Page 34 of High-Priority Asset

Looking back on it, every time she’d slept with him had been more about survival than passion and she wanted to kick herself for being so easily manipulated. So weak.

One bad decision, one poor choice, and she was paying for it months later.

“Why?” she asked incredulously.

“Intimacy should be earned, and you should be treasured.” He stroked her cheek and gave her a tender, slow kiss.

Dutch touched her the right way, with gentleness and respect, and said the perfect thing. Maybe he was too good to be true. This could quite possibly be the most brilliant use of reverse psychology.

Deny her sex to make her want it. But she still fell a little harder, faster, deeper for him.

“Well, that settles it, you’re meeting my uncle on Wednesday,” she said, and they both laughed. That was another remarkable thing about him. No guy had ever made her smile so much or laugh until her cheeks ached. “I want to see you later.”

Spending time with him was the best kind of escape from her troubles.

“Then you will. I’ll bring takeout. Thai or sushi?”

“Thai. Surprise me with your favorites.” She hit the key fob, unlocking her door. “Spice isn’t a problem.”

“I’m not shocked you can handle the heat.”

“How about seven?” She grabbed the door handle. “Is that enough time for you to miss me?”

He smiled and, cupping her face in his hands, kissed her. She lit up warm and bright as if she’d swallowed the sun.

“I don’t need hours to miss you, beautiful. Before you make it out of the parking lot, I’ll want you back in my arms.”

“You’re setting the bar pretty high for other men.”

“Good. You should have high standards. Never settle for anything less than what you deserve.”

She opened her door, slid in and tossed her bag in the passenger’s seat. Turning the key in the ignition, she waved to him.

Dutch lifted his hand and stepped back while she put the car in Reverse.

After cranking the wheel, she threw the gear in Drive. Something buzzed past her head. She swatted it away.

A bee landed on her dash.

Isabel stiffened. Her gaze locked on the yellow jacket.

She was severely allergic to bee venom. A sting would send her into anaphylactic shock within minutes. How did it get in the car?

Don’t freak out.

Rolling down the window, she prayed it would fly out as she drove slowly through the lot. Too bad she didn’t have a magazine in her bag to help shoo it from the car. But the little insect stayed on the dash, unfazed by the breeze.

A second bee flew past her face, landing on the steering wheel. Dread slid down her throat and dropped in her belly hard and cold.

She pressed back against her seat, putting as much distance as possible between herself and the tiny flying killers, but the car cabin seemed to shrink around her.

A terrifying thought popped into her head. Chad. Did he put a couple of bees in her car?

Just as quickly, she dismissed the irrational idea. The planning, the logistics it would’ve taken, not to mention, he would’ve had to have known that she’d be here.

That was beyond crazy.

Hitting the button to roll down the passenger window, she cursed the perfume oil she’d rubbed on her skin and hair. It’d only attract them. Way to go to smell sexy.