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Turning, she stared at the man standing in the doorway. She knew him. How did she know him?
And she was suddenly aware that she wasn’t wearing anything more than Alejandro’s shirt and a pair of panties.
Crap.
She hadn’t expected anyone to be here.
Then it occurred to her how she knew this man.
“You were at the poker game that night.” He walked toward her and she moved to the other side of the kitchen. He moved confidently around the kitchen, making himself coffee as though he’d done it a hundred times before.
“Yep. I’m Reuben. And you’re Cat.”
He leaned on the counter and stared at her while he sipped his coffee.
“Never known Alejandro to bring a woman back to his house. He doesn’t have relationships. He has release partners.”
“Release partners?”
“Yeah. They give each other release and move on.”
She wrinkled her nose, and he grinned. But she didn’t trust that smile. This man was extremely smart.
“Not something you’d want, huh?” he asked. “Yeah, you’re different, Cat.”
“Am I?” She tugged at the shirt self-consciously as she picked up her own coffee. “I’ll just go back to bed.”
“Aren’t you going to eat? I’m sure there are other things here if that bread was too mouthy. Bernard stocks the place well.”
“He’ll try to chop off my fingers if I dare touch his pantry. Where is he?”
“He said he ran out of vanilla for french toast. You know anything about that?”
“I like french toast,” she admitted.
“So you’ll eat what he makes for you?” he asked.
Why did he care? She didn’t even know him.
If he knew what you did, he wouldn’t care. He’d condemn you.
Her stomach rolled at the thought.
“Not much of an appetite right now.”
“Because you feel guilty?” he asked her quietly.
Oh shit. He knew. She froze and stared at him.
“Yeah, I know,” he told her, eyeing her intently. This guy wasn’t a jaguar or a dragon. He was a shark. “Alejandro doesn’t take it well when people lie to him. Especially someone he obviously cares about.”
“You don’t know that he cares about me.”
“You’re here, aren’t you? That kind of speaks for itself.”
She shook her head. She couldn’t hope. It would hurt that much more when he kicked her to the curb. “We barely know each other.”
Reuben hummed. “No, you don’t.”
“Have you seen him?”
“I have. He looks about as bad as you do.”
She winced.
“I don’t care for that many people, Cat. I have very few friends and I look after them fiercely.”
Great. Her shoulders slumped. Someone else who was going to come for her.
“Do your worst,” she told him tiredly. “You can’t make me feel much worse than I already do.”
He studied her for a long moment. “You really do feel terrible.”
Yep. She did. “Do you know when he’ll be back? I just want to get this over with.”
“Get what over with? Do you think he’s going to kick you out?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t he?”
“Hmm, and you’re willing to give him up that easily?” he asked.
“What?”
“I don’t know you well. But I didn’t think that a woman who set out to get close to the most dangerous man in the state would be a coward.”
“I’m not.” Her temper stirred. How dare this man call her a coward?
“Or a quitter.”
“I am not a quitter! For years, I’ve worked toward a goal and I haven’t faltered . . . until now. I didn’t . . . I never thought this would happen. Forget I said anything.” She tried to move toward the door.
“I’m not finished talking to you, Cat.”
She froze. Whoa. Arrogant.
She turned to glare at him. “Maybe I’m finished talking to you.”
“There it is. That’s the fire you’re going to need to get through this, girl.”
“There is nothing to get through.”
“Was it all a lie, then? Is that why you’re so keen on leaving? Did you just pretend to want him?”
“No! Oh my God! Is that really what he believes?” She pressed her hands to her eyes. “I made a mistake, and I kept things from him, but my feelings for him are real. I just . . . I saw how he looked at me last night. And then he walked out, and he hasn’t been back. I just . . . I don’t want to cause him any more pain.”
“And what about you, Cat? What about your pain?”
“It doesn’t matter. My pain doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t it? Is that what you’ve been taught? To put everyone else first?”
“I can be selfish.” She dropped her hands from her eyes.
He smiled gently at her. “Can you? Sacrificing your own needs and desires for others can be a good thing. As long as you take care of yourself, too. Not sure you’re so good at that part. Who is looking out for you while you’re putting everyone else first?”
“I have friends. They love me. And I don’t put everyone else first. I was selfish when I decided to go looking for Mama, to search out Alejandro.”
