She took a step toward him, anger surging through her expression as she advanced. “I came by to see the asshole who ruined my life.”
That scowl. That look was one he’d never forget.
This was his angel of mercy. Yes. Those eyes. Dark and liquid, they seemed enormous in her delicate face. But she was no Bambi. Those dark eyes stared at him as if penetrating past his professional attitude all the way into him, into places even he seldom visited. Could she see every shortcoming, regret, and dissatisfaction with himself he’d ever experienced?
It was disconcerting.
Intimidating.
Arousing.
And he was not ready to deal with even one of those feelings today. Not on any day for a long time. She wasn’t going to be the one to crack a hard case like him. No one got to him like that. Certainly not a gorgeous stranger whose face was registering a lot of emotions. None of them to his credit. He needed to refocus.
So, this is the woman who’d saved his ass, and all his other parts, the night before. Oh yeah. About those parts. First things first.
“Towel.”
She frowned. “What?”
He pointed to the pile of linen on the window ledge. “I’m getting a towel.”
He grabbed one and wrapped it low on his hips, tucking the ends into the waist just below his navel. The terry cloth gaped open over long hairy thighs, but it seemed to be enough to set the temperature of the room back several degrees.
That was before he looked up at her. She was seething. He was angry now, too, and didn’t know why. “What can I do for you?”
Now why did he give her attitude? He saw his tone register on her face and knew he might as well have insulted her outright.
“I just wanted to see for myself, the man who—”
He put up a hand. “I know who you are. You saved my life.”
“Yes, I did, you selfish prick.” She came toward him, eyes nearly slits, as a cascade of words tumbled out of her mouth. “Do you even realize how lucky you are? If your dog hadn’t alerted me that you were there, you would have died. You owe him your life. I suppose that means nothing to you. But you should know that even after I freed him, that sweet dog still wouldn’t leave you in the fire. Clearly he adores you. But you were about to repay his loyalty by burning him up with you. Shame on you. Just because you’ve given up doesn’t give you the right to take an innocent animal with you. You could have dropped him off anywhere—a shelter, a rescue, even dumping him in the street would be humane compared to what you tried to do to. Not to mention what that fire did to my store. But I suppose a guy with your good looks is used to getting things handed to him. Some of us work hard for our dreams and you have no right to destroy them like they’re nothing.”
“Gown.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Hand me one of those gowns. Please.” Talking to her with his dick behaving in unruly ways beneath the towel was beginning to tax his concentration.
She grabbed a gown from the same stack as the towels and threw it at him. “Have you heard a word I’ve said?”
He backed up to the bed, sat, and unfolded the gown. “You called me good-looking.”
“I called you a selfish prick, too.”
Something close to a smile cracked his hard mouth. His voice dropped to a rough whisper as he thrust his arms through the sleeves. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“Oh no. You don’t get to say that. Not after your actions ruined my shop next door. I don’t know what your problems are, and I don’t care. It’s not any of my business you wanted to burn up yourself. But you made a mistake when you ruined my future trying to do it.”
“I didn’t—”
“What? Didn’t mean to burn down my life? Didn’t mean to torture a defenseless animal in the cruelest way imaginable?”
“No. I didn’t—”
“What? Didn’t stop to think? There’s a surprise.”
“I didn’t—” He paused.
She waited three seconds. “What?
He smiled. “Can I finish this time? Thank you. I didn’t do it.”
“Didn’t do what? Start the fire? Try to kill yourself? What?”
He nodded, sucking in a breath. “All of the above.”
“Humph.” Folded her arms. “You left a note.”
That popped him upright away from the bed. “How did you hear about that?”
She just stared at him.
“I’ve got to get out of here.” He jerked the towel out from under the gown.
Carly glanced away, but not quite quick enough to miss another glimpse of his man parts. Not that it was a big deal to her. Still, it was just a bit impressive, that flash. Not that she was interested, or looking, or even remotely curious about a man who’d take his own life.
Then he turned and reached for the phone, and it was too much.
“Would you mind not mooning me?”
He looked back, frowning as he realized what had happened, and reached around to close his gown. But he took his time, not at all embarrassed. “Sorry but you need to get out of here.”