Free Ultimate Surrender: The Surrender Series, Book 2 by Jennifer Kacey

Vesuvius had nothing on her temper. “Fuck. No.”

Chapter Six
    Natalie
    “You’re so cute when you’re angry.” He wrinkled his nose and she thought about racking him again but this time on purpose.
    “Don’t patronize me.”
    He had the audacity of smiling at her. Smiling! She glared back and tried to rein in her temper. It didn’t go well.
    “I’m not patronizing you. I’m being honest.”
    “So I’m cute when I’m ready to take your head off from walking in here and deciding you know best?”
    “Exactly.”
    “No.” That was all she said. Just no.
    He waited for a few seconds but she didn’t really have anything left for him. “To me or the dog or both?”
    “Both.” Apparently she did have a few things to say. “You’re not staying.”
    “Yes I am.”
    “No. You’re not. This isn’t what I signed up for.”
    “What exactly did you sign up for then?” He didn’t even look up from the shit gathering he had going on.
    Not even a glance as she got her mad on. It might have been partially because she was so horny she couldn’t think straight, but focusing on that at the moment sounded like a poor choice.
    “I signed up for you to do what I was comfortable with.”
    “Are you comfortable with getting mowed down on Second Avenue?”
    “Well, no, but—”
    “And are you comfortable with someone getting your address, breaking into your condo, and murdering you in your sleep? Or worse?”
    “Or course not, but—”
    “Good. ’Cause I’m not comfortable with any of those either. See, we’re getting along famously and it seems we’re totally on the same page already. Shocking, I know.”
    Natalie bared her teeth at him and she didn’t feel bad about it. “Not wanting those things to happen doesn’t mean I’m going to just stand aside and let you change everything about my life and be totally fine with it.”
    “I’m not changing much.”
    She waited this time. He didn’t cough up anything to further his case as he steadily grabbed stuff and added it into a laptop bag. “You’re changing…a lot.”
    “I could change a whole lot more.” Nonchalance coated his give-a-shit demeanor.
    “Good luck on that since I’m still not onboard with what you want to change so far.”
    “May I remind you, you hired me.”
    “No. I hired C&C.”
    “Well I’m one of those C’s, missy, so you must have had a pretty good notion who you were going to get.”
    “How do you figure that?”
    He chucked something in his bag and finally glared at her. “Clay is busy protecting Angela and Wyatt at the moment. Or did you think he was going to drop them to take care of your problem?”
    “My problem?” She grabbed her purse and flung it over her shoulder. “And no I didn’t think he was going to bail on his wife and son. I was also pretty sure you were on another assignment so it wouldn’t have been you either. So you can get off your high horse thinking I was pining after you. Jesus. As if.”
    “I never said you were.”
    “Oh please,” she scoffed. “You’re so cocky you think women in general were created to chase after you. Pleasure you. Not.” Planting her fists on her hips, she growled at him. “For your information, not that you’ll listen through that thick skull of yours, for a couple days Clay and I discussed bringing someone else in. Then all of a sudden you became available and he thought it best to use you, since we’re already friends.” She made air quotes. “And you know the city and you’re friends with half the cops, blah, blah, blah.”
    “You have the shittiest attitude.”
    “Me?”
    “You’re the only one standing there. And you really need to learn to give a little.”
    “What!” Her voice was getting louder, her pussy getting wetter. Arguing with him was totally doing it for her, which she didn’t understand nor did she even want to try to comprehend. “Me, give a little? This coming from the man who wants to move into my condo for who knows how long.