The last thing he wanted was to be in Will’s debt. “There are other agencies in town.”
“But none as accomplished as Kent and Associates. They’re the best.” Her head canted to one side. “Why wouldn’t you trust your own brother?”
Because I don’t deserve to.
“It is none of your concern,” he said irritably.
“Can’t we let bygones be bygones? If your life is in peril, we must work together—”
“There is nowe, Miss Kent.”
“I am sincerely sorry for my mistake.” Her eyes pleaded with him. Just as he began to thaw slightly, she added, “And it is not as if you’re entirely in the right. You did kidnap and drag me to Andromeda’s after all.”
“I did that because you were too pigheaded to accept the truth,” he gritted out.
“And I gave the testimony because you were too arrogant to explain what really happened.” She had the temerity to lift her chin. “When it all boils down, I’d say we’re equally in the wrong, wouldn’t you?”
His grip on his temper slipped. “Like hell we are. You spied on me and falsely accused me of murder. Then you instigated that kiss—”
“What?” she said indignantly. “You’re the one who started it.”
“You licked your damned lip in invitation!”
“If I did so, ’twas because of nerves. Unlike you, I’m not accustomed to debauchery.”
Her prim, virtuous reply caused the pressure in his veins to shoot up. A muscle by his left eye twitched. “Nerves my arse,” he said. “If you possess any, they are clearly made of iron. The truth is you were bloodyeagerfor my kiss.”
Uncertainty flitted through her eyes—the first of it that he’d seen from the bullheaded chit.
She recovered quickly. “Circumstances being what they were, it is understandable that we were both somewhat overwrought. What’s done is done, however. There’s no sense arguing about it,” she said in annoyingly brisk tones. “If your reluctance to accept my help stems from fear that we’ll end up in another compromising situation, I can assure you that willneverhappen again.”
Her naive confidence, the flippant way in which she dismissed the attraction between them fueled his need to prove how wrong she was. The termagant needed a lesson, and he needed to rid himself of her once and for all. He knew exactly how to accomplish both goals.
Kill two birds with one stone.
“You think you can control yourself around me?” he said silkily.
“Of course. And there’s naught to control. Truly.”
The slight wobble in that last word betrayed her.
“So if I were to sit on that wingchair right now,”—his gaze directed to the furnishing in question—“with you on my lap and my mouth on yours, you’d be indifferent?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
He stalked toward her, and she retreated immediately. When the back of her knees hit the wingchair, she lost her balance, her bottom smacking softly against the leather seat. He planted his hands on the back of the chair, caging yet not touching her.
Leaning down, he mocked, “Then don’t be a liar. You said you had full control of yourself around me.”
“I do. In that hypothetical scenario, I would be trying to get away from you,” she shot back.
“What if I held you tight, kissed you deeper, licked your sweet lips until you let me in?”
Her cheeks turned rosy. “I—I’d bite your tongue!”
“Ah, but then I’d have to punish you.” He let his words sink in, saw her pupils dilating—not with fear, but...arousal.Devil and damn. His trousers grew instantly tighter.
“You wouldn’t dare.” She didn’t sound so full of conviction now.
