Page 32

He gave a curt nod then scooped up a pair of sweatpants from the armchair near the fireplace and stepped into them. He left the shirt on the chair and made his way to the kitchen. Part of her wanted to grab the blasted T-shirt and demand he wear it, but that’d only give him the power of knowing he turned her on.
Following him into the kitchen, she didn’t take her gaze off the clean curve of his spine. So sexy. The tattoos on his shoulder blades bled into a couple of patches of marred skin—likely scars from whatever part of his past brought him to his current job. Curiosity made questions erupt on her tongue, but she halted them. Some things were better not knowing.
As he started fixing the coffee, she went to the window in the back door and gazed outside. “It’s pretty here.”
He glanced up as he poured water into the coffee maker, looking out the window above the sink. “That’s why I bought the place.”
She cocked her head. “For yourself? I assumed you had it so you could kidnap young women.”
His mouth split into a grin and his gray eyes danced with mischief. The dark hair of his beard matched the shade of his eyelashes. “Nah, the problem’s getting them to leave, not stay.”
She laughed. “Oh, you’ve got jokes. That’s good. We’ll need humor to get us through thisweek of hell.” She hadn’t been able to stop the jab from rolling off her tongue. Damn it, had she sounded hurt? She should be over his comment about babysitting her.
His expression softened. He took two mugs down from the shelf then turned to rest his back against the counter. He appeared to be weighing his words. His laser-hot stare was on her face. A small smile finally tipped up one corner of his mouth.
Unease made her shoulders pull forward. “What?”
“Did you figure out what I meant by that?”
She blew a breath through her lips. “It was silly. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“But you did,” he countered. “What did I mean?”
She turned away from the door and faced him, throwing a hand in the air carelessly. “That a week together would be painful because you dislike me as much as I dislike you.”
He ticked his head to the side. “No.”
She didn’t stop the jump of her eyebrows. “No? Well then—”
“I meant...” he said, drawing out the syllables. The coffee maker started to drip and hiss. He ran his tongue over the seam of his lips and steered away his attention as though he weren’t going to continue.
Her nerves spiraled and her brain worked at Mach speed, but she couldn’t for the life of her piece together what he might be about to say.
“Imeant,” he continued, his voice stronger, “that you’re gorgeous and keeping my hands off you will be a pain in the ass.” His words dropped like a bomb.
She sucked in a breath, but it did nothing to regulate the racing of her heart.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Glad to hear you don’t feel the same, though.” He winked and busied himself with the sugar jar. “I don’t have much to eat. I’ll have to run into town for groceries, but I’ve got protein bars for now.”
Crap. She’d insulted him. Told him she disliked him. She’d been striving for humor and trying to take the spotlight off herself. But the moment had passed, and she wasn’t one to backtrack. Nonetheless, guilt gnawed inside her belly. She should probably be nicer to the guy. After all, he had saved her life numerous times yesterday.
Not like he did it for free, she reminded herself.
“Protein bars are fine.”
He took down a box from the cupboard and set it on the table. She pulled out a chair and sat then dug out a slim bar. As she opened the wrapper, the scents of chocolate and peanut butter hit her nose. She hadn’t eaten much since yesterday morning.
Toth carried their coffee cups to the table then set out the sugar. “Sorry, no cream.”
She made a face. But after the day she’d had yesterday, she wasn’t going to turn away caffeine. “Add that to the grocery list.”
“Duly noted.” He took a seat next to her. “Anything else?” While his posture still suggested confidence, something in his voice was off. Distant, maybe? Or perhaps she was imagining things. A guy as hot as Toth wouldn’t get worked up over one woman not falling over him. He surely had a lineup of women waiting at home.
She broke off a piece of the bar and nibbled on the chewy center. “Real food would be nice.”
He snickered. “All right. What do you like to eat?”
She pursed her lips. “Fruit, veggies, things like that. Chocolate.”