“Tell me what had you so flustered earlier.”
I came close to arguing with him. Really, though, I was too burnt out to find the energy. If I give him answers, he might finally give me some. Hanging my head, I glanced at the nearby wall. “There's a detective that's been following me as much as you have.” I frowned at him. “He's been trying to grill me for information.”
Silver sat up so quickly that the cat jumped away. “Detective?”
“It's stupid.” Shaking my head, I peered through my eyelashes at him. “I feel weird explaining it, even.”
“Don't, just take your time,” he said gently.
He switches from domineering to kind like a flip of a light switch. In spite of my observation, the sudden warmth inside of me wasn't just from my tea. “Alright. Well, this guy—Detective Roose—he thinks I can help him with an old case. Except, I don't think I can. I kind of don't remember much about what happened, and it was so long ago, you know?”
Silver considered me, his hands resting lightly on the table. “I see. He wants your help, even though you can't remember the details he needs? Why can't you remember, amnesia?”
My laugh was nervous. “Amnesia is too intense a word for it. I can recall bits and pieces, if I try.” I don't want to try. “He thought he had a way to fix it so I'd remember more clearly. Earlier, he took me back to where it all happened—the crime, I mean. Guess he wanted the location to jog my memory.”
“And it didn't.”
“No,” I agreed. “It didn't.”
Smoothing his shirt, he said, “So that's why you were so distraught on the phone. You couldn't remember anything, even after he forced you.”
“I wouldn't say forced.” Swirling my spoon on my tea, I watched my reflection ripple. “Or maybe it was forced. Either way, it was a waste of time.”
“These kind of things should be handled more gingerly.”
Lifting my chin, I studied him. He seemed so relaxed, but I sensed he was as coiled as the cats were. “If you've forgotten things, it's for a reason. Trying to break that vault open before your psyche is ready could damage you.”
The way he gave me an excuse for burying my past so firmly, it made me grateful. So grateful, that I almost forgot he hadn't answered any of my questions, still. “Hey,” I said sharply. “It's your turn. Tell me when you began stalking me, and why!”
“Knowing where you work isn't really stalking.”
“It is! And you knew where my post office was, where I live... you know a lot, Silver. Why?”
“Because I want to know everything about you.”
Turning crimson, I let my hands fall down to my lap. “That's not enough. I need more.”
“So do I.”
“Stop that!” I blurted. I grabbed for some control, hating how he was turning things around on me. “Tell me what happened the other night, why were you acting so weird?”
“You mean why was I reveling in how I'd conquered your body? How I'd turned you into my play thing, and how I made it clear you belong to me?”
This wasn't the inquisition I'd expected. The more we talked, the more I found my anger mutating into something just as hot, but entirely different.
I squinted at my knees, unable to speak. I was furious at his slippery answers, and fumbling with the blunt honestly he kept throwing at me. Hadn't I run away from him three nights ago? At what point had I stopped feeling afraid of this man?
Silver tapped the table, making me look up. “I know that I was intimidating. I couldn't help it, Pet. I was relishing in the pure sensation of power that being with you gave me. Nothing could have been better than that moment. I never wanted it to end.”
My heart was one big flickering ball of excitement. “I didn't either,” I whispered softly.
Under the table, his fingers found my knee, grazing it. My pulse fluttered quicker. “I have something for you.”
“What is it?”
“Well...” Reaching into his pocket, he bent forward. I had the sudden idea he was about to get down on one knee.
“Silver,” I gasped, covering my mouth. “What are you doing?”
He grinned, sliding a set of keys into the light. “Here, take these.”
The sight of them calmed my heart. I wasn't ready for a damn proposal, but at the same time, I endured a stab of disappointment. Reaching out, I stopped inches from taking them. “Are those your house keys?”
He dropped them so that I had no choice but to catch them. “More than that. There's a key there for everything I own. I'm an open book to you, Pet.”
“I... why?” Clutching them, I enjoyed how they still held his warmth.
“Because I want to make it possible for you to reach me at any time. I never want you to feel like I'm not there for you. No lock can keep us apart.”