A tingle snaking up her spine, Eve didn't have to turn to know why. But she did.
Reynner strode down the alley like a black tornado ready to destroy anything in his way. He stopped an inch from her, his clean, warm scent enveloping her.
“Why the hell didn’t you warn me you had this happening?”
She tilted her chin, not caring that he was rocking mad.
Damn him. How could he just waltz back like everything was all right? As if he hadn’t been with someone else last night? The hated fragrance may be washed off him now, but she’d smelled the truth. Her chest tightened, her heart sliding into that black hole in her stomach.
She would never show him how much he’d hurt her.
Calm and collected, she said, “You weren’t around last night when I remembered.”
“And this morning?”
She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “I left you a note.”
His eyes blazed. Oh, good, she’d finally rattled him enough to break through the cool mask he wore so well. Crossing her arms beneath her breasts, she stepped away.
His fingers closed around her nape and he hauled her close. At the unexpectedness of his action, she stumbled. Her hands fluttered against his chest.
“Don’t Eve, don’t push me.”
“Or you’ll what?” she shot back.
His gaze skimmed over her up-turned face and settled on her mouth for a tormenting second. A bright blue flame sparked in his dark eyes, and that low, treacherous buzz that took up residence whenever he was near started in her belly again.
Her blood heated in anger. She didn’t want to want him. Christ help her, she really didn’t.
“This ismylife, Reynner.” She shoved at his chest, but that was like trying to move a wall. “I don’t have to report every step I take to you. So back off, I’m not your damn prisoner.”
Brave words, but her tears weren’t far off.
“Prisoner?” he bit out, looking as if he were moments from shaking her. She didn’t care.
“You forget the threat—”
“I forget nothing. My work is important, too.”
“Gods, Eve—”
A distant yell cut off what he’d been about to say, broke the moment fraught with tension, anger, and something deeper…something so tangible that her heart jumped straight back into her chest. And pounded against her ribs. Whether it was from what just happened or the shout, Eve had no idea. Reynner vanished. She spun around and froze.
Noooo—God, no—!
But Reynner was already there. He seized a sliding crate seconds before it met with the asphalt, nearly destroying one of her major pieces.
It took several long seconds before she could breathe again. She pressed a trembling hand on her chest. Her legs felt like they would never manage another step again.
Reynner leaped into the truck and helped secure the sculpture. As he worked, he cut her a sharp look then said to Joe, “Let me give you a hand with the rest.”
“Good save, man.” Joe wiped his sweaty face on the hanging sleeve of his overalls. “Wouldn’t want this pretty little girl upset.” His smile didn’t replace the panic in his eyes.
“Thank you,” Eve told Reynner when he walked past.
He stopped, those night-sky eyes searching her face. “I would never let what you worked so hard for be destroyed.”
He pulled off his shirt. A slight sheen bathed his golden skin. He was probably feeling the heat, but the sight of all those rippling muscles had her transfixed, yanking her mind out of her terror of nearly losing one of her sculptures.
