For no reason she could fathom, her stomach dipped.

“Are you mentally prepared?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You were nervous before.”

“I’m not any longer.”

“Why?” he asked, disconcerting her.

She wasn’t about to tell him that she’d realized the reality of working for Prescott wasn’t going to be nearly as overwhelming as the reality of living with Ethan in the small cabin.

“I guess I just settled down. Like you said I would.”

“Did it change how you feel about anything else?”

“You mean my decision to move away from D.C. or the sex thing?” she asked with more bravado than she felt.

“Either…both.”

“No.”

He nodded. “My car and your cats arrive in Portland on Thursday from the transportation company. We’ll pick them up after you get off work.”

“You could go in the morning, after you drop me off.” She couldn’t wait to see the kittens again and appreciated the fact that Ethan hadn’t expected her to board them out for the duration of the assignment.

“No.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

“I’m not leaving you alone at the estate.”

“I’m going to be working there five days a week for who knows how long…it’s not a problem.”

“I will be here whenever you are there. Close enough to get to you if there’s a need.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

He just shrugged. The man and his protective attitude were going to drive her insane. But he’d figure out on his own that he had better things to do with his time than sit around the cabin and twiddle his thumbs while she worked.

He moved out of the room, going to the window in the kitchen to look out and take more notes on his PDA.

“What are you looking for?”

“It’s just basic recon. I want to know what I can see of our environment from each vantage point in the cabin in case the information is necessary at some point in the future. I’ll do outside recon in a little bit…checking to see what areas have a good vantage point for looking in through our windows.”

“Can I go with you? I’d like to explore the woods a little.”

“No problem.” But a tightening around his mouth indicated a lack of enthusiasm for the idea.

“I can go for a walk on my own, if you’d rather.”

“Not happening.”

“Do you want me to stay here?”

“I said you could come with me.”

“I sort of sensed you’d rather I not.”

“Being around you without being able to touch you is a strain, Sunshine, but I’m not a hormonal kid. I can handle it.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

His understanding made her feel guilty, which was really pathetic. But there it was. “It’s not that I don’t want you.”

He turned to face her full on, his face cast in grim lines. “Hearing that is not helping. I respect your choice. Let’s leave it at that, all right?”

She nodded. “I’ll stay here.”

“No. I’d rather you came.”

“But-”

“You need to be familiar with our surroundings for your own safety. This is a job and we both have to remember that.”

“How can I forget? We wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“No, we wouldn’t. Let me finish my interior recon and then we’ll go.”

“Okay.”

The walk in the woods was a revelation. Ethan discreetly pointed out where they had motion sensors set up for the security system, he also showed her where a hidden assailant could see right in through the master bedroom window and the kitchen window. There was no such covered spot for spying on the living room or smaller front bedroom.

However, he still reiterated his desire she close curtains before getting ready for bed and going into the second bedroom to sleep.

“We’ll have to do some cuddling on the couch watching television and light touching now and then in case we’re watched.”

“Why would he watch us?”

“He didn’t get where he is in high-tech espionage by being careless with a new employee. We know he ran a background check on you. It would only make sense for him to follow it up with at least cursory surveillance in the beginning.”

“So, we have to act like a couple when we are alone?” The thought made her stomach knot.

Not touching Ethan…not begging to be touched by him was growing more difficult with each passing hour. If they had to touch and pretend to be a couple when there was no one overtly around to help keep her urges under control, she was afraid she was going to lose the battle with herself.

“Don’t worry, we can shut the drapes when it gets dark like any normal couple and hide our physical distance from prying eyes then.”

“You really did think it would be easier to run this assignment if we were in a sexual relationship.”

“I thought you’d already decided that.”

“I just didn’t realize all the ramifications of living together I guess. I thought we’d be off camera when we were alone at the cabin.”

“Mistakes like that lead to blown covers.”

“Sorry. I’m not an agent.”

“I don’t expect you to be. Follow my lead and we’ll be fine.” He slipped his arm around her shoulder, obviously taking his own advice to heart. “Okay?”

“Yes.” Her voice was a mere squeak, but she was doing everything she could not to run a possessive hand over his chest.

She allowed herself to lean into him, telling herself she was trying to look natural, but underneath she knew she did it because she simply couldn’t help herself.

Beth looked forward to going to work for Prescott as much because it would get her away from Ethan’s presence as that she could start doing the job she’d been assigned. Ever since the walk, Ethan had continued the policy of “looking like lovers” whenever they were in a position to be observed. By the time they had closed the curtains the night before, she’d been a walking mass of oversensitive nerve endings.

And she’d missed his touches-the freedom to touch him-until it was a gaping ache inside her. On the other hand, besides a couple of speculative looks she could not read, Ethan acted as if he wasn’t affected at all. He’d simply spent more time going over strategy and what they knew about Prescott.

She’d gone to bed determined to do a better job today of maintaining her emotional distance. So far, so good.

After being waved through the gate, Ethan pulled up in front of Prescott’s house and stopped the car. He turned to Beth, reaching to cup her nape. She realized he was going to kiss her a scant second before he did so. His lips covered hers with possessive tenderness that felt all too real. He didn’t linger, but he was thorough so that when he pulled away, she sat dazed for a couple of seconds.

“Be good today,” he said.

She nodded and got out of the car, forcing herself not to feel her still-tingling lips. The man really knew how to kiss.

The job was very much as she expected and Beth actually found she liked the full-time secretary, Audrey Fisk, as well as the security guard assigned to the house.

“Mr. Prescott has a lot of security,” she said to Audrey at one point.

The older woman shrugged pencil-thin shoulders. “He’s a very wealthy man. In today’s world, he needs it.”

Prescott allowed his secretary to brief Beth on her job, but made a point of stopping by her desk to ask how things were going later that day.

“Great. I should have a preliminary analysis of your portfolio to you within a couple of days.”

“Good.”

He didn’t linger, but he stopped by her desk twice more for small talk before she left for the day. The rest of the week fell into a similar pattern and Ethan made no bones about the fact that he didn’t like how much personal attention Prescott was showing her. Since Beth wasn’t encouraging the man, she didn’t feel she was going against the agent in charge on the case.

But she thought that it was a good thing. Ethan would think so, too…if she’d been an actual agent. She was the conduit, though, and common sense dictated that the more personable her relationship with Prescott, the better chance she would have of opening doors for Ethan’s investigation.