She huffed. How dare he not even let her finish a sentence! “I’m at work because I’m too upset to sleep. But I’m too upset to work, so I—”
“Are you alone?”
“Of course I’m alone. I can’t chew you out in front of an audience. I’m so angry that you could kiss me one night and betray me the next! You know how important this trip is to me!”
“Yes, I do.”
She glanced at her cell phone. It didn’t seem to be working right. “Did I mention how angry I am? Feel my wrath, Gori!”
“I’ll feel yours if you feel mine.”
She gasped. “Pig!” She disconnected, then heard a chuckling sound behind her. She whirled around and gasped again. The phone tumbled from her hand.
Gregori lunged forward in a blur of movement and snatched the phone before it hit the ground.
She stumbled back. His speed had been amazing, but she was not in the mood to compliment him. “Did I give you permission to come here?”
“I don’t ask for permission, remember?” He set her phone on her desk, then looked around. “So this is where you work?”
“What are you doing here? I don’t want to see you. I’m still mad at you!”
A knock sounded at her door, and her heart lurched up her throat. How on earth could she explain Gregori’s presence here when he’d bypassed all the checkpoints? She dashed to the door to make sure it was locked. “Yes?”
“Miss Tucker?” A guard called from the hallway. “Are you all right? I thought I heard yelling inside.”
“I’m fine! I was just talking on the phone.”
There was a pause.
She glanced over her shoulder, hoping that Gregori had teleported away. But no, he was still there.
“If you need anything, just call us on the intercom,” the soldier said.
“All right. Thank you!” She listened to his footsteps fade away, then she peeked through the closed slats on the blinds that covered the window portion of her door. “Okay, the coast is clear.”
“I guess you’re not too angry,” Gregori said softly. “You didn’t turn me in.”
She spun around to face him. “You know good and well I can’t explain how you got here. And I’m not finished being angry with you.”
“I know you’re upset. It nearly killed me to see you crying. And it hurts to think about how much you’ve been suffering over the—”
“Please!” She held up her hands. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m mortified that I . . .” She pressed her hands against her hot cheeks. “I said terrible things.”
“You spoke the truth.”
She shook her head. “It was a pity party. My parents have always been good to me. I’ve never lacked for anything—”
“Except freedom.”
She winced. “Well, we have to learn to live with the hand we’re dealt.”
His mouth thinned. “True.”
So she lived without freedom and he lived without mortality. “You hurt me. I’m still in shock that you would betray me.”
“I did not.”
“Yes, you did! My mother doesn’t want me to go to China. My dad is this close”—she lifted a hand with her forefinger and thumb pressed together—“to forbidding me to go. He’s only allowing it because he trusts you to keep me safe. And what do you do? Tell him I’m safer at home!”
“You are safer at home.”
She scoffed. “Why don’t you want me to go? You don’t want me to have any adventure in my life? Afraid I’ll have some fun?”
He arched a brow. “I’d love to have some fun with you.”
“Not funny. I’m still angry with you.”
“I hear makeup sex is really hot.”
“Good Lord, is that all you think about?” She waved a hand. “Don’t even bother to answer that. But do me a favor and try to get past your overabundance of testosterone to understand that I’m trying to save my mother’s life.”
His eyes narrowed. “Try to get past your PMS to understand why I said what I did.”
“How dare you bring up PMS!”
“My testosterone made me do it. Now why would a caveman like me suggest you remain safely at home?”
“Good question.”
“And I’ve got a good answer.” He stepped toward her. “I don’t want you in a dangerous situation because I care about you.”
She blinked. Then swallowed hard.
“I can’t bear the thought of anything bad happening to you.” He yanked the knot of his tie loose. “I think about you all the time. And not just about sex.” He grimaced. “It’s downright . . . strange.”