My breath caught.
Jacob dropped the man and stepped back, waiting. The other man clutched his throat and seemed to be gasping. He slowly backed away, then turned and fled into the night.
What the hell?
Jacob turned toward the house at that moment.
I jerked back, letting go of the blinds, my heart pounding. Had he seen me?
I admitted in that moment to being terrified of Jacob. I’d just witnessed him threatening someone. Would he come back inside now? Threaten me?
Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t know for sure he saw you watching.
He saw.
The sound of a motor fading into the distance made me creep back to the window and peer out.
Jacob was gone, his taillights disappearing down the road.
The breath I’d been holding whooshed out of my lungs in a rush.
Oh my God. Crap. Shit. Hell.
What had I just witnessed? Was I in danger? Would he hurt me? I wasn’t sure if I could work here anymore. I was too scared.
My legs trembling, I sank down onto the couch and tried to get a grip. Taking several deep breaths, I forced myself to calm down. Just because Jacob had threatened another man didn’t mean he would hurt me. That other man may have threatened Jacob first. So what should I do?
I needed to find out who he really was. Jacob wouldn’t be back for several hours or more. This would be a perfect time to see if I could find out the truth about him. He kept warning me that he was dangerous, and now I’d witnessed that firsthand. I had a right to know who I worked for, especially if not knowing put me in danger. Right? Did he think I would leave if I found out the truth about him? Was that why he wouldn’t tell me who he was?
I couldn’t leave Hazel. The very idea made my heart squeeze. I adored that sweet little girl. The poor thing had lost her mother. I was her surrogate mother now, her caregiver, who’d spent every day with her for over a week now. I could never abandon her. I was too attached to her. But if I was going to stick around, then I had the right to know the truth about Jacob. I had a right to know if I was in danger here.
I was about to break my vow to never do anything to lose his trust. Though the thought of invading his privacy nagged at me, I told myself I was only doing it for my own safety. If Jacob was a gang member or some kind of criminal, then I needed to know that so I could watch out for myself. And little Hazel. If Jacob did bad things at night, then that might put Hazel and me in danger. I needed to know who it was I was working for.
I got up from the couch and went into the kitchen. First, I searched through all the drawers, looking for some kind of clue as to who he was, some kind of paperwork or something that had his name on it.
Nothing. Of course. But I hadn’t really expected to find anything in the kitchen. So I snuck down the hallway into his bedroom and flicked on the light. If there was secret information in this house, it would likely be in here.
I’d never been in his bedroom before. I hadn’t dared enter his private domain. But he was gone, so he would never know.
The room was as masculine as he was. The furniture was dark wood and matched the bedframe. The bed was king-size, and neatly made. I didn’t know very many men who made their own beds. But nothing about Jacob made much sense. He was an enigma.
I flushed as I thought of his large body beneath the sheets, naked, and those beautiful dark lashes lowered over his eyes as he relaxed in slumber. What would a relaxed Jacob be like? The man was always alert, tense, like a wild animal. And I wanted to know why.
That’s why you’re doing this. To find out who he is.
This is a blatant betrayal of his trust. This is wrong, Anna.
This is essential. I have a right to know.
Did I, really?
Jacob is entitled to his secrets. Right?
Not if those secrets could put me in danger.
My decision made, I turned away from the giant bed, and continued my exploration. There was a master bath off to the left of the bedroom. It smelled like Jacob, a hint of his cologne in the air. Heat stirred in my loins, and I quickly turned back to the bedroom. Geez, just being in his room turned me on, even though he wasn’t here. Why did he affect me this way?
Hurrying to his dresser, I snooped through the drawers, gently lifting the clothes and looking for something that might indicate who he was, hoping I would find something that would tell me more about him. He had to have some kind of paperwork somewhere, didn’t he? A utility bill? A vehicle registration? Property records for the house? Something?
I went through every drawer in his dresser, being careful to put each back just the way I’d found it. Jeans. T-shirts. Sweatshirts. Sweats. Shorts. Socks. Boxers. But no paperwork anywhere. In fact, now that I thought about it, his house was so impersonal I doubted it was even his. No family pictures on the walls. No screensaver on his laptop in the den area with pictures of Hazel, which was what I would expect from most fathers. There was nothing personal about this place. No hint anywhere as to who Jacob was. He was still a mystery.
There was nothing anywhere that would tell me anything about my boss. He was still Just Jacob. I sighed in frustration. I’d already discovered he didn’t get any paper mail. It was possible that was because he paid all his bills online, but something told me there was another reason why. Who the hell was he?
I closed the last drawer and started to turn away from his dresser.
Then froze.
Jacob stood directly behind me.
My breath caught on a startled gasp.
My heart slammed into my ribs.
Oh God. Crap. Shit. Hell.
His scent reached my nostrils, stirring that unwanted sexual awareness deep inside me. Masculine. Sexy. With a just a hint of woodsy, piney cologne.
The breath left my lungs in a whoosh.
I spun around.
And met his penetrating stare.
I didn’t think I would ever get used to the way Jacob crept around like a ghost. Always silent. There one second. Gone the next.
But now there he stood, right in front of me. Not moving.
A sliver of fear shivered down my spine. How had he known I was in his room? Would he hurt me now? I didn’t want to believe Jacob would hurt me. So far, he hadn’t done anything to indicate he might want to harm me. But he’d just caught me snooping through his things. He was bound to be pissed.
Idiot! What were you thinking? You just invaded his privacy and he caught you!
His gaze bored into mine. “What are you doing in my room?” His raspy voice made my skin heat. “Explain yourself.”
I swallowed hard, unable to look away from the coldness in his eyes. Unable to speak.
His gaze narrowed. “Is that how you’re going to play this? With silence? I knew I shouldn’t trust you. You waited over a week before you made your move, careful not to do anything suspicious, trying to get me to let down my guard, giving me glimpses of your cleavage to distract me. Who are you? Did The Company send you? What were you hoping to find in my drawers?”
Whoa…what? Glimpses of my cleavage? No. Just, no. Outrage surged through me. As if! Asshole!
I snorted and slapped my hands on my hips. “Seriously? Do I come across as a seductress? Glimpses of my cleavage? Get over yourself! If you noticed my boobs, that’s your own fault, not mine!”
Something flashed in his eyes. He hissed out a breath. “You wanted me to notice your tits. Admit it. You were sent here to seduce me. Why? What do you want from me?”
I ground my teeth together. “You’re delusional! I’m Anna. Your employee. You know, your daughter’s nanny. You’re my boss, for hell’s sake. Any kind of sexual relationship between us would be totally inappropriate. I would never do that! Never! And I don’t know any company!”
He moved suddenly, wrapping an arm around my waist and spinning me around, yanking me back against him. I gasped as my body rammed into his. If I hadn’t been so aware of him, so frightened of what he might do to me, the
n I might have had enough sense to use the moves he’d taught me to fight back. But terror rendered me motionless. The feel of his rock-hard body against mine made my heart come alive with an explosive jerk. My breasts rested against the top of his arm where it coiled around my middle, the strength in that arm and what it was capable of doing to me making me dizzy with fear. Then the unmistakable swell of his erection pressed into my back.
Desire surged to life, heating my insides, making me breathless with longing.
“I could kill you right now,” he whispered in my ear. “So easily. Is that what you want, Anna? To die?”
My breathing quickened. My pulse went wild. I had no doubt he could kill me. But I wasn’t the enemy here, damn him. He needed to stop treating me like I was. He needed to stop being so suspicious of me. I was about as harmless as a person could be.
He caught you snooping through his things. What do you expect him to think?
He dragged me back a step until he reached the dresser. Yanking open the top drawer, he pulled out a pair of boxers. “Is this what you wanted to see?” he growled. “My fucking underwear?” He slammed the drawer shut and yanked open another one. “My pants?” He shook a pair of jeans at me. “What were you hoping to find in my drawers?”
I stared up into his angry face, unable to get any words past my frozen lips.
“I’ve killed people for lesser offenses than this. Do you want to join them?” He wrapped a hand around my throat and slowly squeezed.
I gasped. My heart went wild with terror. Maybe Jacob would hurt me. I’d betrayed his trust. I’d snooped through his things. Maybe in his mind, I deserved to die.
Escape, Anna. Get away before he hurts you. Hurry!
All those self-defense lessons came back to me now in a rush. I curled my fingers into a C shape like he’d taught me and pried his thumb away from my throat. His fingers loosened and I dropped down, twisting and squirming, jerking my body loose from his hold.
Choking back my terror, I fled.
He caught me in two strides, yanking me back against him again. I gasped and fought, trying to hit him in vulnerable areas, but he simply dodged my counterattack, his arm tightening around me like a band of steel. Panting, my heart racing, I quit fighting, as he slowly stroked his fingers across my throat in a gentle, yet still somehow threatening way. “If you wanted to get close to me,” he said in that raspy voice, “if you wanted me to fuck you, then why didn’t you just say so?”
The bulge of his erection pressed into my back again, making heat pool deep in my belly. Oh God. Why did he turn me on so much, even when I was afraid? The man confounded me, scared the hell out of me, intrigued me, and made me want him all at the same time.
“How about right now?” he whispered. “What’s stopping me from bending you over and fucking you right here?” The arm around my waist slid down, his palm spreading over my lower abdomen and pressing me back against his erection. He rubbed against me, a show of power, letting me know how helpless I was right now. Letting me know what he could do to me. So very easily. I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a soft whimper.
I was terrified, and so turned on, I could hardly breathe.
He released me abruptly and spun me around to face him. My legs trembled. I swallowed hard and stared up into his angry face. Drawing in a deep breath, I whispered. “I’m not the enemy, Jacob.”
His gaze flickered to my heaving chest, then back to my face. “No? Then what were you doing in here? What were you hoping to find?”
“Information,” I admitted, holding his gaze. “A last name, maybe? Something that would tell me who you are. I have a right to know who I work for, especially since you keep telling me you’re dangerous.”
His gaze hardened. “Any information about me could get you killed.”
“It’s better to know and be prepared, than to not know and stumble blindly into danger,” I shot back. Then I decided to admit what I’d seen not more than a half hour ago. “I saw you out there with that man. You choked him. You threatened him or something. Why? Who are you? Why won’t you just tell me?”
He stepped forward, so close that I had to either let him brush up against me or fall back onto the bed. Neither option appealed to me right in that moment. I was all too aware of the power he had over me. I would never win in any type of battle with this man. I was no match against him. But I’d rather be standing and looking him in the eye than sitting on that giant bed where I would be even more vulnerable. So I held my ground and tried not to flinch when his hard chest brushed up against mine.
“I caught that man lurking around the house. I had to threaten him to make him leave. I had to scare him so he wouldn’t come back. I did it to keep Hazel, and you, safe.”
I swallowed hard, staring up into his face. He was dead serious.
He sighed. “I wish you hadn’t seen that.” He glanced away for a moment, staring at something behind me. “I have a security system, but nothing is foolproof. If that man had gotten into the house while I was gone, what would you have done?”
“I-I don’t know,” I admitted softly, shakily.
He nodded. “That’s why I’m teaching you self-defense so you can protect yourself. You don’t need to know who I am, Anna. Just let it go. You’re safer not knowing.”
Frustration swelled inside me. Damn him! Why wouldn’t he just tell me the truth?
“Then I quit!”
I cringed as soon as the words left my mouth. Crap. I really didn’t want to leave. Would he call my bluff? I lifted my chin. I couldn’t back down now. “If you won’t tell me who you are, then I’m out of here. I’ll find another job with someone who doesn’t keep secrets.”
A heartbeat passed. Two.
His hard gaze never veered from mine.
Then he waved toward the door. “Go, then. Find another job.”
Crap. He was calling my bluff.
I hesitated, glancing toward the doorway, then back at him.
His lips twitched. A dark brow shot up. “No? Didn’t think so. You were pretty hard up when you came to work here. You need this job.” He paused, his gaze raking down my body and back up. “But what’s to stop me from firing you now? Kicking you out on the street this very second for betraying my trust?”
My face flamed. Humiliation swept through me. I lowered my gaze. Damn him. If he fired me, I was screwed. I had nowhere to go. No other job possibilities. I hadn’t even earned my first paycheck yet. Hell, I didn’t even have my car, Nellie, since I’d abandoned her in Augusta the night Jacob had whisked me out of the city. If he booted me out now, I would be on foot. And he probably wouldn’t let me take all the clothes and personal items he’d purchased for me. I would be more destitute than I’d been in Augusta, because at least there I’d had a place to sleep at the homeless shelter.
It was time to apologize.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, forcing myself to meet his gaze again. It was time to back down and admit I’d been wrong. To admit defeat. I needed this job. “I just wanted to learn more about you. Please don’t fire me. You scared me when I saw you threatening that man. I wasn’t thinking rationally.”
He didn’t speak for a long moment, his gaze steady on mine. Then he heaved out a long sigh. “I don’t want you to be afraid. Dammit.” He let out a soft growl. “But if I have to leave right in the middle of something again, just to come home and see what you’re up to, then you’ll be gone. You won’t get any more chances.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. I wouldn’t give him a reason to fire me. Never again. I’d screwed up badly. I’d done something stupid. I’d betrayed his trust. I was lucky he was giving me another chance.
Wait a second.
If I have to leave right in the middle of something…
What did that mean? How had he known I was snooping in his room?
Nanny cam.
My heart pounded. He must have cameras here somewhere. Probably everywhere. That’s how he’d known to come back home less than a half hour af
ter he’d left.
“Do you have a nanny cam?” I blurted.
“Nanny cam?” Confusion crossed his face. “Oh, you mean, surveillance?”
“Yes.”
His gaze hardened. “Nothing goes on in this house that I don’t know about.”
Heat washed into my face. What did that mean? That he had cameras in every room? Had he watched my every move this past week and a half? The blood drained from my face.
“You have cameras in the bathroom?”
He snorted. “I’m not a pervert. There are no cameras in the bathroom.”
Relief swept through me. Thank God.
I drew in a deep breath. “I really am sorry,” I whispered, meaning it. “I promise not to snoop anymore.” How could I, with cameras everywhere? I just wish he’d tell me who he was. “But if you won’t tell me the truth, then I’ll just have to come up with my own conclusions. Right now, I’m imagining all sorts of things you might be. A drug lord. A gang leader. A criminal. Even mafia.”
He choked out a disbelieving laugh. “What?”
Be careful, Anna. You don’t want to piss him off again or he’ll kick you out.
“I’m just saying…”
His gaze narrowed. “I’m none of those things.”
Triumph swept through me. I’d gotten him to admit something. He wasn’t a drug lord, a gang leader, a criminal, or mafia. That was good. So who was he, then?
He glowered at me, obviously pissed that he’d slipped and gave away information about himself. He lifted his cellphone. “I’ll be watching you. One more slip up, and you’re gone.”
My face heated. “You have an app on your phone?” So that was how he’d known what I was doing when he was gone.
He smirked. “Live stream of every room in this house.”
“Except the bathroom,” I whispered.
He nodded. “Except the bathroom.”
Oh my God. “You watch me…in bed?” I squeaked, horrified. I’d touched myself after the workout session tonight, thinking of him. Had he seen that? “You see me undress every night? You are too a pervert!” I tried to move around him, but he stepped forward, caging me against the bed gain.
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