“We really don’t have much,” Raine said, leaning back against the wall. “I’ve sent everything to my brother, and maybe he’ll be able to come up with something the cops couldn’t. If anybody can retrieve the video from your cameras, it’d be Cade.” He rolled his neck, and the muscles bunched in his upper arms.
Mariana tried to swallow and wet her suddenly dry throat. Having him near was too much for her libido, and if the guy had any idea of the dreams he’d starred in lately, he’d probably blush. Well, maybe. Something told her that Raine didn’t blush. “Why did you leave town?” she asked.
One of his brows arched. How could a freakin' eyebrow look sexy? “The job was done.”
Ouch. Okay. Well, then. He’d only been there for the job of watching Ivar and Noah. “Then why did you come back?” She looked away from him.
His sigh was long-suffering and didn’t tell her a thing. “That’s a long story, and I can’t go into it.”
“Seriously?” She whipped around to face him. “Are you kidding me? You show up on my porch, get kidnapped, admit you were in my group under false pretenses, take off for Montana, and then return without being able to explain why? Oh, I don’t think so. Either you start talking right now or you get the heck out of my house.” The place already seemed smaller and somehow safer with him in it, but she knew better than to start depending on him. He’d be gone again soon.
His eyes flared in a way that didn’t even look human. “I’m out of here the second we find this guy.”
Yikes. Okay. That hurt a little bit. She’d thought she’d gotten an interested vibe from him a couple of times, but maybe she’d misread him? He was the sexiest man she’d ever been this close to in real life, so maybe he went for perfection like Tabi Rusko? Mariana was fine with her curves and looks, but maybe she’d overestimated Raine’s interest when he’d thrown Johnny Baker up against the wall after the kid had insulted her. “I think you should leave.”
“No.”
Heat flashed up her spine to tingle at her nape. “No? Are you joking?”
“No.” He cocked his head, watching her.
She had the strongest urge to punch him again, but her wrist still ached from last time. The guy had abs of solid rock. “I don’t think you’re understanding me,” she gritted out.
He moved toward her without warning, pivoting and putting her back against the wall. “You’re not understanding me.” His big body loomed over her, and an unexpected heat rolled off him.
She cleared her throat, forcing herself to stare him right in the eyes. “I don’t go for the alpha-male act, dickhead.”
His smile was slow and held enough warning that she stopped breathing. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t play games with me, and don’t lie to either one of us. You’re as aroused right now as I am, and you should definitely understand that this isn’t an act.”
What was happening? He’d gone from distant to right in her space without a hint. Confusion and desire clouded through her, mixing into a potent blend that sprang her nerves wide awake and alive. “Back up.”
“No,” he said, even softer this time.
Her head jerked. “You can’t say ‘no.’”
“I just did.” He waited patiently, danger stamped hard on his face. “Are you done with the nonsense?”
Who the hell did this jackass think he was? Yeah, he was sexy and somehow turning her on, but enough was enough. “I think you’re stuck in the dark ages, buddy,” she gritted out, acutely aware that tingles were still spreading throughout her body.
“You have no idea,” he agreed, humor lighting his eyes to a seafoam green to mix with the desire glittering there. “Whoever kidnapped us is now my enemy, and your safety is my utmost concern anyway. So I stay here until you’re safe. Period.”
She wanted to be safe. She also wanted to be in control of this situation, and he’d grabbed it with both hands. “I don’t like being bossed around.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said quietly. “Are we good now?”
“No.” She crossed her arms, so warm from his near body that she wanted to slide right against him. “Why am I your utmost concern?”
He stepped back, taking his warmth with him. “That’s a good question and a fair one.”
She rubbed her now chilling arms. “Then answer it.”
For a moment, he looked like he really wanted to tell her something. Then that darn veil dropped over his eyes. “It’s better if you don’t know.”
“That’s stupid,” she exploded. “And confusing and it doesn’t make sense.”
“I know,” he said, crossing his arms. His very cut, ripped, and muscled arms.
She couldn’t stop looking at those muscles. “Right when you got back, you seemed pale and, well, smaller.” His two weeks away had somehow seemed to make him ill. How had that happened? “But you look fine now and right back to full strength. Are you on medication that you stopped taking when you went to Montana?” It was the only thing that made an iota of sense.
