What an odd question. "If you're asking if I care what happens to Gregory, then no." The violent jerk deserved anything that happened to him. "But that scumbag isn't worth getting in trouble for. Not to mention, I don't think orange is your color, and you're not the type of man to bend over for soap. So let's keep things legal. In other words, no hiring any hit men or putting Gregory's feet in cement and throwing him off a pier."
He laughed. "You really have a vivid imagination. Hiring hit men." He snickered. "No need to worry on that score. I'm more a hands-on kind of guy."
And what nice hands those were. Big. Strong. Distracting. "Keep your hands clean. Gregory isn't worth getting arrested over."
"I wouldn't get caught."
The cocky reply had her rolling her eyes. "Your arrogance really knows no limits. Just stay out of it. Please. I don't need your help."
"And yet you're getting it anyhow."
Frustration bubbled over, and she let out a screech. "Why are you being so stubborn?"
"Because I like you."
Way to suck the irritation out of her. She blinked at him, noted for the first time since he'd abducted her this morning that he still wore the suit of the night before, albeit wrinkled, and with the tie hanging loose. His jaw glinted gold with the rough start of stubble, and lines of fatigue creased his features.
The truth struck her. "You never left last night."
"Of course I didn't. Did you really think I'd leave after seeing that message and how frightened you were?" He stated it as a matter of fact, as if there was never any doubt he'd guard her.
The realization he'd stuck around, just to watch over her, wrenched at her heart. Here he'd done something utterly sweet, uncalled for, and yet so nice, and here she was being a right bitch.
And why?
Because he scared her.
Arik frightened her, not because she feared he'd harm her in any way, despite her accusation of him kidnapping her. No, she feared him because he seemed too good to be true.
Look at him. Rich, handsome, sexy beyond belief, totally interested in her, not at all daunted or put off by her stubborn attitude, and capable of handling her sarcastic tongue.
The perfect package-with the classic bitchy mother. He was every girl's romantic fantasy. But she didn't believe it. Didn't believe she could be so lucky.
There has to be something wrong with him. Something she didn't yet see, and yet the more he revealed himself and his personality, the more time they spent together, the more attracted she was.
She tried to push him away out of fear, but he wouldn't budge. He kept attempting to have her trust him. He demanded she let him protect her. He commanded all of her senses with just his presence.
He wants to make me his.
Was his devious plot working?
Hell yeah. She wanted to succumb.
But what if I'm wrong about him?
Could she allow herself to get immersed in his world and his life, only to later find out he was bat-shit crazy? Would he turn out to be as aggressive as Gregory when it came to being with her? What if she did allow herself to believe they could have a relationship, only to have him tire of her once the challenge was gone? Could her ego, and heart, handle that kind of rejection?
The real question was, did she dare take a chance that they did have something real between them? Or would she let past experiences and mistakes turn her from a possible bright and pleasurable future?
While she went through her mini epiphany, he yawned. A big, jaw-cracking yawn of epic proportions. She couldn't stop a giggle.
"I'm glad you think this is funny. I need a nap, but I daren't close my eyes because you'll probably bolt at the first snore."
"You snore?"
"Can I lie now and say I don't?"
The admission of this flaw only endeared him more to her. "What if I promised to not leave while you slept?"
He arched a golden brow. "This is priceless. Are you asking me to trust you?"
Ironic, she asked him to grant her the one thing she kept refusing to give him, a measure of trust. "I'm being serious. I promise to not leave while you're napping."
"I'd like to believe you, mouse, but you're tricky. How about a compromise? I'll nap if you join me."
"You want us to sleep together?" She and Arik in a bed, sleeping? Ha. As if her body would let that happen.
It seemed he came to the same conclusion. "On second thought, I don't know if I could sleep with you so temptingly close."
"It's a bad plan. I agree."
"I never said that. I might not be able to sleep, but I'm willing to try." He yawned again as she eyed him dubiously.
"Sleeping only. No hanky-panky," she reiterated. Although she had to wonder if it was more a warning to herself than him. He truly did tempt her. A temptation she would resist. They were both grown adults, capable of controlling themselves. Hear that, hormones? I am in charge, and I say hands off.
"If you insist." How dejected he sounded.
A part of her wanted to insist on the opposite. However, she could see the fatigue in him now that she truly paid attention. He wasn't the only tired one. She'd slept only in restless spurts the previous night. Still, though, she and Arik sharing a bed? She muttered one last feeble protest. "I don't have any pajamas."
"Would a T-shirt of mine work?"
Only a thin layer of cotton and her panties separating them? She'd have to make sure she kept to her side of the bed.
She changed in the bathroom, stripping out of her clothes to slide on the large T-shirt he'd procured from a walk-in closet. While freshly laundered, the fabric softener scent reminded her of him. Her soft sigh of pleasure made her grimace.
I am so pathetic. Unable to stop lusting after a guy who was so obviously wrong for her.
When she emerged from the marble splendor known as his bathroom-the enormous shower with its glass enclosure and bank of showerheads meant to massage tempting her for a quick dip-Arik was already under the covers, lying on his side, his back to her, head on the pillow. Sleeping already?
For a moment she debated grabbing her clothes and fleeing. Forget her promise. She knew this was a bad idea.
"Get your luscious butt into this bed, mouse."
Stupid mind reader. "What makes you think I wasn't? We made a deal."
"Yes, we did, but I get the impression that you're now getting cold feet. Are you going to run like a scared mouse from me?"
She should. In some respects, he frightened her more than Gregory because, with Arik, she could truly see the wondrous possibilities-if he was being real.
Given how wrong she'd been, though, about her ex-make that a string of failed boyfriends-she no longer trusted her own instincts. But, at the same time, she wasn't a coward, and she wanted to keep her word. "A deal is a deal. I'll sleep with you, but what about when we wake up?"
"Then all bets are off."
What the hell was that supposed to mean? She didn't dare ask.
She made her way around the massive king-sized bed. It didn't look out of place, though, in the luxurious bedroom. Decorated in a very masculine color palette comprised of ebony-stained wooden furniture, the space featured a bed with a tall, carved headboard with a matching tall boy dresser, night stands, and a bench covered in plush blue fabric poised at the foot of the bed. The walls were painted a dove gray while the shag carpeting, which her toes curled in with delight, was a deep blue. His comforter was done in shades of gray and white, with the pillows more the hue of a dark stormy sea.
It was all male, very expensive and surprisingly comfortable. Clambering onto the mattress, she sank a little in the pillow top but didn't go sliding on satin sheets. While extremely soft, the white sheets caressed the exposed parts of her body.
"What kind of material is this?" she asked, rubbing the fabric to distract from the fact she currently lay in bed with Arik.
"Bamboo with some kind of ridiculously high thread count."
"It's nice."
"And you're trying to bore me to sleep. Nice try." An arm snaked around her waist and drew her across the smooth surface of the bed. She squeaked then sucked in a breath as she came to a stop cradled against a distinctly male, and very naked, body. Make that an aroused body.
"Um, I think you forgot something, big guy."
His words emerged muffled, probably because he nuzzled the hair at the back of her head. "What?"
"Pajamas? Maybe some track pants. Underwear at the very least?"
"I sleep naked."
Of course he did. She couldn't really claim surprise, however … "That's great, except you're kind of not alone. And given the plan is to nap, kind of distracting." Make that arousing. Hopefully he wouldn't notice the fact that her body heated like a bajillion degrees, his proximity igniting her desire for him.