Jessica held the doorknob so hard she winced with pain. A moment of panic seized her and held her motionless. Was that her bodyguard?
“You’re obviously Jessica Kincaid.”
His low, rough-sounding voice had a strange effect on her nerves. She stiffened. “And who might you be?”
“Brant Harding, your bodyguard.”
Jessica swallowed, suddenly at a loss for words. The first thought that came to mind was the word dangerous: with his dark, brooding looks, he reminded her of a stalking panther.
Wetting her lips, she said inanely, “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“That’s obvious.”
She flushed, something she didn’t do often. “Won’t you come in?”
He strode into the room. Reluctantly she closed the door behind her, fighting off the insane feeling that she was sealing her doom.
His Touch
Mary Lynn Baxter
Contents
One
The instant she walked into her town home, Jessica Kincaid sensed something was not quite right. She tried to mask her uneasy feelings and not let on, but her efforts didn’t work. Her friend called her hand.
“What’s wrong?”
Frowning, Jessica peered at Veronica Nash and forced a smile. “Why do you think something’s wrong?”
Veronica’s pixie features turned into a matching frown. “Because I know you, that’s why. You looked spooked.”
“I am,” Jessica admitted with blunt honesty, deciding it was foolish to hide the truth from her friend any longer.
“Want to tell me what’s going on?” Veronica asked, her tone pressing.
Jessica smothered a sigh, at the same time running her hands through her short, highlighted brown hair. “How ’bout we get comfy first and have a cup of coffee?”
“Works for me.” Veronica proceeded to toss her purse on the floor, then plop down on the sofa. “Need any help?”
Jessica shook her head. “I think I can handle it.”
If only that were true about the rest of her life, Jessica thought, puttering around in her bright yellow-and-green kitchen. Once the coffee was dripping, she paused and took a deep breath.
As mayor of Dallas, Texas, one of the most up-and-coming cities in the south—in the nation, for that matter—she couldn’t give in to this unexpected turn of events. She had to come up with a way to handle things herself and not involve the police.
“Sure you don’t need help?”
Veronica’s lively voice made Jessica move. “I’m coming. I was