When she finally entered the kitchen, Axel gave her an appreciative once-over before he managed to blank his expression. Ella Brooks was tall, probably five eight, with long, slender legs that were made for dancing and all on show in her impossibly tiny shorts. His eyes wandered higher, his imagination taking over as he enjoyed the tight T-shirt molded to her flat abs and high breasts.
Her dark brown hair and bright eyes were a perfect complement to her golden skin and athletic body. Hell, this favor might not turn out to be so bad after all. But could he have a fling with his friend’s cousin? Didn’t that break some sort of code? It wasn’t like she was his sister or anything, he reasoned, quickly deciding a fling was most certainly acceptable.
“Morning,” he said, to alert her to his presence.
He expected her to scream, her body to tremble. That’s not what he got. Instead, she tensed and her head whipped around, but then she stood frozen. Her unusual gray eyes were wide as she gazed at him, her mouth puckered.
“I’m Axel, your cousin’s partner,” he said quickly.
“I don’t care who the hell you are, you’re breaking and entering. Get out of my house before I decide to hurt you.”
Her voice was calm. Interesting. The woman didn’t panic easily. That was good to know, since he’d be guarding her.
“Your cousin gave me a key, said he’d called you, let you know he’d be sending a package,” he said before pausing and grinning. “Surprise.”
Her eyes narrowed, telling him she wasn’t amused, before her lips compressed together and she slowly moved toward her phone, never taking her eyes from him. Lifting the receiver, she dialed numbers from feel alone. Axel knew better than to make any sudden movements. She was scared, he could see it, but she was doing a damn fine job of covering it up.
He hoped she was calling Bryson and not the police. He’d just been kidding about spending a few days in jail. That wouldn’t be so pleasant. Besides, he’d been there, done that.
“Bryson, care to explain why there’s a beast of a man sitting in my house, drinking my coffee and holding a key in his hand?”
Axel let out a relieved breath while he waited—he and Ella still hadn’t broken eye contact.
“You ignorant fool. I could have shot him!” she said, then paused. “Yes, I thought about it the second I saw him. Shoot first, ask questions later, remember?” she snapped before pausing again. “I don’t like your surprise, so you can have it back.”
Another pause, and now Axel was really amused. He wondered who was going to win the battle. Yes, he’d promised his friend he’d watch out for his cousin, but it’d be much easier if she were somewhat cooperative.
After a few more words back and forth, Ella hung up the phone and glared at Axel. Yeah, this was going to be fun, he thought, liking the spirit of this woman already.
“My misguided cousin has a big heart. He thinks I need protection. I don’t appreciate it or want it, but I also realize that he’s not going to stop until I do something. He’s a pain in my ass,” she thundered before stopping and taking a deep breath. “How did you get roped into this?”
“Not only am I his partner, but I’m a pretty damn good friend. I’m on a hiatus from work. I said I’d help him out. In his defense, your house is so unsecure a first-time robber could get into it,” he replied easily, thinking it was now safe to get up and refill his coffee, which he did, relishing the small gasp of annoyance that came from Ella’s lips.
“Do you enjoy making yourself at home where you haven’t been invited?” she asked when he leaned against the counter and lifted the cup to enjoy a sip.
“I move around for work. I can make anywhere my home,” he said.
“Obviously,” she said, getting her own coffee and adding a nice dollop of creamer before moving away from him to the opposite side of the breakfast bar.
“I’m Axel Carlson. Nice to meet you, Ella. And now we aren’t strangers anymore,” he said, knowing better than to stick out his hand. She didn’t appear to be in the mood to shake it. Bite it, maybe, but certainly not shake it.
“Yes, Mr. Carlson, we are strangers and I don’t want or need your help,” she said. When he opened his mouth to speak, she abruptly held up her hand, stopping him. “However, I know my cousin well, and know you’ll simply annoy the crud out of me, so I agreed to a security system being hooked up in the house. Then I don’t want to see you again. Got it?” she finished, challenge in her eyes.
“That’s a start,” he replied, and her eyes narrowed again.
“We’re going to have a problem if you try to become my shadow, Mr. Carlson,” she warned.
“Problems make life interesting, Ella,” he said with a smirk.
“I deal with enough problems and don’t care to add any more to my plate,” she said, pausing to make sure he understood. “I’m going to go get dressed. Then we’ll talk about security, and you will give me the key to my house that Bryson shouldn’t have given you, and you will get out until we have an appointment for you to install my alarm system.”
“I like what you’re wearing. We can discuss it as is,” he said with a wink he knew would tick her off.
“I’m sure you do. You look like the sort of man who enjoys objectifying women,” she said before turning and giving him a view of her backside that was just as good as the front.
His low whistle made her shoulders tense, but she didn’t turn or make another comment as she walked away.