His Lover to Protect - Katee Robert Page 0,1

pepper spray would have. “You’re crazy. It was a nice day so I wanted to walk.”

“Even with that limp? In the rain?”

Well, hell. She’d noticed a lot more than he would have given her credit for, even with his staying well back on the road. “I’m not a cripple.” Though when he compared his limits now to what they’d been before his injury, he sure as hell felt like one. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “And you obviously thought it was a nice enough day for a walk in the rain. Pot, meet kettle.”

She paused, clearly taking him in. Alexis Yeung, nurse and apparently sufferer of a mental breakdown when her perfect life didn’t go exactly as planned. Really, she was just throwing a temper tantrum by jetting off to Europe to find herself or whatever it was that high-maintenance women did.

She didn’t look like much. Oh, sure, she was beautiful in a very busty Asian-babes way, but what kind of woman spent the day hiking down a road and managed to look so perfectly put together? It wasn’t natural. Her jeans were rolled up to show off her hiking boots, and her white T-shirt didn’t have a smudge of dirt on it. He tried not to notice how the fabric strained over her breasts, and failed.

“Stop staring at my chest.”

“Woman, you just attacked me for no reason. The least I deserve is to check you out.” She crossed her arms under breasts, and he raised his eyebrows. “You’re not exactly helping my concentration, darlin’.”

“You’re a pig.” The woman had a stare on her that made him think of his auntie. He shoved the comparison away. Aunt Rose wasn’t anything like Alexis. She didn’t run from her problems—or other people’s problems, for that matter—not even when they were literally knocking on her door. This woman obviously did, or he wouldn’t be in a back alley in Cork getting grilled.

Alexis looked like she wanted to kick him again. “Why did you turn down the alley?”

This, at least, he had an answer for. “You’re a woman alone. I thought you might be in danger.”

“So you came riding to my rescue on your white horse?” And now she was laughing at him.

He coughed, hating the slow heat of embarrassment working its way through him. He wasn’t the one in the wrong here. “Only an idiot wanders down a dark alley alone.”

“I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”

A fact Flannery had left out in his description of her, which made Luke wonder what else he’d left out. “Against a man with a bum leg.” Which hurt like a bitch after the combination of the hike and the beating she’d given it.

“Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night.” She paused. “Give me back my pepper spray.”

“Not a chance.” There was nothing to guarantee she wouldn’t try to spray him again, and he’d suffered through enough shit today.

“It’s mine.”

“Yeah, well, you lost the right to it when you attacked me.” He sounded like a grumpy old man, but her very presence pushed buttons he didn’t know he had.

No, that was a goddamn lie. He knew every single one. Hell, he was more button than man these days.

She glared. “I’m leaving now. If you try to follow me again, we’ll go another round and I’ll come out on top. Again.”

If there wasn’t the slightest wavering in her voice, he might actually believe she was an international badass like she seemed to think. Then again, if this little slip of nothing could get the drop on him, then he’d fallen even further than he could have guessed. Humiliation tore through him, demanding he win back some of his damaged pride. “Darlin’, you got the drop on me once. It wouldn’t happen again.”

“Right. Because you’re not following me.”

“Nope.” Though he kind of wanted to douse her in cold water for how smug she sounded. Luke shrugged out of his pack. He heard more than saw her tense. “Relax, Rambo. I’m just tucking this away for now for safekeeping.” He shoved the pepper spray into his pack, needing to do something to keep her from taking off. He didn’t know how much more jaunting around he could take today. Add in the bonus of not knowing where the hell she was staying—or where she was going next—and he had to do something drastic. “The least you can do is buy me a drink after attacking me.”

“Attacking you? That’s rich. Maybe you shouldn’t be