Page 25 of Dangerous Temptation

He went directly to a workbench in front of yet another window that looked out on Wolfe Lake. He set her laptop down and turned to a metal rack filled with components and newer, fancier models.

He selected a razor-thin silver laptop. ‘Will this do?’

Who was she to argue with him? ‘Whatever you think is best.’

Her guilt over accepting a castoff from him was lessening. He had so much. She sat down on a stool and folded her hands in her lap. Once again, she was afraid to touch anything. ‘I thought your specialty was software.’

‘It is, but I dabble.’

He dabbled. Like he read advanced books on macroeconomics and trained like an Olympic athlete.

He held a tiny screwdriver over her laptop. ‘Is it going to bother you to watch me do this?’

Absolutely.

‘No,’ she said.

He lifted an eyebrow. ‘Liar.’

She lowered her gaze.

He’d just unscrewed the first screw when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and then back to her. ‘I need to take this.’

She looked around the room when he stepped away.

It was organised and tidy, but not pristine like the rest of the house.

This was a room that was used, not a showpiece.

Everything looked to be top-of-the-line, but where there were communication tools and high-end electronics, there were also gadgets. And toys.

She’d wondered once if she’d ever see the true Wolfe. This might be as close as she’d get.

‘You’re sure? Nothing?’ he asked the caller. She sat a little straighter on the stool when he realised she was staring right at her. ‘All right, email me your findings.’

He hung up, and that cool grey gaze settled on her again. Elena tried not to fidget as he walked back over to her. He put down his tools and settled a protective hand over her laptop.

‘Why don’t I work on this later?’

‘Are you sure? It won’t hurt anything to wait?’

‘Only your nerves.’ He cupped her face and ran his thumb over her cheek. He stared at her for so long, it became uncomfortable.

‘What?’ she whispered.

He shook his head briefly. ‘You confuse me, too.’ Pushing away from the tall workbench, he caught her hand. ‘Let’s go see about that dinner.’

They rode the elevator back down to the main floor, but Elena wasn’t hungry. Worry had taken her appetite. The driver was just coming in the kitchen door when they got there. She blinked when she saw the square white boxes in his massive brown hands.

‘Grimaldi’s?’ She recognised the logo on sight, and her mouth began to water. She hadn’t eaten there in months. ‘From the city? Are you serious?’

Alex shrugged. ‘It sounded good. We might have to reheat it a bit. I hope that’s OK.’

She looked at him, dumbfounded. He must have been craving New York style pizza.

‘What would you like to drink, Miss Elena?’

Leonard took over at that point, ushering them into the breakfast nook.

Elena was still stunned. She looked at the pizza on her plate, unable to fathom that they’d brought it in from the city. New York was an hour away, yet Alex had thought nothing of the extravagance. ‘It’s a bit overwhelming to be you, isn’t it?’

He stopped shaking red pepper on his slice. ‘What do you mean?’

‘All of this.’ She toyed with the napkin in her lap. Somehow, linen didn’t seem right. ‘It’s all so much. The houses and the land, the private gym, a NSA-worthy electronics suite …’

His brow furrowed. ‘That’s twice now that you’ve said something like that. Your father was Randolph Bardot.’

She was well aware of the fact.

‘Even before his crimes, he was a very wealthy man.’

She shrugged. ‘Because he knew where to scrimp and save.’

Alex’s brow furrowed. In the dimmed lighting of the nook, it made him look dark and intimidating. It reminded her of that first time she’d seen him watching her from the balcony, and she fought not to shrink back into her seat.

‘Are you saying that he didn’t support you at all?’

She breathed very slowly. ‘He paid the mandated alimony and child support. The judge also made sure he paid for my undergraduate degree.’

‘But nothing more.’

‘His lawyer was better than Mom’s.’

The air in the tiny room turned downright chilly.

‘It was all right,’ she said quickly. ‘She and I did fine together. We had fun. I … I just missed him.’

A muscle flexed in Alex’s jaw.

She turned her attention back to the pizza. Her appetite had fled, but she folded the slice in half and took another bite. Flavour filled her senses, but it might as well have been cardboard. ‘This is delicious. Thank you for including me.’

‘You’re welcome.’

‘I would have been happy with a slice from the convenience store in Bedford.’

‘Enough.’ That was when he moved in that lightning-fast way of his. Leaning over the table, he speared his hand into her hair and cupped the back of her head. His grey gaze was searching and Elena caught something she hadn’t seen in him before. Caution.

The air in the nook changed. The outrage was still in his eyes, but it was accompanied by surprise. ‘You’re for real, aren’t you?’

The words were quiet and almost reverent, but she flinched and pulled back. ‘I don’t joke about money.’

This might all be a game to him, toying with numbers here and watching results there, but money had value to her. Apparently those who didn’t have it valued it more.

‘Wait. Stop. That’s not what I meant.’

She hesitated, fingers curling into her napkin. His hand still cupped the back of her neck, but it wasn’t controlling. It was almost … protective. She looked at him warily.

‘Why did you come here, Elena? To Wolfe Manor?’

‘You know why. To finish my dissertation.’

‘You could have done that anywhere. Why here?’

‘Leonard offered and the price was right.’

A muscle in his jaw flexed. With his stubbly beard, it made him look ruthless.

She sighed and shied away from that piercing gaze. ‘The same as you, OK? The truth is that I needed to be here. I needed to plan. And rage .’

She waited for the flash of anger, but her stomach squeezed when she saw what was in his eyes. He still guarded his thoughts and emotions like a wolf defending its den, but desire shone dark and clear. Only this time it wasn’t purely sexual. The wanting went deeper. To yearning.

‘Stay,’ he finally said, his voice raspy.

She’d known that, with them, dinner couldn’t just be dinner.

He shook his head and his thumb rubbed over her ear. ‘Just … stay.’