My father’s nostrils flared as he drew a sharp breath. “Of course he’s nice to you. All he sees is a beautiful, naive woman, willing to do anything in the name of redemption to shake off the guilt of what happened that night.”
His words cut me profoundly, and I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes. Maybe somewhere deep down, I was afraid that what he said was true.
“Wow, that fucking hurts. So, he’s only nice to me because he wants to sleep with me?”
My father cupped his hands against my face. They were warm and smelled like his signature aftershave. The same one he’d been using since I was a little girl. It was home. And just like that, my anger dissipated, shifting into sadness.
“That’s not what I meant. I just want you to be careful. Guard your heart, Eva. He isn’t James.”
“Daddy, I know that.” I bit back the torrent of emotions threatening to spill over, the grief swelling fresh in my throat. “I’ll be fine. And Derek… don’t worry about him. He’s a good guy,” I assured him with a forced smile.
A good guy.
I had to believe that. I wanted to believe it, even though a tiny voice at the back of my mind warned me there were things about Derek that made him different from anyone I’d ever met. Secrets that set off alarms in my heart.
* * *
“Am I late?”
Derek moved up my father’s porch steps with the gait of a predator. Each movement methodical. Meant to evoke a reaction, to elicit my undivided attention. And fuck did he have it. His smile was wide, tipped to one side, and his eyes seared through mine like he was making it a point to see straight into my soul. I swallowed hard, finding my voice just as he reached the top of the concrete stairs.
Feeling the urge to throw my arms around his neck, I squeezed my hands into fists at my sides instead.
“You’re actually ten minutes early.”
“So, this is just you giving me curbside service, then. I’m flattered.”
I rolled my eyes, unable to repress the smile stretching across my face. “You’re not the only one with cameras and security fit for the annual Purge. You and my father have that in common.”
My father was a wealthy man. I’d always thought his over-the-top surveillance was paranoid overkill, but I understood it, especially after what happened to James. It only took a millisecond for my thoughts to travel to that night and the never-ending what-ifs that haunted my subconscious.
Derek must have noticed how my shoulders fell and my smile crumbled to a frown. His finger lifted my chin, and I suddenly couldn’t remember when we’d gotten so comfortable touching each other.
But I liked it.
“Hey, we’re going to find her,” he said in that soothing velvet tone that turned my insides into jelly.
I put a hand around his wrist and managed a smile. “You want to come inside?”
Derek’s eyes darkened, and his hold on my chin tightened as he leaned closer, minty breath fanning my face.
“Oh, I’d like that, angel,” he crooned, thumb feathering against my cheek.
My body was a traitorous whore.
How I squeezed my calf muscles to talk myself out of jumping up and straddling him was downright shameful. The worst part was that he knew how his words and proximity affected me. His smug grin only widened when I put a hand over his chest and averted his gaze.
The day I’d set out to meet Derek Cain, never in my most scandalous dreams had I imagined he’d be so damn attractive, charismatic, and infuriatingly sexy all at once.
“I meant inside… to meet my dad,” I said in a breathy voice, stretching my neck so our lips were only inches apart. I could play his game too.
He brought a hand to my hip, gripping my sweater and tugging me toward him.
“Of course you did. What else would you have meant?”
The heady scent of his cologne did strange things to my lady parts. It was crisp, expensive, and oh-so fucking tempting.
“Eva!”
