Page 20 of Beau

Beau tensed as his teammate turned up the wattage of his smile.

Rafael held out a hand. “I’m Rafael Romero. And who is this vision of loveliness?”

Beau wanted to punch the man in the face for his blatant flirting. All women found him hard to resist.

Aurelie laughed. “Seriously? My makeup is probably smeared, my clothes are still damp, my hair is a mess and I smell like swamp water. Save your flowery words for the giddy girls who probably fall for them. Aurelie Anderson.” She gripped his hand, shook it and released it quickly. “Now, I’d like to shower before the stench becomes permanent.”

Not to be deterred, Romeo chuckled. “A woman with class and sass. I like it.”

Beau stepped between Aurelie and Romeo. “I wouldn’t mess with her if I were you,” he said. “She’s had a rough night.”

“If she’s hanging with you, I can understand completely.” His eyes rounded. “Oh, wait... Is she?—”

“Senator Anderson’s daughter?” Beau jumped in before Romeo could call her his client. “Yes. And we’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about her being here.”

Romeo met Beau’s gaze. “Got it.” He made a motion like he was zipping his lips together. “I won’t say a word.” He turned his smile on Aurelie again. “But if you happen to be at the local bar, I’d like to buy you a drink. You can tell me why my pal Beau made your evening so rough.” He winked, lifted her hand and brushed a quick kiss across her knuckles. As quickly as he’d appeared, he disappeared into his room.

Aurelie’s gaze followed Romeo until that door closed between them. She faced Beau with a twisted brow. “Is your friend always so...”

“Annoying? Repulsive? Cheesy?” he suggested. “Yes.”

“I was going to say suave, charming and effusive.” She lifted her shoulders. “But cheesy fits.”

Beau used a key to unlock his door, pushed it open and stood back, waiting for her to enter.

Aurelie gave him a narrow-eyed glance as she entered his room.

He glanced over her shoulder. Had he left it tidy that morning? He usually did, but he’d gotten the call for the protector job right after his workout, and he couldn’t remember if he’d tossed his sweaty clothes into the clothes basket or onto the bathroom floor.

Once she was inside the bedroom, he slipped through the door and closed it behind him. “I just want to grab a few things and be out of here. You can have the room to yourself.”

“Are you really going to sleep on the floor outside that door?” Her brow dipped low on her forehead.

“Yes, ma’am. As you’ve pointed out, we’re strangers. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable by insisting on sleeping in the same room, even if I slept on the floor. You don’t know me from Adam.” He crossed to the sturdy oak dresser and pulled out a couple of T-shirts, two pairs of shorts and one set of boxer briefs. On second thought, he grabbed a second set of boxer briefs.

After separating the items, he handed a T-shirt, boxer briefs and shorts to Aurelie. “It’s sexy lingerie, but you can wear them to sleep in and feel comfortable wearing them out of the room tomorrow. You might have to cinch up the waistband to keep the shorts from falling off.”

She took the stack of clothes from his hands. “Thank you. I’ll get these back to you when I can get to my own clothes.”

“No hurry,” he assured her, then ducked into the bathroom, calling over his shoulder. “Fresh towels under the sink. Toothpaste in the drawer, new toothbrush still in the package in the same drawer. You can use my brush. It’s in the second drawer. Help yourself. Shampoo in the shower. If you need conditioner, sorry. We can pick up some tomorrow.”

Aurelie winced. “Yeah. I’ll need some to get through all the tangles.”

“If you don’t need anything else, I’ll be just a few steps away.”

“Don’t you want to shower the bayou water off you?” she asked.

“When you’re done. I know you’re uncomfortable in your wet clothes and boots. Take a long hot shower. Let me know when you’re done, and I’ll jump in to rinse off.”

He crossed to the entrance. “Don’t stand in the windows. The light from the room will silhouette your body, making it a perfect target to aim for. Again, I’ll be close. Just yell.”

She nodded.

Beau backed into the hallway, his gaze locked with hers as he pulled the door closed.

While she showered, he’d pull in the big guns. If tonight was any indication of what more was to come, he needed to bring his team in to help solve the mystery of who was terrorizing Aurelie. Between law enforcement and the assets available in the Brotherhood Protectors, they should be able to nail the guy sooner rather than later.

Preferably before the bad guy nailed the beautiful and feisty senator’s daughter.