Read His Obsession Next Door (In the Line of Duty) for Free Online Page A

service dogs and place them in the hands of ex-soldiers. If he took the podium, it would go a long way to help them both. Except Cole was a private guy, one who held his secrets close—compliments of a hard childhood no doubt—and it wouldn’t be right for her to ask him to step out of his comfort zone to help her in such a manner. He was already doing enough as it was. And honestly, it wouldn’t be fair of her to ask him to dredge up memories from the field. After what he’d been through, it couldn’t be easy for him, or any soldier, to rehash those dark days.
    A noise at her door had her glancing up from her screen. Ripples of sensual pleasure danced over her skin when she spotted Cole lounging casually against the doorjamb. By God, no man should ever look that good.
    Desire turned to worry as she thought about why he’d be here. “Is Charlie okay?”
    “He’s home resting.”
    She angled her head. “Why are you here?”
    “I thought I’d walk you home.”
    Knowing it wasn’t in her best interest to spend any more time with him than necessary, she said, “I can walk myself.”
    “It’s dark.”
    “I’m not afraid of the dark.”
    “You used to be.”
    “I used to be a lot of things,” she countered, remembering how shadows created monsters on her walls when she was young and how Cole would stay with her until she fell fast asleep.
    Everything in the way he looked at her, the way he dropped his head and drove his hands deep into his pockets, reminded her of the Cole from her youth. She thought about the boy who’d searched all night for her during a raging thunderstorm when she went riding in the woods and lost her way, a boy who’d held her hair back when she’d snuck out to a party, drank too much and became violently ill. A boy who’d turned into a man and didn’t want her the same way she wanted him, which gave credence to her logic to keep her distance from him.
    “It’s on my way,” he said.
    She arched a curious brow. “I thought you said you were moving out of Jack’s today.”
    “I did.”
    The way he averted his gaze instantly gave her pause. She took a moment to focus her thoughts. As understanding dawned in small increments, a slow burn began deep in her belly. She climbed from her chair and braced her hands on her desk.
    “You’re the one who bought the condo across from mine, aren’t you?” she asked, praying she was wrong.
    “Yeah,” he said. “It’s nice and close to work.”
    Nice and close to work my ass.
    Her heart began beating wildly and anger surged through her veins as her brain leaped to the most logical conclusions. “Cole, seriously,” she said, shaking her head. “Tell me you didn’t buy that place because it’s across from mine and you want to keep an eye on me because you still think you need to protect me.”
    “Gems, it’s not like that,” he said, but from the way he was shifting his feet she knew it was just like that.
    “I don’t need a bodyguard,” she bit out.
    “Gems—” he began, swaying like a guilty schoolboy standing before his principal, but when she took in his watchful eyes she cut him off.
    “Fine, then,” she said. As she moved swiftly across the room her mind raced with outlandish ideas before her inner bad girl settled on the most devious one. “You can play it your way,” she added. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t play by her own rules. If Cole insisted on watching over her, she would damn well give him something to watch. And maybe, just maybe, in the process it would alter his perception of her and he’d finally see she was all woman.
     
     
    What the hell did she think she was doing?
    Night blanketed the city as Cole stood near his living room window, watching Gemma mill about her condo through the crack in her curtains. His condo might be the only one with a direct view into her place, but if someone passed by on the street, they could easily see her barely clad body moving from one room to another.
    Dressed