“I need a shower, and then we have to talk,” he said gruffly and dropped his arms.
Immediately, she shivered.She was so cold again.
“Hannah,” Darryn said and tried to pull her into his arms again.
But she stepped away and crossed her arms.“There are two spare bedrooms on your left, each with a bathroom.Choose either one.I…” She looked down at herself, realizing for the first time that she was still in her pajamas.
“I…” she tried again and looked up into his face.A big mistake.“I also have to shower and get dressed,” she whispered.
His eyes darkened as they swept over her and the tiny muscle in his cheek jumped.
His eyes were black when they reached hers again.“Then you better do it quickly before I forget about the rest of the world and undress you all the way.”
His huskily whispered words inflamed her already heightened senses and she turned around and fled to her room.
*
Darryn swore ashe walked toward the spare bedroom.Damn it to hell!He was like a bloody hormone-driven teenager around this woman.He was here to try and figure out what was going on in her life, who wanted to hurt her, and the only thing he could think of when she opened the door, looking all rumpled and sexy, was getting her in a bed and out of the few scraps of clothing she was wearing as soon as possible.
He closed the door behind him while he was still cussing.Sleep had been impossible last night.Normally, he didn’t have a problem and could sleep in any position in any place, but he was so worried and anxious about Hannah, he couldn’t close his eyes.So now he couldn’t think straight, and being this close to Hannah wasn’t helping.
The security guard had already been outside her door when he arrived.The guy had insisted on seeing Darryn’s passport, and although he hated the time he wasted doing that, at least he knew the guard was doing his job.
He’d wait for Don and Caitlin to tell her about the security detail that would be following her every movement from now on.The Sutherland women were fiercely independent, and he could just imagine Hannah’s reaction.
He opened the brand-new suitcase he’d bought on the airport when he landed in Paris earlier and grabbed some of the clothes he’d picked up in a hurry.Whatever else he might need, he’d get later in the day.To reach Hannah as soon as possible had been his goal; he didn’t want to waste time going back to his house to pack clothes.
As he stepped into the bathroom, he heard it—the sound of another shower right on the other side of this damn wall!Swearing a blue streak, he opened the taps.Cold water cascaded over his overheated body and another string of curses followed.This bloody woman was going to be the death of him yet.
*
As she steppedout of her room, Darryn closed the door of the spare room behind him.He was scowling.When he saw her, the scowl deepened.
“Why are you glaring at me?”she asked and walked past him with her head held high.“Nobody asked you to come here; you can’t be irritated with me in my own home.”
The next minute he’d pinned her against the wall.Darryn leaned into her, close enough so that she could feel… Her eyes widened.
“Precisely.”He growled.“That’s what you do to me.You wet and naked on the other side of that damn wall?You should be glad scowling is all I’m doing,” he said, before he turned around and walked away toward the kitchen.
On unsteady legs, Hannah followed him.The man still managed to jumpstart all of her senses with merely a whisper.
As she walked into the kitchen, she could hear the kettle had been switched on and Darryn was opening and closing cupboard doors.
“Sit down, I’ll do it,” she said and moved around the kitchen counter.It was necessary for her to keep her hands busy, otherwise she might just do something ridiculous like throw her arms around Darryn.
“Don and Caitlin are on their way.Rather than wait for the company plane I took to return, they decided to fly commercial and will let me know when they’ll be arriving,” Darryn said behind her.
Hannah swallowed a few times, trying to get rid of the huge lump in her throat.Caitlin had tried to talk to her on numerous occasions over the past two years, had asked what was wrong, but Hannah hadn’t wanted to bother her sisters with what she thought was something that would go away.She probably should have spoken sooner, at least told her family what was going on.
“Hannah,” Darryn said behind her, but she couldn’t turn around, couldn’t speak.
The spoons in her hand dropped and, startled, she jumped away.Her nerves were shot.The next minute, two arms folded around her from behind and held her tightly.
“I…” she began, but her throat clogged up.
Cussing, Darryn turned her around and picked her up.With long strides, he walked to the couch and sat down, cradling her in his arms.And everything she had been bottling up over the past two years simply erupted.She fell against him with a sob and burst out crying.
Darryn tucked her head under his chin and began to stroke her hair with one hand while the other held her tightly against his body.The tears wouldn’t stop, and she gave up trying to hold herself together, pressing her face against Darryn’s broad chest, and cried.
