by Anna Blakely
****
Chapter 5
“Hey, man. Good to see ya.”
“Hey.” Grant shook Coop’s outstretched hand as he and Brynnon stepped inside her father’s home. Having worked closely with Senator Cantrell a couple of times now, he was familiar with the mansion’s setup.
“And you must be Brynnon.” The former ranger gave her a sideways grin. “Hi. Sean Cooper. You can call me Coop.”
“Hi, Coop.” Brynnon smiled as she returned the handshake. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. Your father told me a lot about you.”
Rolling her captivating eyes, Brynnon chuckled. “Great.”
“Nah. All good things, I promise.”
The handsome sniper winked, and Brynnon’s lips curved even higher. Grant pushed back the urge to punch the fucker for being able to make her smile like that.
“Let me take your coats,” Coop offered.
“Thank you.” Brynnon began unbuttoning her coat.
When she came downstairs this morning with it already on, Grant had taken notice of the way its dark green color matched perfectly with her eyes. Since when did he notice shit like that?
Since her.
Coop helped her slide the thick wool from her shoulders, and Grant wanted to kick himself for not thinking to do that. Again, the question of why he gave a damn about something like that struck.
He didn’t ponder the thought for long, however. Mainly because—though he didn’t want to admit it—he already knew the answer.
“You’re pretty good at that.” Brynnon smiled up at Coop. “Has my dad been using you as a bodyguard or a butler?”
The younger man smirked. “A little of both, actually.”
What the actual fuck? She was flirting. With Coop. Right in fucking front of him.
“Well, don’t let him try to push you around.” Brynnon’s voice went all smooth and creamy. “He may act serious and tough, but the guy’s a complete softy.”
“I was about to say the same thing about this guy.” Coop used his thumb to point toward Grant.
Brynnon laughed a little too loudly at the joke, adding to Grant’s frustration. He’d barely gotten two words out of her this morning—way out of character for her—but now she was practically falling all over his teammate? What the hell?
Grant tried to tell himself the distance she was putting between them was a good thing. He hadn’t missed the interest behind her smoldering gaze last night when she’d bumped into him upstairs. Hell, for a second there, he’d actually thought about kissing her.
If she hadn’t pulled away first, he honestly wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t have leaned down for a taste. Afterward, when he’d seen her up on that goddamn scaffolding and completely lost his cool. Not because he was a controlling bastard—like she probably thought—but because the idea of something happening to her scared the fuck out of him.
When he realized she was going to fall, his heart had come back to life for the first time in over a decade. Somehow, Brynnon Cantrell was starting to slither between his carefully placed defenses. That terrified him even more.
Coop laughed at something she said, snapping Grant out of his jumbled thoughts. He blinked, his eyes connecting with hers. The light in her eyes dimmed slightly before skittering away.
What the fuck?
He wasn’t sure what happened between last night and today, but her demeanor with him was definitely different. The silence on the ride here had given him time to wrack his brain for what he’d done to piss her off, but he couldn’t pinpoint anything out of the norm.
Now, she was flirting it up with Sniper Boy, which made no goddamn sense to him whatsoever. Something was definitely bothering her, and he had full intentions of calling her out on it the first chance he got.
“There’s my girl!”
All heads turned to see William Cantrell walking across the tiled floor toward them. “Hi, sweetheart.” With his hands on Brynnon’s shoulders, the prestigious man kissed his daughter on the cheek. “Good to see you.”
Grant watched, envious of the embrace Brynnon gave to her father.
“You too, Daddy. Is Billy here?”
The senator’s smile faltered at the mention of his son’s name. Interesting.
“Not yet, but he promised he’d come.”
“I’m sure he will.”
Brynnon smiled again, but Grant had been around her long enough now to recognize the uncertainty behind her eyes. She hadn’t talked about her brother much, and he had a feeling there was some tension there.
Her father held his hand out for Grant. “Grant, my boy. Good to see you again. I take it you and my daughter are no longer butting heads?”
“No, sir,” Grant lied to the man.
“Well, just wait.” Cantrell chuckled. “You stick around this one long enough, it’s bound to happen again.”
“Hello...” a blushing Brynnon waved a hand back and forth in her dad’s peripheral. “This one is standing right here.”
The senator simply laughed again, speaking a little lower when he added, “See? I swear, she’s the spitting image of her mother. Got both her beautiful looks and attitude.”
Looking appalled, Brynnon’s voice rose an octave. “Dad!”
Laughing, her father simply wrapped an arm around Brynnon and gave her a squeeze. “Oh, calm down, sweetheart. You know I’m only telling our new friend the truth.”
“He’s not our friend. He’s my bodyguard. One you insist I have, even though I don’t need him.”
Grant hid his reaction to the statement, her words stinging a hell of a lot more than they should.
Blatantly bypassing Brynnon’s continued objection to Grant’s presence, the senator smiled at them both. “The food is just about ready. Why don’t we all go have a seat in the dining room while we wait?”
Brynnon started in that direction but stopped when she realized Grant wasn’t following.
Her pretty brows turned inward. “You’re not coming?”
He was surprised that didn’t make her happy and wanted to tell her so. Instead, Grant did his best to control his irritation. “In a minute. I need to go over a couple of things with Coop first.”
Without another word, the confusing woman turned and followed her father across the large entry toward the hallway leading to the dining room.
Waiting until they were out of earshot, Coop grinned. “Brynnon seems great. I totally expected her to be all hoity-toity and stuck up, but she acted genuinely nice. I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised. Her dad’s pretty cool. You two really getting along okay?”
Grant tore his eyes from the entryway where Brynnon had just disappeared to and looked back at his teammate. “Any new threats?”
Coop blinked at Grant’s obvious change of subject. “Not in the last two days.” The other man’s brows scrunched together. “You seem grumpy, even for you. What’s the matter...do you not like her, or something?”
I like her too much. “She’s fine.”
“Fine?” The other man looked confused. “If you say so.”
Done with the topic, Grant let out a frustrated breath. “I say so. Now, can we please focus on the reason we’re here instead of how fucking sweet you think Cantrell’s daughter is? It’s bad enough I had to stand here and watch your mutual fucking flirting session.”
Coop put a hand up between them. “Whoa, take it easy, man. I was just asking if you two were getting along. Jesus.”
Shit. Coop was right. He needed to get his head in the fucking game. Otherwise, he’d risk letting his true feelings for the woman show. The slow upturn of Coop’s mouth told him he was already too late.
“Holy shit.”
“What?” Grant kept his expression flat.
Coop’s eyes grew as big as saucers. Blurting much too loudly, “Dude, you like her!”
“Shut the fuck up,” Grant growled, his eyes flying over to the direction where Brynnon and her father had vanished. Glaring back at Coop, he wh
ispered angrily, “Are you seriously that stupid, or are you trying to get us both fired?”
The idea that Grant may have an actual romantic interest in someone apparently trumped any threat of reprimand from the senator because Coop began to chuckle. “Oh, my god.” He covered his mouth but then held his hands up as though he were praying or some shit. “This is the best news I’ve ever heard. Like, seriously epic.”
“There is no news,” Grant hissed. “You’re assuming shit you have no business assuming.”
“Oh, no,” Coop shook his head, amusement flickering in the young sniper’s hazel eyes. “You like her. It makes perfects sense now.”
“The fuck are you talking about?”
“You.” Coop pointed at him. “Ever since your last gig with the Senator, you’ve been walking around like you’re pissed off at the world.” He shrugged. “Well, more than usual anyway.”
“No. I haven’t.”
Ignoring his false denial, Coop continued with his hushed rant. “Plus, you practically jumped all over Mac’s ass to get this assignment.”
“I didn’t jump.” Grant took a step forward, his hands curling into tight fists at his sides. “I explained to you why I volunteered for this job.”
Not backing down, Coop grinned. “Oh, you explained alright. I’m just not buying it.”
Grant wanted to shove his knuckles into the other man’s teeth. “You seem to be under the impression I give a shit what you buy or don’t buy.”
Snapping his fingers, Coop pointed at him for the second time. “That’s another thing. You’ve been on the defensive with this case from day one.” Straightening his shoulders, he spoke with a piss-poor British accent. “I think thou doth protest a little too much.”
Grant took a step back and forced himself not to reach out and break the man’s finger right the fuck off. “I’m protesting because your accusations are completely unfounded. And, we’ve only been working this for three days, dumbass.”
“Deflect all you want, man. I saw the way you were looking at her.”
What the hell? “When?” Grant challenged.
“When she was hugging her dad. You got this look in your eye. One I’ve never seen you wear. Almost like you wished she was hugging you instead.”
Shit. Goddamn it. Shit. “So, I glanced Brynnon’s way. Doesn’t mean I like her.”
“Bullshit.” Coop smirked. “It was only there for a second, but I saw it. You got that same look Jake has when he looks at Olivia. And Trev with Lexi, or D with Charlie.”
Anxiety began to seep through his pores. Coop couldn’t be right. He wasn’t falling for her. Was he?
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Grant gave himself a mental shake. What the hell was he worried about? It wasn’t the same look. Even if it were, it wouldn’t matter. He didn’t do the whole committed, romantic shit those other guys did.
He tried that once. Still bore the scars inside his soul because of it.
More than ready to end the pointless conversation, Grant decided to turn the tables on the know-it-all.
“Speaking of looks, Sean...how’s Mac doing?”
Coop blinked. “What?”
“You wanna talk about the way a guy looks at a woman, take a look in the fucking mirror."
The other man shook his head. “Mac and I are teammates. Partners. That’s all.”
“But you want to be more, right?”
“Fuck, no!”
Grant nearly smiled. “Now who’s protesting, asshole?”
“Because you’re way off base with this shit.”
“Right. And I suppose I’ve imagined all those stolen glances I’ve seen you throw her way. Or the ones she’s given you.”
Coop’s brows raised, and the guy's cheeks actually became slightly flushed. His physical reaction to Grant’s statement made him wonder if Coop genuinely didn’t realize the way Mac looked at him when she thought no one was watching.
After recovering from the apparent bomb drop, the other man tried stumbling his way out of it. “She doesn’t...you don’t...I haven’t been throwing Mac anything.”
“Only because, from what I’ve seen, she hasn’t been willing to play catch. Yet.” He tossed that last word in there, just to keep Coop’s melting pot of thoughts boiling.
Flustered, the only thing the former Ranger could come back with was, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Grant locked eyes with his teammate. “But you do?” Running a hand over his jaw, he took a step back. “Tell you what. Instead of worrying about what you think is going on in my personal life, maybe you should man up and get your own shit in order.”
Grant spun on his heels and walked away, more pissed at himself than anyone. Just as he started to enter the hallway, Brynnon appeared from around the corner. The two nearly collided.
“Oh!” She exclaimed. “Sorry.”
“Sorry.” Grant grabbed her upper arms to keep her from falling over.
For the next thirty seconds, they both just stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. Grant had no idea what he was revealing, but Brynnon’s oozed with a mixture of turmoil and heat.
The source of her conflict was a mystery, but one thing was clear...she was definitely attracted to him.
Heat radiated from beneath her thin, hunter-green sweater, penetrating his palms. Its V-neck was just low enough to give him a glimpse of her cleavage. Despite his cock twitching behind his zipper, it was Grant who pulled away first.
Dropping his hands, he put some space between them. “Sorry, Princess. Didn’t see you coming.”
Her rosy lips pursed together. “Why do you insist on calling me that?”
“Why are you acting so standoffish with me today?”
The question was out before he even realized it. Christ, it was like he had no control when she was around.
“I-I haven’t been standoffish.”
Nice try, sweetheart. This was neither the time nor the place for this conversation, but the cat was already out of the fucking bag, so...
“Bullshit. You barely said two words to me this morning, yet you were all laughs and giggles with Coop a few minutes ago.”
Her pretty eyes narrowed. “I was not all laughs and giggles. It’s called being polite. You should try it sometime.”
“It’s called flirting your ass off.”
Brynnon’s jaw dropped, and her cheeks became flushed like they always did when she got pissed. Grant found himself wondering if they got that way during sex, too.
Lowering her voice, her eyes slid to where Coop was probably still standing and clamped her teeth together. “I most certainly was not flirting, and I resent the implication suggesting otherwise.”
Grant’s own jaw tensed. “There’s the politician’s daughter. I was wondering when she would make an appearance.” She opened her mouth to let him have it, but Grant didn’t give her the chance. “You can resent anything you want, sweetheart. I’ve got two eyes, and they both work just fine.”
Raising a brow, she gave him a humorless smirk. “Yeah? Well, tell me if they can see this.”
In an unexpected—not to mention unladylike—move, Brynnon flipped him the bird before turning around and storming back into the dining room. Grant had never been into BDSM or anything of that nature, but his palm suddenly itched to reach out and smack that fine, jean-clad ass as it swayed back and forth across the floor.
The thought, along with the image of her giving him the finger, pulled a low chuckle from the back of his throat. It felt rough and unfamiliar, those particular muscles having laid dormant for far too long. But damn, if it didn’t feel good.
Grant knew he should probably be concerned about losing the protection detail, but at the moment, that was the farthest thing from his mind. Instead, he stood there, thinking about the fiery redhead and how she frustrated him more than anyone he’d ever known.
She also takes you from limp to loaded in mere seconds.
The annoying-as-shit voice
was right. Brynnon surprised him at every fucking turn, but for reasons he may never understand, Grant liked it. A lot.
He pulled on the crotch of his jeans, attempting to shift his swollen cock, which was pressed painfully against the inside of his zipper. It screamed to get out and bury itself inside her hot, wet heat. Grant had no doubt if he were to ever get the chance, Brynnon would burn him alive the second their bodies united.
It may very well make him a sick bastard, but the fire he’d just lit under the auburn vixen turned him on like never before. Too bad he couldn’t do anything about it.
Yet.
The same taunting word he’d thrown at Coop a few minutes ago echoed through Grant's ears. From over his shoulder, he glanced back, not surprised to see the smug bastard standing by the door, watching. A wide, shit-eating grin spread across the man’s face.
“Enjoy your brunch.”
Without a word, Grant raised his right hand and offered the guy the same gesture Brynnon had just bestowed upon him and made his way down the hall toward his unknown fate.
****
Chapter 6
“Do you want some potatoes, sweetheart?”
Brynnon looked across the table to where her father was sitting. Her mother had been gone several years now, but it still made Brynnon sad to see the empty chair where she used to sit.
“I have plenty. Thank you”
Sitting in the chair beside her, Grant took the offered bowl and began spooning some onto his plate. Brynnon had half-expected him to leave and never look back after that particularly heated conversation.
While he and her father discussed random topics, she ate her food quietly, using that time to try and get her head on straight where the sexy-as-sin man was concerned.
She didn’t know what it was about Grant Hill, but he sure as hell knew how to rile her up. It was like he’d tapped into her psyche and knew exactly which buttons to push at the exact right moment. No other man had ever done that to her before.
That’s not all he does to you.
That part made her even more frustrated. How, after chewing her ass out and accusing her of flirting with his teammate, could she possibly still find him attractive? Better yet, why hadn’t she ratted him out to her father? If he knew the way Grant had spoken to her, he would have fired him on the spot and saved them both the trouble.