Obsession (A Bad Boy's Secret Baby)(56)

How far was I going to go to get out of here?

In my mind, the smiling face of my sister flickered by. Clenching my hands, I took a deliberate step towards the bed. Claudine needs me. I can do this. I told Ronin I'd do anything to get what I want and I...

I meant that.

Stretching across the blanket, I splayed against the pillows. I'd seen enough lingerie magazines to know the 'sexy' pose the models would strike for their shoots. Logically, I did my best to contort into that position.

Reaching down, I tugged the front of my robe open until I thought I was showing the right amount of cleavage. Then, as an afterthought, I lifted the hem of the cloth over my hip. With nothing on beneath, I was sure I had to look at least a little seductive.

Now, just act casual, and when he gets here—

I'd figured I had plenty of time to think my plan over. I wanted to predict the possibilities, and to practice my sensual, casual smile when Ronin arrived.

When the brass knob suddenly turned, letting him into the room, I wasn't ready.

Wide-eyed, I froze in place, the both of us locking stares. Clearly, he was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him. Maybe he'd expected me to be sleeping, or to have tried my little 'surprise attack' plan. Whatever he'd predicted, it wasn't this; me, sprawled out invitingly on the bed.

Slowly, one corner of his mouth lifted. “Don't you look comfy.”

It took every ounce of control not to clasp my robe shut. “That's... um.” Shit shit think! Just get talking! I grasped for a thread of useful conversation. “What was that noise earlier?”

His confident smile cracked. “The gentle rapping of consequence, of course.”

What the hell is he talking about? Pushing aside his strange answer, I shifted on the mattress. It was subtle, but the motion revealed more of my upper thigh. Ronin watched me, not hiding his interest.

The comfortable tilt to his hips went deeper, arms crossing. “Good to see that there's still some life left in you. You seem much more 'revived' than earlier.”

Again, I stretched my leg out. Ronin's eyes twinkled, sending shivers up my spine. Could he see my goosebumps from where he was? “I... I am alive. All because of you.” My nails dug into the pillow under me. Walking the line between the truth and my calculated lies was making me nervous. “If you hadn't saved me tonight, who knows what would have happened to me.”

“Hmph,” he chuckled skeptically.

“I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this kind of thing. But...” I sat up quickly. It was a wonder that the robe didn't fall straight open, exposing me entirely. “I want to apologize for how I acted earlier. I was confused—terrified, really.” This came easier, my reality something tangible to mix into my facade.

Ronin tilted his head, the rest of him an ancient stone. “Can't say I hate the idea of an apology. Don't get many of those. Lot's of begging, crying and 'sorries,' sure, but that's just another day at the office.”

He said it so casually, referencing the death of others like an afterthought. And how could he still be smiling? Everything about this man stunned me, but I didn't have the time to wallow in surprise.

Standing, the squeak of the bed springs rang louder than thunder. Move, I told myself. Impossibly, I did, swaying towards Ronin as sexily as I could manage. If he sensed my unease, he didn't show it. He wore that same mask; a smirk that could cut diamonds and eyes that pierced through my flesh.

My mouth was dry, words frail. “What I'm trying to say...” Reaching out, I bumped the door shut behind him. The click was as good as a gunshot. “Is that I want to thank you, Ronin. Properly thank you.”

I caught the glint of his teeth. “Yeah? Propriety isn't exactly my strong suit. How does that kind of thank you work?”

Though I was panicking inside, I ran my shaking hand down his arm, grazing his vest as I went. He didn't pull away, and that by itself was encouraging. “I have a few ideas.”

He leaned a mere inch forward, the simple motion sending that intoxicating scent of his right into my brain. “Enlighten me,” he whispered.

For a second I locked up, lost in the heady, warm aroma of his being. We were close enough that I could see a small scar on the side of his jaw, the ruddy color of his unfairly full lips. Men shouldn't have such glorious eyes, especially men I was supposed to seduce.

My confidence was cracking under the rumble of warmth in my stomach. Ronin hardly blinked, eyes half-lidded, lazy in his expectation. I was learning the type of man he was very quickly, but each new layer I revealed just exposed a more enticing one.

Was the situation making me unstable, or was it the heat of his body?

His lips twitched, and my inhale was so crisp and loud I made myself blush. “So,” he said, drawling out his word. “If 'proper' is to just stand here, blessing me with silence, I'll take the alternative. It's not a terrible thank you, I guess I just expected a bit more.”