I sip my scotch, chastising myself for relishing the warmth and fire and beauty she brings to my office. “Let’s be done for today. I’ve got another … matter I need to handle.”
She spins, studying me, her mahogany hair tucked behind her ear, offering a slight semblance of false innocence. “Is that what’s upsetting you? What’s the other meeting about?”
She’s digging.
I drop into my chair and swivel to face her. “Why don’t you just tell me what you’re searching for? Maybe I’ll provide it.”
Her face never betrays her—she’d be an excellent gambler. “You are never ruffled, yet clearly, you are today. But you think me noticing that and being concerned is a ploy?”
“Yes.”
“Fine,” she huffs through a brittle smile that nearly convinces me she does actually care, but she follows it with sarcasm. “And if I simply tell you what I want, you’ll give it to me?”
My dick has evidently usurped control of my brain because that sounded sexual. Maybe she’d wanted it to. Another avenue to obtain what she really came for.
Tamping that down, I keep my response laconic. “Perhaps.”
“What if it’s something that crosses a line for you?”
Everything about this and you crosses a line. I’m so far past it; I can’t even see it anymore.
Instead of sharing that outright, I skirt the edges. “What uncrossable line is left at this point? I suspected you were here to kill me and haven’t retaliatedyet—that’s one hell of a line. And I already own you. I’m reaping the benefits of your skills. You’re smart and an asset, so I may be inclined to give a little more. Might as well try me. Worst case is, I don’t supply what you need.”
“I’m not sure that’s accurate.” She stares out the window again, watching the bustling city. “There’s no intel that would be worth killing me over?”
I consider that for a beat before resolving to be forthright. “If it’s being gathered to harm my family, that’s unquestionably the line of fire.”
“That’s fair,” she whispers, and that authenticity is why I can’t help but want to save her.
She’s stuck. But she’s going to betray me; I can feel it. And then there will be no way out for either of us.
Her vulnerable request from a few days ago hasn’t stopped filtering through my mind.“Come up with a real solution. Because you’re right; I’m in trouble.”
“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you need, Zara.”
She ambles to the door with a raw admission. “You know I can’t do that.”
She can’t unless she’s prepared to be a traitor, blacklisted, and put on a hit list. I could help with that—in exchange for her loyalty. But I wouldn’t trust me if I were her.
She halts at the threshold, but hardly spares me a glance. “I’ll let you get to your meeting.”
“I don’t have another meeting.”Stay.
She grips the molding of the doorframe, peering back at me. “A hot date then?”
I haven’t thought about another woman since I laid eyes on her, but it’s futile to tell her that when it can’t amount to anything. So, I play into her idea. “Something like that.”
Her face falls, though she quickly schools it. “Someone suitable, I hope.”
I’m not sure what that means, but it’s a decent opportunity to set boundaries for both of us. “Age appropriate.”
She bobs her head, a barely discernible pulse in her jaw. “Is that the only requirement you have for suitability?”
My eyes never leave hers as I swill my drink and set it on my desk. “It’s an important one.”
“How old is too old?”
A slight chuckle escapes me. I like that she started with that direction. “More than five years.”
