Going super serious, he stared down at her and spoke in a quiet, sincere voice. "Because Cannon cares about you, and he's like a brother to me, so that means I care, too."

Now she blushed.

And Armie loved it. "There you go," he said softly. "Cannon will be along any second now if you want to wait."

"No." The very last thing she wanted to do was b.u.t.t in on his night out with his friends. She touched Armie's arm. "You don't have to mention to him that I-"

"Was shopping for a movie in the legendary local p.o.r.n shop? Yeah," he said on a laugh, "I most definitely do. Fact, I can't wait."

She glared, but that only amused Armie more. "b.u.t.thead."

The insult sent his brows high. "Don't know why I'm surprised at the name-calling," he muttered as he watched her get into her car. "I mean, after catching you in the dirty-video store, nothing should be a shock, right?"

"Goodbye, Armie."

He grinned. "'Bye, Yvette."

The way he said that, all sugary and teasing and full of wickedness, well, Yvette could see why the naughty ladies loved him.

But she'd be willing to bet the not-so-naughty ladies were drawn, as well. Just not her.

She'd already fallen for Cannon.

And given what Cannon had said earlier, and what Armie had just confirmed, she needed to level with him.

It was bad enough that she had to be miserable.

No reason to make Cannon that way, too.