“Well, suck it up, Buttercup.” She brushed past him. “It comes part and parcel with my job.”
He bit back a sarcastic remark at the loose meaning of job in this instance. But he had to know something. “You left, and then came back. You cracked my code.”
She laughed. “It was easy.”
He took the heavy bag from her. “You could have run this whole time, but didn’t?”
“Yep.” She lifted a shoulder. “What of it?”
He stepped closer to her. “Why did you come back?”
“Running would be dirty. Wrong,” she said, not quite meeting his gaze. “It would make me no better than the men I steal from. If I have to go to jail, then I’ll go. But I won’t run from my punishment like them. I won’t be them.”
His chest tightened. She was so damn brave. Too brave for her own good. He almost wished she had run, because then he wouldn’t have to turn her in. He wouldn’t be forced to do something that made him want to hurl just from thinking about it. “There is another choice.”
“Yeah. I know. Helping you.”
She opened and closed cabinets, probably looking for utensils and cups. He strode across the kitchen and grabbed them for her. Without missing a beat, she took down two wineglasses. She walked over to the table and plopped herself down in a chair, giving them both a glass.
“Is helping me so hard?” he asked, tightening his grip on the plates.
“No. It’s not you I don’t want to help. You’re a good guy,” she said. “Even though you’re an asshole sometimes, too.”
He blinked at the off-the-wall comment. “By your definition, you steal from assholes. Does that mean you’re going to take something of mine?”
She cast a glance around the room. “I already have. You don’t know what it is yet.”
“Seriously?”
She lifted a shoulder. “You’ll see eventually.”
What could she have stolen from him? He shook his head. “You didn’t take anything.”
She smirked. “If you say so.”
He didn’t reply.
After a few minutes of silence, she wiped her mouth and asked nonchalantly, “How’d you like the bathroom?”
“I like it. Pink’s always been one of my favorite colors, but I never thought of doing the bathroom in that scheme. It’s delightful.”
She choked on her wine. “What?”
“It’s true.” He deadpanned, forcing himself to act completely blasé when he wanted to bark with laughter at her expression. She couldn’t have looked more shocked if he stripped naked in the streets and did the electric slide. “I love pink. Don’t you?”
“Uh, sure.”
“It looks great with my skin tone.”
Her mouth twitched. “You’re fucking with me again.”
“If you say so,” he echoed back to her.
They ate the rest of their meal in companionable silence, ignoring the giant elephant in an orange jumpsuit in the room. Once both of their plates were empty, he leaned back and entwined his fingers in front of his stomach.
She startled at his movement, wariness humming off her body. “So, it begins again? The questions, followed by the reminder that I’ll be going to jail in the morning?”
“Is there a point?” Shaking his head, he turned her palm up on the table. “Tell me the truth. Do you know the code?”
She tensed and tried to pull away from him. He didn’t let go, but focused on the way her pulse leaped at his question. Oh, she knew it all right. “No.”
He squared his jaw. “You’re lying to me.”
“Look, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. Sorry to disappoint you. It’s not easy for me, either.” She stood up, her chair scooting on the floor loudly. “But no matter how many times you ask me if I know it, no matter how many times you threaten me with jail, I won’t help you. Can’t you see that? So cuff me up and beam me up, Scotty. I’m done.”
He grabbed her and hauled her sideways on his lap. It was the first time she’d said she wouldn’t help him, as opposed to being unable to help him. Unfortunately, he’d gotten the confirmation he’d needed. “If I cuff you, it won’t be to bring you to jail. It’ll be so I can fuck you mercilessly without interference.”
Her mouth parted, and she pressed her thighs together. “I should hate you for doing this to me.”
He captured her chin and tilted her face to his. Tenderly, he smoothed his thumb over her quivering lip. She watched him, her blue gaze open and soft. “But you don’t, do you?”
She shook her head slowly.