I twisted, trying to loosen the knot with my free hand.
“I’m sorry.” Regret laced his voice, and when I turned my head and looked at him, the anger I’d seen in his eyes was gone. Instead I saw only tenderness—and endless pools of regret.
I felt my body sag with relief. “Let me go,” I said. “Just let me get the hell out of here.”
“I’m sorry,” he said again as he rose slowly to his feet. “I didn’t know. I thought you—I didn’t know,” he repeated, but I didn’t understand what he meant.
He reached for me, and I flinched. He froze, his face as tight and hard as if I’d hit him.
“I didn’t know,” he said yet again, and though I still didn’t understand, I wasn’t about to ask. Right then, I didn’t care. I just wanted out of there.
I felt a tear escape to track down my cheek, and I turned brutally away. “Please,” I said. “Just untie me.”
“Of course. Of course, I will.”
He did, and I sat up, feeling fragile and confused. I started to reach for the robe, but he bent to get it before I could, and handed it to me.
I stood, then shrugged it on.
“Stay,” he said, but I just shook my head. I moved to the living room, feeling a bit like I was in a dream. I didn’t see my panties, and I didn’t really care. I shimmied into the dress, then tied the halter behind my neck. I was already zipping the back when Tyler came in.
“Sloane. Please. Don’t go.”
But I could only shake my head. I couldn’t stay. Not for Candy. Not for Amy. Not even for myself.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. And then I snatched up my purse and ran barefoot into the hall.
Chapter Eleven
I stumbled blindly down the hall, then yanked open the door to the hidden staircase that led down to the ninth floor and the elevator that would take me back to the lobby.
At each turn I looked behind me, making sure that Tyler wasn’t back there. I told myself I didn’t want him to follow, and since he apparently wasn’t, I also told myself that was a good thing.
Somehow, though, I didn’t believe it.
The fear was fading now, the memories slipping back into the dark where they belonged. Exhaustion dogged me, physical and emotional. The whole night had been a whirlwind—of fear, of pleasure, of danger and desire.
In the end, the fear had overshadowed it all, but I couldn’t deny that these hours with Tyler had been so much more. More than I had expected. More than just the job.
He’d taken me to places I’d never been, and I’d felt a heightened desire that I’d never before experienced. But I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t give him what he wanted.
I knew damn well that Tyler was dangerous in so many ways, but I didn’t fear him in bed. No, it wasn’t the man I feared, but the door that he could open. A door that kept the memories and the dark things at bay.
A door I was determined to keep locked tight, and through which I dreaded even the smallest crack.
I waited impatiently at the ninth floor elevator bank, shifting my weight from foot to foot until the elevator finally arrived and I could collapse on the fainting couch and bury my face in my hands.
The ride down was quick, and no one else got on. I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t know the exact time, but I knew it was very late, and the only people wandering around a hotel at this hour were those, like me, doing a walk of shame.
I stood as the elevator doors slid open—then immediately sat down again in shock when I saw Tyler standing right there.
“But—how did you?”
“Service elevator,” he said, then stepped into the car, blocking my exit.
“I need to get out. I need to—”
“Sloane.” That’s it. Just my name, but it was so firm and so vibrant and so full of apology that it sounded to me like a seal of honor.
I melted a little. “Please, Tyler. I’m tired.”
He nodded to the couch. “Then sit.”