Her Irresistible Protector. Michelle Douglas

again. He would keep her safe. He swore that much.

      No one would find them out here.

      And the undercover detectives would deal with Rick with their usual efficiency. It suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t envy them their job. Arresting Rick again would give him no satisfaction. Other than to know Tash was safe, that was.

      Instead of a stake-out he got to spend the next few days in paradise with a beautiful woman. Who hates your guts. He planted his hands on his hips and glared up at the sky. Professional, keep it professional. It was all he had. In his bones he knew that as long as they stayed out here they’d be safe. All he had to do in the meantime was maintain his professionalism.

      He turned back to find her surveying him with narrowed eyes. She pointed to the shower. ‘When did you put that up?’

      ‘Yesterday.’

      ‘So you knew—’ She broke off and folded her arms. ‘No, you didn’t.’

      ‘I was spending a few days on leave out here.’

      The brown flecks within the brilliant green of her irises gleamed like amber. He’d never seen eyes like them before.

      ‘So I’m interrupting your leave.’

      ‘It’s no big deal.’

      ‘Well, it only seems fair as you’re interrupting my holiday,’ she drawled. But the way she gripped her hands in front of her was at odds with the tone of her voice. The space between them filled with an edgy silence.

      He cleared his throat. ‘I’m impressed,’ he managed, suddenly thirsting for an ice-cold beer and it wasn’t even lunchtime. But her hair gleamed a dark rich brown and the sun bore down on his uncovered head. ‘You don’t seem too horrified by the amenities.’

      She smiled. It was sudden and unconsciously sweet and it jammed his breath in his throat. ‘I’m just thankful I don’t have to relieve myself behind a bush. Rick and I would sometimes take off to the National Park for a couple of days and that was usually the case there.’

      The moment the words left her mouth she looked as if she’d like to call them back.

      He should change the subject, try and put her at her ease. But... ‘You want to talk about it? Clear the air?’

      She turned to face him fully. ‘About Rick?’ she said, obviously deciding not to misunderstand him.

      ‘I know you hate me for arresting him.’

      ‘I stopped hating you for that years ago, Officer King.’

      That Officer set his teeth on edge. She wanted to bait him, wanted to prick and needle him. Normally he could shrug that kind of thing off. He tried to focus on the content of the conversation rather than the tone. ‘If that’s the case, then what’s the problem?’

      ‘The problem is I haven’t forgiven you for using me to do it. I haven’t forgiven you for pretending to be in love with me, for making me trust you, and then betraying me the way you did.’

      The accusation in her eyes cut at him. His mouth filled with acid. She’d given her friendship to him freely and he’d abused it. ‘Would it make a difference if I told you how sorry I am about that?’

      ‘No. And frankly, Mitch, I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just focus on getting through the next few days as easily and quickly as possible, all right?’

      So that was what he could do with his olive branch, huh? Right. He nodded once and rolled his shoulders to try and ease the burn between them.

      * * *

      Tash tossed her head and tried to ignore the darkness in Mitch’s eyes. She reached up behind to scratch between her shoulder blades. ‘Is there anything else I need to know?’

      He didn’t smile. The shadows in his eyes didn’t retreat. ‘Don’t go off on your own.’ He gestured to the coastal forest that surrounded them.

      She tried to get the expression in his eyes out of her mind. He wasn’t some cute, roly-poly Labrador puppy she’d just kicked, but a grown man who’d screwed her over.

      She puffed out a breath. She wanted—needed—him to keep his distance.

      She scowled and glanced up into the never-ending blue of the sky. ‘We’re safe here, right?’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘Some semi-deranged criminals aren’t going to come crashing through the undergrowth, are they?’

      He widened his stance. ‘Practically guaranteed not to happen. Next to nobody knows about this place.’

      ‘Right, then.’ She dusted off her hands. ‘I don’t see why we can’t carry on as we planned to before all of this nonsense.’

      Three frown lines marred his forehead. ‘I’m not catching your drift.’

      ‘You’d planned on a few days R & R out here, right?’

      ‘Right.’ He drew the word out.

      ‘Me, too. Well, not here, obviously, but I’d planned on spending a significant amount of this coming week on a beach.’ She’d planned to travel five or six hours further up the coast, but...whatever. ‘And for the rest of it I was planning to read a big fat novel or two, order takeaway pizza, eat too much chocolate and not do a scrap of work.’

      After three years of working without a break, she deserved a holiday.

      ‘You’re suggesting we holiday together?’

      ‘Not together!’

      His lips twisted. ‘Of course not. My mistake.’

      ‘But...’ If she wasn’t going to worry herself into an early grave...‘Yes, to the holiday bit.’

      He shifted his weight again and it drew her attention to the long, clean lines of his legs. Her mouth dried. ‘Except—’ she suddenly pointed at him ‘—you’re not to go strutting around without a stitch of clothing on like you probably do when you’re here on your own. Skinny-dipping is prohibited.’

      She shouldn’t have thought of Mitch naked. A whole host of illicit images pounded at her. Her cheeks started to burn. Very slowly a grin spread across his face. Eyes as warm as Mediterranean nights urged her to drop the attitude. Hands that, apparently, hadn’t lost their allure for her over the past eight years tempted her to let down her guard. And the combined scent of mint and citrus curled around her, making her mouth water and an ache start up low in her belly.

      Her chest cramped. Her pulse pounded. Her hands clenched.

      His grin hooked up the right side of his mouth in the most intriguing way and her heart started to hammer. He leant in closer, swamping her with heat and mint and citrus. ‘It’d be almost worth it just to see the look on your face. You might have a smart mouth and attitude to burn, Tash Buckley, but I have a feeling it’d be as easy as ever to unsettle you.’

      It couldn’t be possible! She fell back a step. She couldn’t still want Mitch after all this time.

      ‘Do it and I leave.’ Fear made her voice tart.

      He eased back and the tropical blue of his eyes hardened to chips of ice. ‘Then you’d be a fool.’

      Maybe, but at least she’d be a fool with her heart intact.

      ‘We carry on exactly as we’d planned...separately.’

      She turned and stalked back towards the cabin.

      It was only for a couple of days, three at most, she told herself, storming into the bedroom where Mitch had deposited her suitcase. She flung it open and with as much speed as possible slipped into her swimming costume. All she had to do was keep things polite and pleasant. She might have to work at it, but...

      Pleasant? She grimaced and pulled a shirtdress on over her