Page 3 (1/2)

Author: Roni Loren

"Christ," he said under his breath as he took the turn toward her apart to be behind bars now, too"

"Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts," she said dryly

Wyatt flexed his fingers against the steering wheel again, those big, beautiful hands of his knotted with tension "You need to file a restraining order on hiht back the scoff that wanted to ju orders orth about as n theate the person further--like waving a flag at a crazed bull "Sure Will do My building’s the one there on the right"

"You’re hu the car into a parking space

"I’ainst the seat, exhaustion setting in now that the adrenaline had left her syste had it been since she’d slept? She couldn’t quite reoing so well and now I have this to deal with I want to throttle that asshole" She opened her eyes, staring forward "Is it supposed to be this hard to live a draht his smirk in her peripheral vision "So"

She turned her head toward hi"

He smiled fully now His jaas still a little swollen from the punch, but that didn’t reduce the ieous when he let that grin slip through, lighting up all those dark features and revealing the dimples hidden beneath He sift each time it happened, like she’d won so the close-up view of him too much to look away But in the small space of the car, the ocean blue of his eyes darkened behind his glasses the longer she sat there, his hu decidedly h her in a slow roll, the playful fantasizing about her fictional boyfriend beco

Wyatt reached out, his large pal and too sweet to have so much history in those eyes"

She wet her lips, her cheek tingling beneath his touch "I’, Wyatt Or that sweet"

He stared at her, that blue gaze boring into her with the precision of surgeon’s knife, and she thought he was going to lean over and kiss her She wanted hih she kneas a ridiculously bad idea, knew that the minute she crossed that boundary with him, she’d be just another wouys like him Had tripped down that path a few too many times in the past Wealthy men didn’t date women like her--they entertained themselves with them

But all Wyatt did was brush a thu the moisture she’d left there, and then lowered his hand with a softly expelled breath "Come on I’ll walk you up You need rest"

She blinked, the loss of his touch like a cold wind against her face, and tried to drag herself back to reality "Oh Um, don’t worry about that I’ll be fine"

But he was already opening his door "I’ll feel better if I see you safely inside I rarely get the opportunity to feel chivalrous"

She laughed, breaking soh her body froined almost kiss, and pushed her door open to climb out "Is there a white horse to ride up the stairs?"

"Nah, he’s in the shop" He offered a little bow and a bent elbow "Will my arm suffice, fair lady?"

She tilted her chin up in her best iuess that will do"

He s it around his arm "Lead the way"

If Wyatt had any opinions about herstairs, he kept the judght in anything with less than five-star acco eet her own place on the decent side of town and even if it wasn’t uided him to her door and reluctantly released herself from his hold to slide the key into the lock There was a note taped above the doorknob, and she suspected it was the landlord telling her rent was a day overdue She grabbed it and turned the knob, stepping inside

She expected Wyatt to follow, but when she turned around, she found hiainst the doorjamb like a vampire who needed permission to cross the threshold "You can come in if you want"

Histhe car was hard enough"

So she hadn’t iined the almost kiss She set her purse down on the breakfast bar, debating whether or not to push the issue Even nudging a toe down this road was a bad idea But she couldn’t help herself The question that had been hovering in herto the restaurant spilled out "Why do you co is It’s not convenient"

He crossed his arms over his chest "Because I like you"

She absorbed that for a second, the matter-of-fact way he said it The answer didn’t shock her exactly He wasn’t one of those guys to throw lines at her and shamelessly flirt, but she could tell when he looked at her that he wasn’t just concerned about getting her attention for a coffee refill However, mixed in with that subtle interest, she always sensed so her frolass "So why didn’t you kiss me in the car?"