But she wasn’t really afraid he’d harm her physically. He threatened her with a kind of danger that was totally new to her.
“Say my name, Kari,” he whispered as he moved a step closer.
“No.”
Roughly he cupped her face between his hands and tilted it up. He ran his thumb along her lower lip. “Say it.”
It was a softly spoken command, but his voice held a steely ring. Reinforcing it was the fierce gleam in his eyes and the tantalizing pressure of his thumb against her lip.
“Hunter,” she whispered in fear.
“Again.”
“Hunter,” she repeated. His eyes watched her lips as they formed his name. He held her that way for a disconcerting length of time before his hands fell away and he stepped back.
Kari’s head was spinning. She was disgusted with herself for surrendering to his superior strength of will, but at the same time she didn’t want him to know that he had the slightest effect on her. “I’ve said your name. Is that all you wanted?”
“No. I wanted to paddle your butt.” He put his hands on his hips. “That was a helluva story you aired tonight. Are you proud of yourself?”
“Very. Especially after the trick you played on me.”
“Trick? What trick?”
The innocent act only made her madder. “You led me to believe that if I’d tone down my reports, you’d let the cameras stay in the courtroom.”
“My request to have the court cleared of them had nothing to do with our conversation yesterday.”
“Didn’t it? Didn’t you request that they be evicted because of me?”
“Yes, but not for the reason you think.”
“What other reason could there possibly be?”
Because you make me horny! he wanted to shout. Instead he directed the blame for the whole mess back to her. “Let’s have this out once and for all. For months you’ve been paying me back for finding your husband’s hand in the till. It wasn’t my fault I found it there.”
“He was innocent.”
“He was as guilty as hell, of a lot of things.”
She pinched her eyes shut and drew a deep breath. “I know why you discredited him along with those others.”
“He discredited himself.”
“Because he disapproved of your appointment.”
That unexpected piece of information brought him up sharp. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Finally he asked, “Who told you that?”
“Silas Barnes,” she said triumphantly.
She had spoken with the former D.A. about him? “When?”
“I called him shortly after our first meeting. I couldn’t believe your allegations against Thomas and I mistrusted your motives. You said yourself that you came here from St. Louis because you couldn’t move up the ladder fast enough. I thought you were probably trying to make a big splash and were using Thomas as one of your springboards. I called Mr. Barnes to ask his opinion of you.”
“And?”
“Oh, you’re his fair-haired boy. He said if he’d had an army of young attorneys working for him, you would still have been his choice to take over when he retired. But—” she held up her hand when he attempted to interrupt—“he also said that Thomas hadn’t approved of you. It was all off the record, of course. But Thomas had let it be known around city hall that he thought you were dangerously ambitious.”
Hunter shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “Well, if you think I was getting my revenge on Wynne for not liking me, you’re wrong. I never knew that he disapproved of me.”
She scoffed. “You don’t expect me to believe that?”
“No, I don’t,” he said sharply. “You thought Thomas Wynne was a saint and you’ve put on blinders to the truth about him. When you were talking to Barnes did you also ask him about my allegations against Wynne?”
The haughty toss of her head was his answer. “Naturally he sided with you.”
“God!” he shouted in frustration and slapped his thighs with his palms. “The truth is right there in front of you and still you refuse to acknowledge it. Your husband was the criminal, not me.”
Rage shuddered through her. “Oh, I despise you. You’re shrewd—”
“I’m smart.”
“And manipulative.”
“I take advantage of every situation.”
“And ambitious.”
“Ambition isn’t a crime.”
“You’re a bloodthirsty prosecutor.”
“And you’re a vindictive bitch.”
“I’m only doing my job!”
“So am I!”
He didn’t even realize his hands were on her until he felt her body pressing against his. He looked down, and through the red fog of fury he saw his hands gripping her upper arms.