trying to pretend I wasn’t. His expression was dark. It marred what was otherwise a very handsome face. I’d been so caught up in the moment last night that I’d barely taken the time to really see what he looked like. Now, I allowed myself a brief, distracted moment to assess him.
He had a dark hair, tinged with early grey, and lashes that matched. His cheekbones were well defined and his brow was strong. At that moment, his jaw was stiff and his mouth was set in a frustrated line. I knew those lips were soft, though. They’d been gentle on my neck, and sweet on my ear. And on my mouth…I shivered in remembered pleasure.
Forget controlling your thoughts, I chastised myself. You need to control your body.
But my reaction was involuntary. It was the kind of response that couldn’t be controlled. When he kissed me beside the car, and I tried to pull away from him, my body had fought me to curve into him instead. It felt good and right to be pressed up against the man’s solid form.
Even now, watching the way his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, possessively, made me ache to feel them on my body again. If it wasn’t for Jayme…
“Are you going to tell me what that was back there?”
His question yanked me back to reality.
“You’re the one who kissed me.” My face was burning.
“I’m not talking about that.”
“I don’t know what you mean then,” I replied curtly.
“You had an opportunity to save yourself. Or at least buy some time. All you had to do was tell your boss who I was.”
“I don’t know who you are.”
He ignored my snide reply. “Why didn’t you give me up?”
What had been going through my mind at the moment Ellis walked in? Panic. A need to protect Jayme. The sexy way my captor’s shirt hugged his chest. I couldn’t tell him any of that. So I went for a half-truth.
“I didn’t want Ellis to get hurt.”
“You thought I would hurt him?”
“You wouldn’t have?”
His hands flexed on the steering wheel and his frown deepened. “I’m not in the business of hurting people who don’t deserve it.”
“And who decides if they deserve it?” I scoffed. “You?”
“I find it’s usually pretty obvious.”
“I find it’s usually pretty subjective,” I countered. “Especially for Cohen Blue’s men. He doesn’t exactly employ the fairest judges.”
“No, he doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean I’m a thug.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I was familiar enough with Cohen’s hiring practices to be sure that every man who worked for him was a thug.
He glanced at me and read my expression. “You know him well?”
There was a hint of some underlying tension in his voice.
“Well enough,” I answered noncommittally.
He eyed me up and down. “You danced for him?”
“No!”
“Relax. It was a logical assumption.”
“Based on what?” I snapped.
The man’s eyes widened at my tone. “Based on what I know about him and what I know about you.”
“You don’t know anything about me. And I doubt you know as much about Cohen as I do.”
“You must’ve spent quite a bit of time with him, then. Cohen doesn’t let many people close to him.”
“I know him better than I’d like to, okay?”
“Is that right?”
His gaze flicked back to my face. It was curious and a bit too interested. I suddenly wanted to steer the conversation away from both Cohen and my home life, but the green-eyed man seemed determined to probe me about it.
“Let me ask you something else then…who’s more dangerous? Cohen? Or the man you’ve got at home?”
This time I recognized the tone. He was jealous. Or something like it.
That’s ridiculous. He’s just got something to prove.
“I thought we already decided not to have the size-doesn’t-matter conversation.” I managed to keep my tone light.
He laughed, and I tried not to be affected by the rich sound of it.
“Can we talk about something else? Anything but Cohen?” I asked.
“I thought we
He had a dark hair, tinged with early grey, and lashes that matched. His cheekbones were well defined and his brow was strong. At that moment, his jaw was stiff and his mouth was set in a frustrated line. I knew those lips were soft, though. They’d been gentle on my neck, and sweet on my ear. And on my mouth…I shivered in remembered pleasure.
Forget controlling your thoughts, I chastised myself. You need to control your body.
But my reaction was involuntary. It was the kind of response that couldn’t be controlled. When he kissed me beside the car, and I tried to pull away from him, my body had fought me to curve into him instead. It felt good and right to be pressed up against the man’s solid form.
Even now, watching the way his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, possessively, made me ache to feel them on my body again. If it wasn’t for Jayme…
“Are you going to tell me what that was back there?”
His question yanked me back to reality.
“You’re the one who kissed me.” My face was burning.
“I’m not talking about that.”
“I don’t know what you mean then,” I replied curtly.
“You had an opportunity to save yourself. Or at least buy some time. All you had to do was tell your boss who I was.”
“I don’t know who you are.”
He ignored my snide reply. “Why didn’t you give me up?”
What had been going through my mind at the moment Ellis walked in? Panic. A need to protect Jayme. The sexy way my captor’s shirt hugged his chest. I couldn’t tell him any of that. So I went for a half-truth.
“I didn’t want Ellis to get hurt.”
“You thought I would hurt him?”
“You wouldn’t have?”
His hands flexed on the steering wheel and his frown deepened. “I’m not in the business of hurting people who don’t deserve it.”
“And who decides if they deserve it?” I scoffed. “You?”
“I find it’s usually pretty obvious.”
“I find it’s usually pretty subjective,” I countered. “Especially for Cohen Blue’s men. He doesn’t exactly employ the fairest judges.”
“No, he doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean I’m a thug.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I was familiar enough with Cohen’s hiring practices to be sure that every man who worked for him was a thug.
He glanced at me and read my expression. “You know him well?”
There was a hint of some underlying tension in his voice.
“Well enough,” I answered noncommittally.
He eyed me up and down. “You danced for him?”
“No!”
“Relax. It was a logical assumption.”
“Based on what?” I snapped.
The man’s eyes widened at my tone. “Based on what I know about him and what I know about you.”
“You don’t know anything about me. And I doubt you know as much about Cohen as I do.”
“You must’ve spent quite a bit of time with him, then. Cohen doesn’t let many people close to him.”
“I know him better than I’d like to, okay?”
“Is that right?”
His gaze flicked back to my face. It was curious and a bit too interested. I suddenly wanted to steer the conversation away from both Cohen and my home life, but the green-eyed man seemed determined to probe me about it.
“Let me ask you something else then…who’s more dangerous? Cohen? Or the man you’ve got at home?”
This time I recognized the tone. He was jealous. Or something like it.
That’s ridiculous. He’s just got something to prove.
“I thought we already decided not to have the size-doesn’t-matter conversation.” I managed to keep my tone light.
He laughed, and I tried not to be affected by the rich sound of it.
“Can we talk about something else? Anything but Cohen?” I asked.
“I thought we
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