“Gia.” The way he said my name sent shivers down my spine. The feeling wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was definitely intense.
I should have told him that I was here to get an interview, to make him talk to me. But instead, I confessed, “I planned to blackmail you into giving me what I want.”
His eyes widened, and then he narrowed them abruptly in a scowl.
“Blackmail me, how? I haven’t done shit.”
True enough. “But you are super private. I was going to…” I swallowed and rephrased my statement. “I am showing you that I found stuff out about you. I know where you live. I know Cassie and have been to her games. I know that she was hospitalized her senior year in high school and that Sophia never graduated from college, even though she lists it on her website.” I had more details, like where his favorite restaurant was and even some of his web-surfing habits, though nothing salacious had popped up. But I never got a chance to voice them. At the mention of Cassie’s name, he growled and rushed forward.
I skittered back, startled, but he didn’t touch me. He stopped just short of that, his expression livid, his hands hovering in the air inches from my shoulders. It was like he wanted to throw me out of his apartment but he stopped himself.
I quickly threw up my hands in surrender. “I know stuff, Connor, but I’m not printing it!”
So much for my strong blackmailer stance. I’d caved the minute he stepped into my personal space. And worse, my sudden confession didn’t stop his glare or the way his hands tightened as he drew them back to his chest.
“I need you to go along with this,” I pressed. “I need you to talk to me.”
“Why!” The word wasn’t a question. It was more like a demand, so loud it made me wince. And that made me angry. I was on his side. I was trying to help him and the Bobcats. And yet, here I was, worried about what he was going to do when I’d just seen him be stunningly loving toward his sister.
That set my back up, and I covered the ache inside with fury. I pointed my sharply manicured nail and poked him straight in the chest.
“Why? Because everyone wants this publicity except you. Joe loved the idea. Your agent has been harassing me for this since the day I started with the Bobcats. I have several outlets interested, but only if I write something amazing. The only one fighting this is you!”
He grabbed my finger and held it away from his chest. “Because it’s my life!”
“It’s mine, too!” I pulled my hand out of his. “I’m the lowest man on the Bobcat payroll. Joe didn’t even want to hire me at first, but I convinced him. So I need to produce something that’s really good.”
“Bullshit,” he snapped. “Your job at the Bobcats is secure.”
I snorted. “No job is secure, and you know it. Least of all mine.”
He frowned. “But you’re great at publicity.” The words came out grudgingly, which was how I knew he really believed what he was saying.
“So why are you fighting this?” He opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “And don’t say it’s because we’re all liars. That’s a lame excuse. You know you need us. Hell, your sister runs a publicity firm…”
That was the wrong thing to say, I realized as a blankness come over his features. WTF? After all the adoration he showered on Cassie, it was startling to see the wall snap up behind his eyes at the mention of Sophia.
I decided to investigate a little deeper. “There are lots of untruths on Sophia’s website. You have to research to find them, but she’s misrepresented or outright lied a dozen times.”
He didn’t answer, though his jaw muscles were popping.
“I haven’t told anyone. And I’m not planning to.”
He turned away. “Stay away from Sophia. She’ll only hurt you.”
Okay, so he wasn’t in the least bit protective of his older sister. Good to know. I folded my arms. “I really couldn’t care about either of your sisters, except in the most general sense. I’m trying to understand you. Why won’t you talk to me?”
He turned back to me, his expression hard. “I don’t talk to anybody. I don’t like publicity. I don’t want anyone looking into my life or—”
I stepped up to him. “It’s just your batting average—”
He touched me this time, putting his hand on my face, cupping my jaw as he lifted my gaze to his. “It’s you, Gia. I don’t want to talk to you.”
Heat shot from his hand to my skin, creating a flash fire in my body. His face was so close, and his eyes lasered into mine.
“It’s you, Gia,” he repeated, his voice a bare whisper.
I knew it was. Hell, he’d told me so in the bathroom. In the last week, he’d done everything possible to avoid me, and I’d hated it. I suddenly realized that what I really wanted was this. His hands on me. His mouth next to mine. And that harsh sound he made when he surrendered to desire. It would come any moment now. I could feel it.
