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“I’m not leaving you here alone.”
Her eyes shimmered in the light from above, but she quickly lowered her gaze while reaching for more papers. “Thank you.”
The relieved emotion in her voice triggered a primal reaction deep inside. He wanted to pull her back into his arms and promise to keep her safe. And how crazy would that be seeing as how they hadn’t even known each other a week ago?
He concentrated on the work in front of him. Though it hadn’t even crossed his mind at the moment when he insisted on staying, now he found himself scanning the pages his fingers collected. Nothing looked even remotely damning, and after a while, he stopped looking.
Within half an hour they’d filled six boxes and picked up all the broken glass. Gina went to her desk to collect her laptop. “I might as well take all this stuff home now. Do you mind helping me carry everything down to my car?”
“Sure.”
Once the door was propped open, he slid two boxes out into the hall and ducked under the X of yellow tape. Gina slid the rest of the boxes out and then joined him with her laptop tucked under her arm. Working together, they transferred the boxes into the elevator and down into the backseat of her car.
She turned to him, keys in hand, driver’s door open. “I appreciate all your help.”
“I’m following you home.” At the first shake of her head, he reasoned, “You’re going to need help carrying them inside, right?”
“I can get them. Really. I feel bad for how much I’ve inconvenienced you tonight.”
“It’s not an inconvenience, Gina.”
“Liar. I know how busy you are.”
He shrugged, then cast a furtive glance around the lot before leaning closer to stage whisper, “If you want the truth, I’m still hoping you change your mind about the dare.”
The guilt in her expression disappeared as she laughed. “Well, okay, then. If you’re only helping for your own benefit, I’m fine with using you for manual labor.”
He smiled as she got in her car while he walked around to get in his. She’d laughed, and honest humor had brightened her eyes, but not before her gaze dipped to his mouth. He’d bet she would be thinking about kissing him during the entire drive to her house.
When she parked on the street outside an old, rundown apartment building, the fun his imagination was having with his libido flew right out the window. The area was much too dark for any young woman living alone to come home to at night. When he carried two boxes to her one—plus laptop, leftovers, and dessert—through the sufficiently lit, secured entrance, his concern was only slightly alleviated.
It rose again when she led him up two flights of stairs, one of which had a burnt out bulb. Her apartment was two doors down a dingy hallway. She braced the box against the wall by her door, balancing it on her raised knee as she inserted the key in the lock.
He tried to hide his frown as she went inside and leaned her back against the wall to hold the door with her foot so he could pass through. The small studio apartment was very minimalistic in the furniture department, but other than that, everything appeared tidy and clean.
The door banged shut, and she walked past him to set the box in her arms on the floor near the small island that separated the kitchen and living room while doubling as a dining area. She moved one of the two beat-up wooden stools to give him room for his armload.
On their way outside for the rest, he managed to bite his tongue until they were back in the shadowed hallway. “I don’t like this place.”
She glanced over her shoulder with a smile that contained more humor than defensiveness. “Well, we can’t all afford seven thousand square foot mansions.”
Ironically, he wasn’t entirely sure how long he’d be able to either. But that was neither here nor there. “What you can afford doesn’t bother me, Gina, other than it doesn’t seem safe.”
“Well, until I can afford somewhere else, this is it for me.”
“Are you locked into a lease?”
“Six months.”
“And how far into it are you?” he asked as she held the apartment door again.
“One month.”
Shit. He set his boxes down before moving aside so she could plunk her single one on top. She took her jacket off, and twisted to sling it over one of the stools. He was instantly distracted by the way her sweater formed to her curves, and then he caught a glimpse of pale skin at her hips. No freckles that he could see. His hands itched with the urge to feel if it was as smooth as the sweater looked soft. Like her thigh. Just about the time his gaze started to dip lower, she faced him again.
Eyes up, man. After his dare and the reminder, he wanted her to come to him. Outright drooling over her wasn’t the way to accomplish that goal.
She crossed her arms as she sat on the stool, and he noted right away the defensiveness he’d expected earlier. “I have a safety chain and a deadbolt, and I’m always watchful and careful. I’ll even wedge a chair under the door handle after you leave.”
