He doesn’t even look at me, just continues to surveil the crowd. “Being cool is not part of my job, Kaley. Making sure nothing happens to you, that’s my job.”

I roll my eyes. Yep, he’s angry.

“How did you know where I was?” I ask, frustrated.

His eyes bore into me. “Bin Laden was hard to find. You’re easy. Predictable. Nearest place you’re not allowed to be where you can do something that you shouldn’t. This club is four blocks from the hotel. I don’t take you for a long walk kind of girl. But you’re smart. You skipped the car service and the taxis thinking that would slow me down on finding you. No trail. Nice touch.”

I flush.

“I just want one evening without you guys making me feel like a total freak show. One night alone. I’m only dancing. Can’t you cut out and pretend you didn’t find me? I won’t tell anyone.”

His gaze shifts to me. “A girl like you shouldn’t be hanging around in clubs filled with assholes like this. Boy, your instincts suck. This is not a place for you to be, Kaley. No, I can’t pretend I didn’t find you. Your dad would kick my ass if I left you here.”

My temper flares.

“Oh. A girl like me? What the fuck does that mean?”

His expression changes. It smothers my anger.

“A beautiful, intelligent, talented girl with a rich father and every opportunity in life. You shouldn’t be risking all that to hang around with low-life players like these. They’ll only use you. Hurt you. Take advantage of you. You deserve better. Don’t forget that.”

I take my lower lip between my teeth. That was really sweet.

“Do you want to dance since you’re here? Or is dancing not Delta Force sanctioned?”

“Not sanctioned,” he says.

I make a face.

That was a little funny.

He could have given me a laugh.

I try again. “Have one shot of tequila and I’ll go willingly.”

He gives me a pained look. “The only thing we’re doing is going back to the hotel.”

I exhale. I wish he’d just lighten up. We’re in Australia. How dangerous can that be?

“Nope. Not leaving without having a shot with you. Consider that an order, solider.”

Nothing.

And why is his gaze shifting around the room that way?

“Hey, I just want to have fun for one night—” Something crashes in the club. All around me voices grow louder and people start running. I turn my head to find a glass shattered against the ground only inches from my feet.

“No bitch walks away from me,” I hear shouted from behind me.

I look over my shoulder.

Is that the guy I’ve been dancing with?

Oh fuck, is that a knife in his hand?

The way he is charging toward me fills me with panic.

I fling myself into Graham’s chest, wrapping my arms around him. I tense, waiting for my bodyguard to do something. Waiting. Waiting. Why the fuck hasn’t he sprung into action. He just stands there. Nothing. I hear loud voices. I turn my face. My hip-hop Casanova is five feet away arguing with another girl.

I stare up at Graham.

He shakes his head at me. “Don’t ever do that again.”

I blush. Crap. “Which part?”

“All of it,” he instructs harshly. “You don’t cover me with your body. Not ever. You freeze if there’s trouble. I cover you with me. You really need to move your hand. Your fingers are where my gun is. Please, relax your arms and step back now.”

“Gun?”

He grins. “No gun. Not in Australia. I just thought it would get you to move your fingers from my ass faster.”

I grimace and release my hold on him.

“We’re leaving. Now, Kaley.”

The way he says that leaves me no room to argue. But in honesty I don’t want to stay any longer. The last few minutes have pretty much a buzzkill.

Graham is right. Galling, but right. This is not my type of scene. Most of the guys are definitely losers. I should never have come here.

I let him guide me out of the club. The cool air outside sends the alcohol rocketing through me. I’m suddenly feeling off-balance. I must have drunk more than I realized. I’m buzzed. Nope, beyond buzzed. I’m sloshed.

Graham’s hand closes around my arm and I’m shoved into a black SUV, the door slams behind me then he climbs in up front beside the driver. He won’t even sit with me, and I hate riding alone in back.

Nice touch. Message received. You’re pissed off. Fine.

It’s a short drive to the hotel. My door is jerked wide and I climb from the backseat to join Graham on the curb. The lobby is nearly empty when we enter. I’m escorted into an elevator and he uses his card in the panel so he can select the penthouse floor. The ‘P’ lights up and it flashes in my head. Why I broke the rules and cut out tonight. Why I don’t want to return tonight to my dad’s suite.

The doors close and the elevator starts to move. I push the hair from my face. I lean back against the wall. Graham looks totally disgruntled.

I stare up at him. “I don’t want to go to my room. Can we go hang around in your room for a while?”

His eyes flash. “No way. You are not going to my room. I like my job. I need it.”

I push off the wall and step into him. “You also like me,” I whisper. “Don’t take me back. Not yet.”

He eases away from me and shrugs. “Not doing it. And of course, I like you. I wouldn’t risk taking a bullet for a client unless I liked them.”

My brows hitch up. “Bullet, my ass. You probably haven’t carried a gun since you became a bodyguard.”

The dimples appear in his cheeks.

My eyes widen. “Busted. Can’t we just have some fun for once.”

“Kaley—”

“I want to go to your room. Spend the night there.”

He shakes his head and doesn’t look directly at me. Fuck, he’s a gorgeous guy. I sink my teeth into my lower lip, then wet it with my tongue, and his breathing changes. A thrill pulses through me.

He’s saying no, but wants to say yes.

He needs a push. “If you want to keep your job, taking me back to my dad’s suite drunk isn’t a good move. It’s better to let me sleep it off somewhere.”

We stare at each other wordlessly. His jaw flexes. His muscles tense, but his gaze doesn’t lower from mine and I’m not sure what he’s debating: the point I just made or whether he wants to risk his job and fuck me. Then I watch as he takes me in from head to toe, and then stopping at my eyes again.

He leans around me, his arm brushing against me as he hits a button for a different floor.

“Just for a little while,” he groans in warning. “And only if you promise to drink some coffee to sober up a bit.”

I ease my body into him. “Anything you say. Coffee. I’m up for anything.”

The doors open and he jerks back from me.

He motions me out of the elevator and into the hallway. The floor is noisy and crowded. I recognize more than a few guys, roadies and security, traveling on tour with us. I lean against the doorframe as he slides his card into the lock.

He looks at me. “A few cups of coffee then I’m taking you up to the penthouse. That’s all I’m up for tonight. Are we clear?”

Graham’s eyes are serious.

Probably worried about his job again.

“Roger that, solider,” I say in a silly way.

I step around him and into the room.

Graham switches on the lights and locks the door behind him. I start wandering around the mini-suite. It’s nicer than I thought it would be, considering he’s just a bodyguard. I look through an open doorway. Separate bedroom. King-size bed. Nothing like the penthouse, but it’s nice.

I drop down to sit in front of a coffee table. I hear water in the next room. Christ, he really is making me coffee.

“The security guys. Do you work for my dad all the time or are you contractors?” I ask.

“Contractors.” He pokes his head out of what I assume is some sort of small kitchenette. “Your dad hired me from mercenaries’-world-dot-com.”

My body goes cold. The way everyone takes drive-by pokes at me over Kaley’s-World.com is past old. Worse, it reminds me why I’m trapped on tour with my dad, what I did to both my parents, why I lost Bobby, and why I feel so miserable all the time.