Passing His Guard

Last night had been amazing. Hell, he’d say it even if she wouldn’t, even if it was to himself and in the silence of his own mind. Everything about Rya

Maybe she hadn’t found last night as wow-worthy as he had. Maybe she lacked the experience to know just how once-in-a-lifetime-amazing that sex had been, or maybe she’d never intended for this to be more than a good fuck. Perhaps he was arrogant in thinking that she would be as taken with him as he was with her. She’d dismissed his warnings easily enough—maybe it had been her intention all along to fuck him and forget him.

“You’re frowning . . .” she said, watching him from the passenger seat.

“Am I?” he asked noncommittally, glancing at her.

Is there something you want to talk about?”

He shrugged. “Not really. You?” This was her chance. Speak now or forever hold your peace.

“Are you worried about meeting with your parents tomorrow?”

Not the thing he wanted to talk about—Not. At. All. “Not worried as much as just not looking forward to it. But since I’m here, I have some other business to take care of before I head back, so I might as well make the most of it.”

“Where are you going to stay?”

Her gaze darted into her lap. Those delicate fingers, with the blunt-tipped nails that had scored his back a few short hours ago, fidgeted nervously.

“I own a condo in Manhattan. I’ll stay there.”

“Oh . . .”

Was that disappointment he heard in her voice or just wishful thinking? “Why?”

She shrugged. “Just wondering. I didn’t want you to have to stay in a hotel while you were here. How long will you be staying in New York?”

“Probably a couple of weeks. Just long enough to list my place and hopefully find a buyer. I’d like to have it sold before I go back. It’s my last financial tie here. Where do you live, Rya

“Brooklyn.”

He frowned. “Brooklyn?” Holy hell, maybe he should ask her to stay with him. There weren’t a lot of places in Brooklyn he’d deem safe for a woman to live. “And your office?”

“Also Brooklyn.”

Now the lawyer in him stood up and took notice, suspicion niggling up his spine as his mind worked to fit the co

Rya

“You might be, but unless you found Jimmy Hoffa, you wouldn’t have blipped on my mother’s radar. There’s something going on that either you’re not telling me or she’s hiding.”

“I told you everything I know, Aiden.”

The defensive edge in her voice told him either (a) she was telling the truth, or (b) she was a damn good liar. If she was lying to him, her evasiveness today sure would make a whole lot more sense, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t done it before. And while they were talking about coincidences, what were the chances that they were both co

Suspicion seeped into his veins like black, insidious poison. How could he have not seen it before? Was he walking into a trap? It was a brilliant plan, sending a beautiful woman in to snag his attention and then plead for his help to get her out of her bind with Moralli. How cleverly Rya

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?” he asked gruffly, suddenly ready for this ride to be over and to get some much-needed space between him and his little felon. He couldn’t think straight around her. He needed to clear his head.

“Like you don’t believe me! You don’t, do you? What, you think I’m working for Moralli? Is that it?” she accused.

Seeing as he hadn’t suggested it, that was a pretty damn accurate leap not to have a thread of truth wrapped up in it somewhere. Pi

If looks could kill, the glare she shot him would have stopped his heart cold. “I can’t believe you just asked me that. Stop the car.”

Was she crazy? They were in rush hour traffic. It was bumper to bumper, and they were moving at a steady twenty-five miles per hour. There was no way in hell he was pulling his car over. Not that he’d have to. Just ahead, brake lights began flashing like a row of falling dominoes, forcing him to hit his own brakes a few seconds later. Just to be sure she didn’t do something crazy, he hit the driver’s panel power-control button, and not a second too soon. As the SUV ground to a halt, Rya

“Rya

She shot him a glare over her shoulder and he’d be damned if she didn’t slam into it again. If she was expecting a different result, she’d be sorely disappointed.

“I said stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“What the hell do you care? If you were worried about me getting hurt, you wouldn’t have said what you just did.”

“Oh, come on, Rya

“And I was a fucking idiot for ever thinking you could get past my earlier actions and trust me!”

“‘Get past it’? Who in the fuck do you think I’m doing this for, Rya

“I’m not! I told you everything I know! Turn right here.”

He gave her an arched-brow glance.

“You can take me home and keep the Escape. It’s a rental. Just have it returned by Monday.”

When they reached the intersection, he turned right. She was throwing off some serious hostility as she navigated him to her place in Brooklyn. Perhaps he was being an asshole, but coming back here, being in this city, was really fucking with his head and giving him a bad case of déjà vu.

He didn’t know what to say to make this better. He knew he’d offended her, but dammit, what did she have to be so touchy about? Who could blame him for being suspicious? She could hardly deny something wasn’t adding up here. Admittedly, he’d had his mind so focused on getting in her pants that he hadn’t given it much of a second thought before now.

“Stop here. It’s the first on the left.”

He hit the brakes, shifted into park, and the locks automatically unlatched. His pulse quickened, the invisible band around his chest tightening with dread. Aww shit . . . What could he possibly say to make this better? Hell if he knew. Relationships were not his forte, not that this was one, but dammit, it was something—something he didn’t want to just throw away over a carelessly spoken accusation, whether founded or not.

She turned to leave, and he grabbed her arm. “Rya

“You know what, Aiden, don’t bother. I’ve been dreading this all day. Did you ever stop to think that’s why I might not have been myself? I was wondering how I was going to say good-bye to you, especially after last night. But I should actually thank you. You’ve made it real easy for me. Good-bye.”