Page 52 of The Devoted Game

“I need another drink, Grace.”

He went back into the room, reached for the only comfort he trusted.

As much as he’d love to leave Grace feeling warm and fuzzy about the hero she thought him to be, this wasn’t his problem anymore.

Fifteen

3:00 a.m.

The door of the hotel room opened, and Vivian snapped to attention. She tugged at her skirt and righted her jacket. Her bottom was numb from sitting in this damned chair.

McBride stepped into the corridor, let the door close behind him. “How you holding up?”

“Well, let’s see, I’ve counted the stripes in the wallpaper five times. What does that tell you?”

He crouched down to her level. “I think you can come back into the room. I’m pretty sure no one’s going to try breaking down the door. Birmingham PD and hotel security are making sure the media doesn’t ambush us. There’s no need for you to sit out here like this.”

She produced a smile, mostly at the idea of McBride trying to be sweet. In a totally unsettling way she found this charming. “Thanks, but I’d better follow orders.” Worth had been specific. No one was to come near McBride’s room.

That he was still awake surprised her. She had halfway expected him to drink himself into unconsciousness. Maybe he wasn’t the drunk he wanted people to believe he was. His don’t-care attitude kept everyone at a distance.

She had already decided that he used intimacy as a tactic to ward her off. That whole cocky, swaggering attitude was more for show than anything else, she would wager.

The problem was, it didn’t exactly work. The last time she had been this physically attracted to a guy, she had been seventeen and graduating high school. No one since. All the dates and one-night stands added up to nada.

“I wanted to finish the discussion we started last night,” McBride ventured as if he had read her thoughts.

“Oh no.” She waved off that idea. “I did all the talking last night, and you got off with just listening.”

He already knew too much about her.

“I shouldn’t have made all those cracks about—”

“Don’t you dare,” she snapped. She’d seen that look in his eyes when they had first returned to the hotel. The sympathy. She hated that! “I’m over the past.”

“You’re over Nameless?”

She shuddered inwardly, did all in her power to prevent him from seeing the reaction. “Yes.”

“Then say it.”

This was ridiculous. “Go back in the room, McBride.”

“Say it.”

Fury tightened her lips. “Nameless.” Hot bile rose in her throat. She glared at him. “Are you satisfied now?”

“You’ve had sex since then?”

Was he kidding? It was a damned good thing there weren’t any guests in the rooms on this end of the corridor. Having a balcony put him in a corner room, and this wasn’t exactly prime tourist season.

“My sex life is none of your business.” She crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. The man was unbelievable.

“Just answer the question, Grace. It’s a yes or no response. Simple.”

He was outrageous. But one look at his face told her he wasn’t going to shut up until he had his answer. “Okay. Yes. Of course.” She added in a whisper, “I’ve had sex. Lots of times.”

“Lots of times, eh?”