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debating whether he should open the door, then grimaced. This was part of his job. He had to know the layout of a place. The potential hazards, the pitfalls, the places that Ellina needed to be aware about too.
    He crossed the room and jerked the door open, the old hinges making a squeaky protest. A warning should anyone hide in there.
    The closet wasn’t a full walk-in, but it was big enough for someone to hide.
    Searching for a light, he discovered a piece of blue yarn hanging down from an exposed bulb on the ceiling. He tugged, and the metal chain at the base of the socket scraped against the old porcelain fixture as the closet flooded with light.
    The closet must be part of the original structure, he noted.
    Jude shifted some of the neatly hung clothes aside, again noting that the hangers scraped on the metal rod. Another warning should someone try to sneak out of there.
    The back of the closet was deeper than he first thought. Definitely room for a full-grown man—or preternatural—to hide, unseen behind the clothing.
    He started to drop his hand away from Ellina’s garments, when his fingers brushed against something smooth. Soft, silky.
    Against his better judgment, he pushed the other clothes back to inspect the scrap of satiny cloth. And scrap was exact. It was a small nightgown, black, smattered with tiny white polka dots. The thin straps clung to the hanger, revealing a neckline that plunged low and was trimmed in black lace.
    “Is going through a person’s closet how you usually protect your clients?”

Chapter 4
    Jude dropped the nightgown, shutting the door with more force than necessary. He turned to find Ellina standing in the center of her bedroom, her jeans and vintage-looking Beatles T-shirt at odds with the frilly room. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, then tilted her head, waiting.
    He wasn’t sure if she had seen exactly what he was doing, but she knew he’d been doing something.
    “Your closet is a potential vulnerability,” he stated, trying to sound as stern and unshaken as he could.
    “Why? Are you tempted to cross-dress?”
    He ignored her comment, trying to get control of the situation, and to forget that tiny little nightgown, and how it would look clinging to her tall, gently curved body. Job. She’s a job.
    “You do realize someone could hide in your closet.”
    Her lip curled up at one corner as if she was suppressing laughter—and she was losing.
    “You know, I never really thought about it. But I’m pleased you did. Are you planning to guard the closet now?” This time she smiled fully, pleased with her ribbing.
    He gritted his teeth, not knowing how to deal with this woman. Demon. Demon woman. So far she seemed either to be irritated with him or amused by him.
    He could handle the first one much better. Smiling really did very distracting things to her mouth.
    “I’m here to protect you.”
    Ellina sighed, tightening her arms across her chest. “Right. And I’m sure with you here, I’ll be perfectly safe.”
    That was the theory. But sometimes that wasn’t the case.
    “So what is the other job?”
    Her question caught him so off guard, he didn’t respond.

    “You know,” she prompted, “the one that’s a better fit.”
    “Weren’t you supposed to be working?” he said, realizing his words sounded terse, rude. But he did not want to talk about this.
    She surprised him again by smiling wider.
    “Yes. Definitely. I just wanted to tell you to help yourself to whatever you can find in the kitchen. I don’t have much, but anything you want is yours.”
    Anything you want is yours.
    An image of her in that wisp of silk flashed in his mind. He gritted his teeth for a moment, forcing the tantalizing picture away.
    “Thanks,” Jude managed, though his voice sounded rough, guttural.
    She didn’t seem to notice.
    “So that job?” she asked again.
    God, she was tenacious.
    “That’s not really something I can discuss.” Since there was no other