He drew back and looked into her eyes. “I want you,” he breathed. “Naked, wet and screaming my name.”
Taryn’s throat went dry. “That would be nice.”
One eyebrow rose. “But not yet.”
“What?” she gasped before she could stop herself. Obviously they wouldn’t do it in the park, but...what?
He winked. The bastard actually winked. “I told you I was good at waiting.”
Then it occurred to her that she had gotten exactly what she’d asked for. A man willing to play by her rules, damn him. Not knowing what else to do, she started to laugh. Angel chuckled with her, and then they walked back to the festival.
“I need a drink,” she told him.
“Me, too, dollface. Me, too.”
* * *
TARYN LEANED BACK in her chair and sipped her coffee. The partner meeting had been scheduled to start right at nine, only Kenny hadn’t shown up yet. He’d also missed the basketball game that morning—or so Sam had told her.
Jack glanced at his watch. “Want to go on without him or reschedule?”
Before Taryn could answer, Kenny walked in. He looked rumpled and red-eyed. There was a tension to his shoulders, as if every part of him hurt. And not in an “I used to play football” kind of way.
Sam took one look at him and grinned. Jack slapped him on the back, then loudly said, “Looks like you have a hangover.”
Kenny poured himself some coffee and moved toward the table.
“I said—” Jack began, the volume even higher.
Kenny glared at him. “I heard you the first time.”
“You should have said something.”
“Later, I’ll kill you. Just so we’re clear.”
Sam chuckled. “A blonde or the bottle?”
“Both and I’m never going to let it happen again.”
Taryn faked a yawn. “If I had a nickel,” she told him. “You look horrible.”
“I feel horrible.”
“You’re too old to party,” Jack told him. “The price is too high.”
“You think?” Kenny asked as he sank into his seat and closed his eyes. “Why are we having a meeting?”
“We’re updating Sam and Taryn on the Living Life at a Run account.”
Kenny opened one eye and looked at her. “It’s going great,” he mumbled, then closed the eye.
“I feel better now,” she said. She opened the folder in front of her. All of this could wait, she thought. At least until Kenny rejoined the land of the living. He didn’t go for broke often, but when it happened, it wasn’t pretty.
She turned to Sam. “What’s the update on the party?” she asked.
Sam stiffened. “I’m handling it.”
“Does that mean you’ve done anything? Because I’m not hearing any details. Not to put too fine a point on it, but tick, tick, tick.”
“Get off me.”
She looked at Jack, who shrugged. “What aren’t you telling me?” she asked Sam.
“Nothing about the party.”
She studied him as he spoke and noted that he wasn’t looking at her. Great, Kenny was a mess and Sam was keeping secrets.
“I swear,” she muttered as she got to her feet. “I would get more cooperation from baboons.” She pointed at Kenny. “Go home. Hydrate and sleep. I’ll send Larissa by later to check on you.”
Kenny managed to open his eyes. “Thanks.” He staggered to his feet and fled.
She turned to Sam. “I’m going to find out what’s going on. You know that, right?”
Sam collected his papers and left without saying anything.
Only Jack was left. “You have something you want to say?” she asked.
He smiled. “Sure. Justice Garrett called. He wants to talk to us about a campaign for CDS.”
“The bodyguard school?”
“That’s them. Nothing fancy. Not advertising. Just a tweaking of their promotional materials. I thought it would be a fun change for us. We’re in a small town now. We need local business.”
She waited for him to make a crack about Angel, but he didn’t. “Fine. We’ll get it on the calendar.”
“I made an appointment for you already. It’s in an hour.”
She sighed heavily. “Of course it is.”
CHAPTER NINE
TARYN SPENT THE next hour frantically preparing for her meeting with Justice. Her knowledge of what really happened at CDS—otherwise known as the bodyguard school—was limited to the gossip she’d picked up from her friends and what Angel had told her. She knew the other partners were also former military and that the customers fell into two categories—professional bodyguards and corporate retreats. There were also a few classes offered to the community, but those seemed to be more about building goodwill and not about an actual serious income stream.
By the time her assistant stepped into her office to tell her that Justice was waiting, Taryn had what she hoped was a working knowledge of the industry in general and CDS in particular.
Jack passed her in the hall on her way to the meeting room. “Want me to sit in?” he asked.
“I think you’ve done enough damage already today,” she said.
He grinned, obviously unrepentant.
Taryn walked into the conference room and smiled at Justice. “Nice to see you,” she said, shaking his hand.