Damn it, plenty of people denied it. If Webb had his way, they’d all think her insane. For that reason, Leese’s faith in her tightened her throat.
“I’m smart enough, and resilient enough, to know what I want.” She stared at him to ensure he didn’t misunderstand, and then as a parting shot, she added, “Next time, without an interruption.”
He stayed silent as she walked away, down the hall and into the guest bedroom. She hesitated, but when he didn’t follow she closed the door and collapsed facedown on the bed.
How was it her life just kept getting more and more complicated? Having a wealthy, entitled, corrupt lunatic or two after her was bad enough. Living on the street, surviving with nothing? Plenty difficult.
But now she had an ultrahunk in her life who, damn it, didn’t want what she’d repeatedly offered.
How often did men turn down willing women? In her world, apparently too often.
It seemed like she rested there forever, her thoughts churning as she tried to decide what to do next. Not that she had a lot of options. She wasn’t sleepy. Wasn’t yet hungry. Leese was too big for her to coerce, and apparently kissing her and groping her hadn’t sufficiently seduced him.
Maybe she should crash in front of the TV.
Or...she rolled to her side and stared toward the walk-in closet. She could take inventory on the clothes. See if anything would fit. If anything appealed to her.
It’d be nice to wear something other than the same pair of jeans for a change. Maybe she’d find something pretty, even sexy. What difference did it make if no one would see her? No one except Leese, and he’d just sworn off touching her, so he didn’t count.
When the tap sounded on the closed bedroom door, she almost hit the ceiling. Going to her back, heart pumping hard, she asked, “What?”
He peeked in, saw her there on the bed, balanced on her elbows, and his gaze heated. “You okay?”
No doubt she’d be better if he joined her. “Okay is a subjective term. All in all, for what my life has turned into, yeah, sure, I’m peachy.”
He stepped farther inside but stayed near the door, the chicken. Maybe she tempted him. That’d be a nice thought.
“Putting aside everything before this morning,” he said, “still fine?”
“Sure.” Pride had her sitting up and shrugging as if she hadn’t a care. “You’re not the first rejection I’ve gotten, so don’t sweat it.”
Almost against his will, he looked her over. “You’re not stupid, Cat, so don’t pretend to be.”
No, she wasn’t, but she asked anyway. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
His attention drifted back to her face. “You know I want you.”
Even while irked, hearing that sent a shiver down her back. Guess my radar isn’t as wonky as I thought. But whether he wanted her or not, he’d still rejected her, and she was still stung by that. “So you backing off is...what?” With a sneer, she asked, “Nobility?”
Her deliberate laugh intensified the heat in his gaze. “I’ve known you less than a day.”
“Ah, so it’s scruples?” She tsked and asked with an overdone dose of sympathy, “You’ve never had a one-night stand, huh?”
“I never said that.”
No, he hadn’t, which only confirmed that it was something about her that had him refusing.
“Not that it would apply anyway,” he added. “We’ll be together for more than one night, maybe even weeks.”
Weeks? Good grief. Could a woman die of unrequited lust? “So it’s that you need me to wine and dine you first? I can give it a try. That is, if you’ll add wine to that grocery list. No, wait. I bet there’s some here in the penthouse somewhere.” She looked over his very fine body and murmured, “I’ll see if I can find it.”
The provocative words brought him closer. “You keep pushing and pushing.” He stood right next to her feet, which hung over the side of the bed. “I’m taking off now. Enoch is here. To give you privacy, he said he’ll stay in the office on the computer. I guess he can loop in to his own files from any location. He’ll work—here, with you—until I return.”
No, and no again. “I don’t need a babysitter.” What she needed was some private time to reflect, to mope, to do whatever the hell she wanted to do—without an audience.
Leese crossed his arms. “I’m not so sure about that. Half the time I think you’re plotting to run off. The rest of the time I figure you’re plotting something worse.”
Cat tried to stare him down, but blast him, he was right. Out of necessity, she did do a lot of plotting.
Hoping to placate him, she said, “What if I promise I won’t leave?”
“How do I know your word’s good?”
Slowly, she scooted to sit on the edge of the bed very close to him. “Okay, I’m not going to take offense at that. Like you said, we haven’t known each other that long. But you could look at it this way—where would I go? Tesh is out there, keeping watch. Others might be too. I know it. I feel it. Obviously I don’t have a death wish or I wouldn’t have worked so hard to stay safe, right? Sahara made me a terrific offer. I want to move forward with my life, not always be on the run. Believe me, it gets old quick.”
He considered that. “So right now, staying put is your best option?”
Her only option, but not a heinous one. “That’s how I see it.” She glanced back at the closet. “I was going to play a little. Shower with the good stuff, do my hair.” She pulled forward a hank of dull, dry hair. A deep conditioner would really come in handy. “Like you said, we might be here a week or so.”
“More than a week.”
No, she wouldn’t even consider that. “Since this will be my current residence, I want to explore the place.” She deliberately pouted at him. “I’m not comfortable doing any of that with Enoch hanging around.”
After studying her, Leese must have decided she told the truth, because he patted her knee and stepped away. “I’ll be gone a couple of hours, tops. The elevator and the stairs will be watched. If you do try to sneak off, someone from here will follow you until I can catch up.”
“I’ll be here,” she promised him. Then, since she’d gotten her way, she teased, “Waiting for you.”
Given how he inhaled, it was a direct hit. He waffled a second more, then blew out a resigned breath. “Be good, okay?”
“I’m always good,” she countered as he went back through the door and closed it. Deflated, she whispered, “Just not good enough.”
*
NEEDING SOME RELEASE, even in the way of violence, Leese half hoped someone would approach him. If he couldn’t screw away his tension, maybe he could demolish it.
Unfortunately, he got through the phone store without a single incident. When he stepped out again, the area remained clear of any threats.
Enoch had given him the keys to another car at the Body Armor agency, this one a nondescript sedan. To keep anyone from tinkering with it, he’d avoided the parking garage and instead pulled up at an empty spot near the curb right out in front of the store. As soon as he got seated inside, he locked up and pulled away. Still vigilant, he used one of the new low-tech flip phones to make a call.