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Cruz didn’t bother turning to face me, merely twisted his head over his shoulder. “I realize this is an important event for you, so I’ll allow you to enjoy the rest of your evening. I’ll have Jameson pick you up tomorrow night at seven.”
Why did it seem that Talon was afraid of seeing Cruz? “I’m sorry. What?”
“You heard me, Eden.” He had his hand on the doorknob before I reacted.
“For what reason?”
He chuckled. “I assure you that if I intended on causing you harm, I wouldn’t ask you to dinner.”
Dinner. With him. Butterflies suddenly swarmed my stomach.
“Whoa. Wait. The gallery is open tomorrow night.”
That’s when he shifted to face me, shaking his head slowly. He didn’t need to tell me that my jaws were a bright shade of crimson. “You should know better by now than to lie to me. If you’d prefer, I’ll walk outside this door, and you’ll never see me again. The choice is entirely up to you.”
Is that what I wanted? As his eyes pierced mine, I dragged my tongue across my lips.
“What should I wear?” I asked, immediately chastising my eagerness. I still wasn’t certain I was making the right decision.
“That will be taken care of for you.”
Hold on. Wait a minute. I’d pegged his personality and now he was determined to prove I was right. “I can handle that myself.”
He gave me another one of his dominating looks. I wasn’t going to win this round.
“You don’t know where I live,” I added defiantly.
He said nothing else, but his smile sent another series of tremors through my body.
Straight to my aching pussy.
I watched him as he moved through the crowd, immediately drawing the attention of everyone he passed.
Several of the men seemed offput, keeping their distance, but the women were quick to move closer, as I lurked, yet he wasn’t trying to capture their attention. In fact, he appeared slightly annoyed, but he acted with grace and reverence, shaking several hands and laughing. I had no idea how long I stood watching him.
Craving him.
Needing him.
That was crazy. I finally blinked, backing into my office but not before noticing Talon as he shifted along the back wall toward the rear exit. Why in God’s name was he leaving now? He wasn’t going to stay for his own show?
Anger swept through me. This wasn’t going to do. I bolted for the supply room, rushing inside just as the door eased shut.
I had to push my way through the workers, slamming my hands on the door then lunging outside.
He was nowhere to be seen. How in the hell had he left so quickly?
I moved down the alleyway toward the street, glancing from right to left. Either he was hiding, or he’d taken off running the second his feet hit the cracked pavement.
What was the man terrified of?
As I walked back into the gallery, I couldn’t stop shivering. I had a very bad feeling Talon was into something that he couldn’t handle. While I didn’t mind helping lost puppy dogs, I couldn’t afford to get myself mixed up with his personal problems. Why did I have a very bad feeling it was already too late? Before I walked back in, I glimpsed the dumpster, half expecting the rat to suddenly come alive.
Jesus. Maybe I needed a tall glass of wine.
I stood just outside my office, catching another glimpse of Cruz as he headed for the exit. There was no reason for him to turn around, no possibility that he could see me from the reflection in the all glass door.
But he did.
