More Than a Mission - Caridad Pineiro [14]
She had put the kit on a low stone wall by the shower and was fumbling with opening it as he approached.
“Here, let me,” he said and took the kit from her hands, opened it and laid it back on top of the wall. He removed a tube of antiseptic cream, squeezed a little onto his finger. Working it into the scrape, he made sure to skip a section so that it might require her further attention.
“There.” He was closing the tube when she reached out and took it from his hands.
“You missed a spot.”
Bingo, he thought.
She placed a dot of the cream on her index finger and after, rubbed that finger along the top portion of the scrape. The action brought her close and he lowered his head, got into her personal space. Despite her run, she still smelled fresh. Feminine, although there was no hint of any perfume. An assassin couldn’t afford to leave even something as simple as a scent behind, Aidan realized, but then turned his attention back to her, putting himself where she couldn’t avoid him.
Elizabeth stroked the cream into the scrape. His skin was warm beneath her finger. As she skipped her gaze up to his face, she finally realized how close they were. And that she had to reach past him and brush even closer to remove a bandage from the kit. She didn’t hesitate leaning toward him, even though her breast brushed his chest as she did so.
Her nipple, already peaked from the chill of the ocean breeze, tightened even more and she shivered.
“Cold?” he asked and rubbed his hands across her bare arms to warm her. It only brought another shiver. One that came from another place she didn’t want to acknowledge, so she pulled away from him and shot him a glare. He was obviously used to playing this game quite well, but she didn’t intend to be another notch acquired in his wanderings.
“Don’t touch, remember?”
Aidan didn’t push, although she could see that he was tempted to find out just how far he could.
Stepping away from her, he held his hands up as if in surrender. “I get it. Thanks for the help.” With that, he grabbed his clothes, walked back to the beachfront and turned toward town.
Elizabeth watched him go and wondered whether hiring him had been a mistake. She’d hoped getting a bartender would solve her problem, but this guy…
As she watched his Speedo-clad backside saunter away, it confirmed her original impression that he would be nothing but trouble. When he turned, caught her observing him…again…and winked, she knew she was right.
Aidan was going to give her nothing but grief. She had to keep a close eye on him. She couldn’t afford to let him get close or to work his way into her heart. The price to be paid for that was just too great.
Chapter 5
Frustration.
That was the only word Aidan could use to describe his feelings on so many levels.
A few days had gone by and he had yet to be able to charm his way into her cottage.
Forget charming his way into her pants. The lady might as well have on a cast-iron chastity belt given how effectively she countered his every attempt to get close. She was a master, he’d give her that.
Not to mention that in the days that he’d been in the restaurant, he’d seen a woman who was patient and kind and all-so-nice that it was hard to imagine a side of her that could kill a man in cold blood.
Frustration. Again.
On a positive note, he had actually managed to fake being a halfway decent bartender the first few days with Lucia’s help via the earpiece. Luckily, tastes in Leonia were rather pedestrian. By the end of the week, he had memorized the most commonly requested libations and discovered the many attributes of the restaurant’s favorite wine. It was from a local vineyard along the coast and not all that far from Prince Reginald’s country estate. He wondered if the Sparrow had bought the wine before or after killing the prince.
He and Lucia were partaking a glass of that vintage as they monitored Elizabeth’s activities thanks to the strategically placed cameras. Although the restaurant