She swallowed.
“Questions?” I barked.
“I’ll cramp your lifestyle.”
“No, you won’t.” I did what I wanted, when I wanted.
“But you asked what I would do when you brought—”
I didn’t let her finish the sentence because I knew that was what this whole thing was about. “I’m not thinkin’ ’bout other women right now.” I dropped my gaze to her breasts long enough for her to squirm.
“Oh.” She blushed.
Yeah, oh. “We clear?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Your turn.”
She clasped her hands in her lap and cleared her throat. “Thank you for taking me in. I had nowhere else to go except Candle and he makes me uncomfortable. My family doesn’t know I live in Daytona, not that going to them was an option. I’ll look for a job and a new place. I wish I could say today was an isolated incident but Randy will be back.”
“I can handle him.”
“I know you can, and thank you for offering, but I’ll talk to him.”
“You honestly think that’ll work?”
“It’s not about… This isn’t what you think.” She looked out the window. “We have an…understanding.” Something close to grief clouded her features. “Besides, it won’t matter what he wants.”
Hearing her determination took the edge off but she needed to know I wasn’t going to let this slide. “I’m gonna have a conversation with him. I already told you that.”
She inhaled and looked at me. “Why?”
I held her gaze for five long seconds. “Because I give a shit.”
For two heartbeats she didn’t react then she exhaled. “Okay,” she said quietly.
“Good.” Not that I needed her permission.
She was quiet a moment and I knew there was something else.
“All of it,” I reminded her.
“I haven’t been with anyone in over a year.”
Of all the things she could’ve said, that was the last thing I was expecting.
“I caught him with someone last year,” she explained. “I’d had my suspicions before that. We haven’t…” She cleared her throat. “We haven’t been together since. He begged me not to leave him. I gave him one condition. He agreed. He said he’d get my trust back. He didn’t—he couldn’t. I knew that but I needed…to save money. And he wasn’t charging me rent.” She shifted in her chair. “Anyway. This morning? It’s just…” Her voice turned quiet. “It felt good. You felt good. I got carried away. I know you’re not a one-woman type of guy and I’m not casual. Thank you for not taking advantage.” She looked up at me with all the innocence I’d felt in her kiss.
“Welcome,” I said roughly.
WE FINISHED OUR LUNCH IN silence and I started to clear the table.
“I can do that.” She stood. “You’ve been home for an hour. You probably have to get back to work.”
“I’m my own boss, Siren. Sit and rest, I got this.”
“I’d rather stretch my leg out. I’m not used to this.” She followed me into the kitchen with our plates.
“Meanin’?”
“I usually work out. I like to run.”
I ran the beach every day. I shoved down the thought of sharing that with her. “You’re not ready for a run but I’ll take you for a walk on the beach tonight.”
She set the plates in the sink. “I can go this afternoon.”
I turned and caught her by the chin. “You’re not goin’ anywhere alone. You hear me?” No fucking way. Not after Randy’s bullshit today.
She tried to hide the fact that I’d startled her but this time I saw through the mask she wore like a second skin. “You can’t follow me everywhere,” she countered.
I’d fucking call André and have him send one of his men if I had to. “You’d be surprised what I can do.” I covered my warning with half a smile.
She pulled out of my grasp. “I don’t doubt that.”
“Then what do you doubt?” I challenged.
She stared at me like she could read my mind. “I used to think your eyes were green. When I first met you, you were wearing an olive-colored shirt. It made your eyes look green.”
Not many people noticed my eyes were actually a combination of blue and brown. That she’d noticed wasn’t what surprised me. Her remembering the first time we met was. “And now?”
“They’re half-brown, half-blue. The green, it’s an illusion.”
“White flowers on a blue background,” I said, describing the pattern of the dress she’d worn that night.