Jenny settled into the tan leather seat, and he closed the door. Cain rounded the hood of the car, tossed her bag into the seat behind him, and slid in behind the wheel.
When Jenny didn’t reach for her seat belt, he pulled it across her chest and latched it, felt her flinch when his arm brushed her breast. Cain silently cursed.
She was still a little shocky. He admired the way she had managed to hold it together so far, but he figured she was close to her limit, and he was glad he had insisted on taking her back to the Grandview.
“Where’s your pickup?” she asked as he started the engine.
“I left it at the ranch. The Jag drives better on curves.”And I was worried about you. I wanted to get here as fast as I could.But he didn’t say that. After what had happened, knowing he was attracted to her would probably scare her to death.
The short drive up the hill took no time at all. The outside hotel lights and the tall LED lights in the parking lot were burning. A few lights glowed through the windows of the hotel.
He drove around back and parked the Jag in his private space behind the building, close to the back door. Grabbing Jenny’s overnight bag, he went around and helped her out of the car. She hadn’t said a word since they’d driven away from the saloon.
Inside the hotel, Cain reset the alarm system and punched the elevator button. When the door opened, he urged Jenny inside, and the carriage lifted away. She didn’t speak until the doors opened and she realized she was in the entry of his suite instead of in the hallway.
“You have a personal elevator. That’s nice.”
He smiled. “Yes, it is. I like my privacy.”
She looked up at him with those big green eyes. “Then what am I doing here?”
He wanted to touch her, hold her the way he had in her hotel room, reassure her she was safe. It was probably the last thing she wanted. “I invited you here. That’s different.”
He hadn’t shown her the suite when he had given her the hotel tour, and as she looked around, he could read her curiosity. She assessed the newly arrived caramel leather sofa and chairs, and the wet bar along one wall, though there still were no barstools. An end table rescued from a second-hand store sat next to the sofa, along with an old brass lamp.
“Besides the living room and master bedroom, there’s a guest room and a study down the hall that still needs furniture. Obviously, the place isn’t finished,” Cain said unnecessarily.
Jenny seemed not to notice. Instead, her gaze took in the wall of windows that looked out at the mountains, though it was too dark to see them.
“This could be really nice with the right accents.”
He was glad she was thinking about something besides the attack. “Yes, it could.” A thought shifted toward the front of his mind. “I have an interior designer working on the project—several, in fact—but I’d really like your input on my suite.”
Surprise showed in her face. “You would?”
“Yes. I think you might be able to give it a little homier feel . . . so it wouldn’t be like my office or the house in Scottsdale.”
He thought he read something in her face, interest in the solitary life he led, or maybe it was pity.
“All right, I’ll give it some thought.”
“The bedroom’s that way.” He pointed toward a door on the right side of the room, trying not to imagine her naked in his bed, the sweet curves he’d seen outlined by her stretch jeans, the full breasts he’d felt when he’d fastened her seat belt.
“The maid was here this morning, so the sheets are clean. Fresh towels in the bathroom. If you need anything, I’ll be right out here.”
She turned to face him. “What about you? You’ll need sheets and a blanket.”
“There’s some extra bedding in the linen closet in the hall. I’ll take care of it. There’s a powder room and a guest bathroom, so I won’t have to bother you. You just get some sleep.”
Jenny didn’t move, simply stood there looking up at him.
“What is it?”
Her eyes welled. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
He didn’t want to give her the same excuse, that he’d helped her because she was one of his employees. He didn’t want to lie to her again.
“Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
