Out of Control(20)
“No, not now.” He gave her a rueful smile. “I think the mood’s been ruined. But soon.”
“I don’t think the mood’s ever going to come back.” She dropped her head to her hands. “Oh God, I’ve got to go and see Gary and Simon. The longer I leave it, the more they’ll work themselves up.”
“What’s the big deal? You’re not their responsibility.” He rested his palm on her shoulder and gave her a little shake. “They’re not your boyfriend, or your father or your brother.”
She raised her head. “I know that; you know that. Unfortunately, Gary and Simon have not been made aware of it. You don’t understand—it’s always been like this. It’s like there’s always been this great, big conspiracy. Ever since I joined up. They all think I need looking after. Up until now, it didn’t matter, and I’ve just pretended I don’t notice. It seemed the easier option and it made them feel good.”
He studied her for a moment, as if trying to determine what made her tick. “You’re a nice person, you know that?”
“No, I’m not.”
“So how about going to bed with me?”
God, he was persistent. She felt the first stirrings of anger—a definite improvement. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“I suggest you close your eyes and count to twenty,” he said with a grin.
“What?”
“You always count when you’re angry—you move your lips sometimes when you’re doing it.”
She kept her eyes wide open, stood up, and stalked off with as much dignity as she could muster. Which wasn’t very much.
…
“What?” she snapped. After all, belligerence was vastly better than embarrassment, which seemed like her only other option right now.
It was like being back at school, and she’d hated school. They were both standing there staring at her, identical looks of recrimination on their faces. Well, not quite identical, since Simon’s was tinged with a look of hurt that made her feel really annoyed and vaguely guilty at the same time.
“You had sex with him.” Simon almost hissed the words and Gary looked across at him.
“Simon, why don’t you go patrol or something. I’ll deal with this.”
Simon glowered at them both, but then stomped out of the room, leaving Dani facing Gary. She heaved a sigh of relief, then took a deep breath. “Just what exactly is there to deal with?”
“You had sex with him.”
Dani let out her breath in annoyance. “So?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and paced for a minute. Finally he came back to stand in front of her. “He’s our employer right now, and you’re supposed to be here to protect him.”
“No. Actually Angel and Spike are here to protect him.” She was quite proud of herself for remembering Zach’s earlier argument.
Gary rubbed his forehead and sighed. She got the impression he was no happier with this conversation than she was. Good. “Dani, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
She didn’t even try to deny it. “Does it matter?”
“Yes.” He raked a hand through his short hair, and she felt just a little bit sorry for him. She was guessing poor Gary hadn’t envisioned this situation. “You don’t know the score, Dani. This guy changes his women on a daily basis.”
“Well, that makes him perfect. The last thing I want is a clingy guy. Anyway, I thought you liked him.”
“I do, but I wouldn’t want my sister sleeping with him.”
The sympathy vanished, and she gritted her teeth. “I’m not your sister.”
“No you’re not. My sister could look after herself. You…” He shook his head. “Hell, before today I’ve never even seen you look at a man, and now you’re all over one.”
“All over? Hardly.”
Gary raised an incredulous eyebrow. “If that’s what you think, you definitely don’t know what you’re doing.”
Dani crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “I’m twenty-seven. Maybe it’s about time I found out.”
“If that’s what you’re thinking, why can’t you find out with Simon? He’ll look after you.”
Okay, she was getting seriously pissed off now. “I don’t need looking after.”
“Maybe, but I’ve known you a long time. Besides, Jake will kill me if—”
“I’m not Jake’s sister, either.”
“Okay, Okay.” He held up his hands in defeat, then tried a different tack. “You do know that Zach’s only using you. He’s probably going to put you in one of his books.”