Page 31 of Her Ruthless Protector

She loved the way Kane’s eyes got so big. “Yep,” she grinned, “this is quite the show.”

“I’ll say.” He took a sip of his scotch. “So now that we know that cancelling is out of the question, how do we mitigate this?”

“You’re the SEAL.”

“Something tells me you have some ideas, Ms. Executive Producer.” He leaned back against the sofa and stretched out his arm along the back, his hand a mere inch away from her neck. A.J. could feel the heat of his hand, he was so warm, he beckoned.

“A.J.?” His eyes glinted and his thumb brushed against the nape of her neck.

“Huh?” Dammit, she was not a hormonal teenager. Okay, she was a hormonal almost-thirty-year-old, but still. “One of our stagehands quit today,” she said in a husky tone. Kane’s smile was sinful.

A.J. cleared her throat.

“I’m using that to our advantage. Clive had to leave because his wife broke her leg and needed help with their children, but I’m letting the talent think it’s due to his negligence. That’s putting their mind at ease. The stagehands know better, so there won’t be a blemish on his record.”

“Nice.”

She let her head fall backwards, giving Kane better access. He took it. His fingers started to massage that magical spot at the base of her skull. Somehow, some way, A.J. stifled her groan of pleasure and continued talking.

“That handles my issues, tell me about al-Qaeda.”

“Right now, out of the four potential threats, we’re thinking this is second to the last.”

“I think you’re wrong,” she said as she closed her eyes and sighed.

“Why?” Kane didn’t sound dismissive, she liked that.

“Terrorists always want the biggest amount of exposure. This is it, Baby.” She rolled her head and looked over at him.

He raised an eyebrow for her to continue.

“Think about it. The world thrives on their tabloids and celebrities. Look at your friend Asher’s mom and multiply her by a hundred thousand. These people would go crazy if something happened to their stars.”

“Shit, you’re making a lot of sense. We’ve been focused on the high-profile people within diplomatic, business and humanitarian circles that could be killed.”

“The uproar that would happen if some of these celebrities were killed would probably be worse.”

Kane pulled his hand away and set down his scotch. He pulled out his phone and stood up.

“A.J., I can’t thank you enough for the hot dogs and the company, but I’ve got to report in. Because to tell you the truth, the best part of tonight was the worst part of tonight, and that was hearing your insights. I’ve got to go.”

Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

A.J. reached down and picked up the last Ding Dong. “I understand,” she said as she waved it in his direction. “You go be SEAL Boy.”

“Seriously A.J., you’re spot-on. I’m going to take this to my team, because whoever takes responsibility for this is going to be crowned king of the terrorists, or if it isn’t a terrorist group, they might be the world’s biggest pariah.”

A.J. gave him a narrowed glance. “What are you thinking Kane, are you saying—?”

“I’m not saying anything more. I shouldn’t have said that much. However, you do have one hell of a brain on some things. I find intelligent women extremely attractive.”

“What do you mean some things?” she scowled.

“You’re not sleeping here tonight, are you? You’ve got a hotel in town, right?”

“I do, but I bunk out here in my trailer all the time.”

“Not tonight you’re not.”