He hesitated another moment, then stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind him.
Bonnie watched through the window as his car drove away, wondering where he was going, or what he was going to do, but knowing she didn’t have the right to ask. Perhaps he had a lady friend waiting for him.
Of course he does, Bonnie, she told herself. A man like him probably has dozens of women.
But they’re not ladies. He wouldn’t want a lady. And for some reason, that thought sent a small, forbidden thrill curling through her insides.
________________________
Anger and frustration were not a good combination. David didn’t understand himself. Or more to the point, he didn’t understand his reaction to Bonnie. He’d been a hairbreadth away from kissing her. Not a sweet little peck. No, he’d wanted his tongue in her mouth, his lips covering hers, feeling her urgency. He’d wanted, dammit, to devour her completely.
And she would have loved it, he could tell that much from her racing pulse and her soft, inviting eyes. She may play the proper little Miss Priss to perfection, but she had fire. Enough to burn him if he let her.
It wasn’t the time and she wasn’t the person for him to be getting ideas about. But he’d taunted her without mercy, wanting to conquer her, to show her he was male to her female. To prove… what? That he could and would protect her? That he’d solve her problems so she could smile more? He didn’t know.
He’d had women, of course, but none that meant anything beyond physical pleasure. None that he’d wanted to claim, to brand in the most primal, basic way. He didn’t know what it was, but Bonnie was simply different. And she affected him differently.
That dress of hers… so feminine, so deceiving. He’d always heard other men joke about having a lady in the parlor and a wanton in the bedroom. The dress had looked innocent enough, but her eyes…
He knew, even though he wasn’t happy knowing, that Bonnie was the descriptive mix of lady and wanton to a tee. It was an explosive fantasy, the thought of having a woman who would unleash her passion for just one man, that no one would ever guess unless they were with her, covering her, inside her. Beneath her dress, he could make out the faint, delicate curve of her breasts, her narrow rib. She was so slight of build, but so feminine. She had the finest skin he’d ever seen, warm and smooth and pale.
David’s thighs clenched and his heart raced. He hadn’t been able to resist touching her, and she hadn’t protested when he did.
She was too trusting for her own good. And he was too intuitive to be fooled by her prissy demeanor. Bonnie Rimmer had more than her fair share of backbone, and that was almost as sexy as her eyes.
Stopping at a corner drugstore, David pulled out his phone to call his former partner, George Howell at the agency. The both of them had successfully rescued Senator Ernest Samuel, who had been kidnapped months ago. The kidnappers had demanded a huge sum of money as ransom which they didn’t get and the mastermind of the plan, Joseph Saunders had been killed during the rescue operation.
David and George had been paid for their services, but it seemed like it wasn’t over as they’d thought. Two months ago, David and George had both received a threatening text from someone who wanted revenge for the death of Joseph Saunders. Apparently whoever it was blamed the both of them because they led the operation. The message had bothered David at first, and he was alert, always looking out for any sign of danger, but two months had passed since he received the text and nothing had happened, so David had moved on. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder all because of a text from someone who wouldn’t show his or her face.
He made the call, and then waited.
George Howell picked up on the first ring. “Yeah?”
“Hey, George, what’s up?” David replied.
“It’s about time. Where the hell have you been?”
David rubbed his eyes, “I’m sorry, been busy”
“I’m waiting.”
“I met a lady tonight.”
“Is that supposed to surprise me, Dave? Hell, I imagine you meet a lot of broads every damn night.”
“Not a broad,” David said, the edge in his tone evident. “A lady. The one I’ve been tracking”
There was a low whistle, then, “No kidding? That was fast”
“Well, she sucks at hiding” Then, in a drier tone, David added, “But i have to stay with her for a while. Client wants to be sure she is safe here.”
“Sounds like you have your hands full, and it looks like you are about to have more.”
“What do you mean?”
“The texts are back. That’s why I have been calling you. I’m surprised you haven’t said anything about it. Didn’t you get one?”
“No, I didn’t. What texts?”
“The ones from the bastard who claims to know Joseph Saunders. I thought it was just some bored idiot after we heard nothing all this time, but apparently I was wrong. I got another one today. I will forward it to you later.”
David’s brain was spinning. He had thought it was over too. He probably got the text too as he had a lot of unread texts. Keeping an eye on Bonnie had taken a huge part of his time. But now the texts were back? What was he going to do next? He couldn’t abandon his job now.
“What do you think we should do?” George asked
“I can handle things, I think. It would have been better if I didn’t have to stay here, but my options are limited now.”
“I could check the number, see if I can find some leads, then we’ll figure out who this person is and what they want”
“Yeah, you do that.” David agreed. “I’m having a hard time finding this person serious. I mean, enough of the threats and just show yourself. So far nothing has happened apart from the texts, so just be alert and I’ll do the same. I need this money so I don’t want to leave it for some coward. Keep me posted as soon as you find something. And in the meantime, watch your backside.”
“Yeah sure,” George replied.
David felt a certain finality settle over him as he hung up. Guess he had to be extra careful.