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‘Where the hell have you been?’ he snarled.
She screeched to a halt, her breathlessness drawing his gaze to her chest. ‘Sorry, I—’
‘And why did your phone go to voicemail?’
Her wide gaze dropped to the bag in her hand. ‘Oh, no. I’m sorry. I forgot to turn it back on.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Back on? After what?’ Again that spike of jealousy came from nowhere. ‘Tell me where you’ve been, Maddie.’
She blinked, her face growing wary at his icy tone. ‘I was with my father. He wasn’t feeling well after...after we went to the estate agents to secure our new place.’
He frowned. ‘You’re moving house?’
She nodded. ‘That’s why I needed the money. For a down payment and to get the rental process started. Then I had to start packing. The whole thing took longer than I expected. I turned my phone off so I wouldn’t be disturbed.’
‘Considering I’m the only one supposed to have access to you, am I to assume you didn’t want me to disturb you?’
‘I just...needed to concentrate on my father, okay?’
‘Why?’
She hesitated for a beat, then took a deep breath. ‘My father isn’t well. Everything took longer than I expected. But I’m here now...’
Wary green eyes met his. He loathed the wave of relief that swept through him. It strongly indicated something weighty he didn’t want to acknowledge. Something compellingly close to possessiveness.
She
shifted on her feet, commanding his attention.
‘So are we okay? Or does that granite-hard jaw and the tight grip on your phone mean you’re about to ask for your money back? If so, I won’t be able to oblige. A good chunk of it is gone,’ she informed him.
She was here now. He needed to let it go. But too many emotions still churned through him.
‘If I’m not about to be summarily dismissed, can I ask a favour?’ she asked.
‘I suggest you quit while you’re ahead. Or do you enjoy testing me?’
The merest hint of a smile curved lips glistening with whatever gloss she’d employed. With an elegant pirouette that wouldn’t have been amiss in a ballet dancer, she turned away.
‘Fine. I need help with my zip, but I’ll ask Percy to give me a hand, shall I?’ she asked, with a look over her shoulder.
His attention dropped to her bare shoulders and the silky-smooth expanse of her back. When he dragged his gaze back to her face she was staring at him with a hint of challenge in her eyes.
Dio, she could give the most notorious siren a run for her money.
She took a step towards the kitchen Percy had made his domain.
‘Madeleine.’
Uttering her name was meant to be a warning. Instead it triggered something darker, more potent in the air. She stilled, her gaze widening as she watched him. ‘Yes?’
‘Stay.’
He approached without sensing his feet move. Her perfume filled his ravenous senses, stabbing him with a need to lower his head to that control-wrecking curve where her neck met her shoulder.
His not quite steady fingers found the zipper, slowly glided it upward while his hungry gaze roved over her light gold skin as the garment came together.
He barely heard her husky thank you over the loud drumming in his ears, and the sight of her cleavage when she turned to face him threatened to flay him.
