“Bullshit,” she snapped, having felt much tougher when he’d been sitting. “Why are you lying about that? Even if you have some dangerous enemy, you used me.” She wasn’t completely buying the left-for-your-own-safety crap.
“I did not use you.” He kept her gaze but leaned over and resumed typing.
Impressive. Now, wasn’t he talented. “Why did you scurry away under the darkness of night like a rat with its tail tucked between its legs?” He could’ve at least said good-bye.
His upper lip twitched, but he wasn’t stupid enough to grin. He abandoned the keyboard and straightened again to his full and rather impressive height. “That’s quite an image. Been working on that long?”
Yeah, and sometimes it had involved her sobbing into tissues. Okay. She’d keep that to herself. Maybe pride did matter after all. “Explain, Denver. You left without a word. Not even a note.”
“I left because it was over, Noni,” he said evenly.
Ouch. Fucking ouch and double ouch. Well. She’d asked. “Why did you just leave without a word?” Her mind never stopped. She had to solve every puzzle. It was why she worked with ingredients and lotions. Carefully set out recipes. There was always an answer. “If you cared for me, why was it over? The sex was good, and your big enemy, if that’s the truth, had no clue where you were.”
“The sex was fuckin’ amazing.” His eyes darkened to a midnight blue. “We don’t have to do this now.”
“Chicken,” she snapped.
He nodded. “Definitely.”
Oh, he wasn’t going to be cute. Nothing he could say or do would make her see him as cute tonight. No way. “Explain.” She put her hands on her hips.
He sighed. “Thewhyof it really doesn’t matter. The end result does.”
“You’re wrong. Thewhymatters a whole lot, Denver.” Nothing in her would give him an inch on this. “I deserve the truth. One night you’re there, with me, and then you’re just gone, with no warning.”
“Not true,” he said gently. “I told you the job was temporary and then I’d have to leave.”
Yeah, but she’d thought things had changed after they’d made love. And that’s what it had been. The real kind. At the very least, she’d expected a good-bye, although a small part of her had thought they’d started something that would last. That they would figure it out together. “Then why not say good-bye?”
“I thought it’d be easier if you hated me.” His deep blue eyes held nothing but earnest light. “And I couldn’t say good-bye.”
“You’re a coward,” she whispered. She’d suspected that was the truth. Was there more?
“Sure. If that helps you, believe it. But if I had tried to say goodbye, I wouldn’t have been able to leave. Or I would’ve done something really stupid and tried to take you with me, and then you’d be in danger.” He glanced around the dismal room. “Though you clearly ended up in danger anyway.” He drew out the chair to sit again. “Done talking.” Sweat dotted his brow, and a vein bulged in his neck.
Just a few words from him wasn’t enough. She didn’t care that he was done. “Too bad. I am not finished talking.” Maybe if she had forced him to talk to her before, he wouldn’t have just left her alone and with so many questions.
His head jerked back, and he focused again on her, his eyebrows drawing up.
Yeah. She’d never challenged him, had she? No, she’d been so perfectly understanding and accepting of his unwillingness to talk much because it just wasn’t him. Or rather, he wasn’t comfortable talking a lot. Instead, she’d acted like a housewife from the fifties and let him have his way. She’d wanted him to feel accepted and comfortable around her, and she’d tamped down her inclination to get to the bottom of things. Mistake. Definitely a mistake. “I see I have your attention.”
“You do.” There was a low warning in his tone. A dangerous glint in his eye.
Man, she’d missed out on this. Just how much of Denver did she not know? Oh, she’d thought she knew him physically. Even emotionally. But maybe not. Maybe in her unwillingness to push him, she’d missed out of the real man beneath the surface. Was that how he’d been able to leave so easily? “We both seem to have put our best foot forward when we dated.”
“Meaning?” he asked silkily.
A shiver ticked down her back, and she ignored it. “You were sweet, I was patient, and we both wanted to make a good impression.”
He slowly nodded. “Makes sense. We were just starting to date.”
“Right.” Her chin lowered, as did the intensity of her tone. “Now we’re not dating. We’re not in love, we’re not sleeping together, and I don’t give two fucks if you don’t like to talk.”
He didn’t blink, but his gaze changed. Had his pupils narrowed? “Watch it.”
“No.” Her chest filled, and she faced him squarely. “I don’t care if you like me. I certainly don’t like you. But you’re a privatedick, a good one, and I’m hiring you.” The flare in his eyes at her emphasis ondicksped up her heartbeat, but she didn’t back down. She had to regain some control here and stay in a position of strength. “If I ask questions, then you answer them. Think of yourself as a really smart trained dolphin. Bark on command, buddy.” Her mouth just wouldn’t stop.
His head tilted just slightly to the side. “What are you doing?”
