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She seemed to be considering her answer. Then she shook her head, and I knew I’d lost her. She wasn’t ready to trust me yet. “Nothing. This is just a job to me. No more, no less.”
I didn’t believe that for a second. But until she decided to trust me, I had to accept it.
“Whoever sent you on a job like this should be shot. This isn’t safe. You shouldn’t be approaching dangerous men on your own. What if it had been someone other than me? Anyone else would have hurt you, Diana.”
I hated to think what could have happened if she’d pulled this shit on any of the other ORUS operatives.
“It doesn’t matter anymore because I’ve failed. I have no clue what will happen to me now.”
She looked so miserable that I couldn’t resist a soft kiss to her forehead. I would keep her close. Eventually she would give up her secrets, and I’d figure out who sent her. It was the only way I could keep her safe.
“Don’t worry about any of that now. You’re safe, and you’re going to stay that way.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You can’t make that promise. No one can. I’ve gotten myself in deeper than I ever imagined. There’s no going back now. All I can do is disappear.”
The thought of her leaving me again, of her being out of my reach, sent a bolt of pure fear through me. Never mind the fact that I could track a whisper on the wind, there was no way she could successfully hide from me for long, but just the idea that she might try made me want to keep her chained to the bed.
Fuck. Control, asshole.
I had to control those base urges. She already thought I was a monster, clearly. I’d watched her face when she mentioned what I’d done to Dieter Vandergraff, and she’d looked disgusted.
As she should be, I thought morosely.It’s in her best interest to see you as you truly are. Dangerous.
I loosened my grip on her wrists slightly. “I’m going to let you up now. Don’t try anything.”
Although her eyes narrowed reflexively at the order, she didn’t try to pull away from me. When I released her hands, she lowered her arms slowly and flexed her fingers.
“What now? You can’t change my mind, Rafe. I know what I’m doing.”
I moved back and allowed her to slide off the bed. “Do you? Because I sure as hell don’t.”
* * *
Diana
I rubbed my wrists absently, pretending that I wasn’t ogling Rafe as he moved around the room. Finally I gave up and just stared. The man was sexy, and there was no hiding it. Every time he grabbed at his hair in frustration, his shirt rode up, revealing abs that looked like they’d been chiseled from stone.
Stop drooling, Diana.
He was restless, I could tell. It was funny how I’d already learned to read so many of his quirks and tells. When he was laughing at me, his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners, and he always looked to the side when he was embarrassed. He got twitchy when he was frustrated but eerily calm and silent when he was angry.
Not that I was afraid of him. Wasn’t that interesting? I’d stolen from him, and he wouldn’t let me leave, but I still didn’t feel any fear. It was a bone-deep certainty that told me Rafe would never hurt me, no matter how annoyed or angry he was. It was more than I’d gotten from my own flesh and blood. My father had sold me to a Russian thug. A man old enough to be my father.
He was supposed to protect me. So much for family loyalty.
And as for my brothers, while they hadn’t exactly been warm and fuzzy growing up, I’d never thought they were bad people. Not the kind of people that I’d read about in Rafe’s files anyway: men who hurt and abused women, trading them for profit as if they were mere objects to be bought and sold like commodities in their portfolio. Is that how they thought of me? Obviously, they were still doing business with Boris, so they knew about the marriage arrangement.
Would I be just like one of those other poor women who found themselves in a shipping crate being sold to some sick bastard?Your cage might be more gilded, but it’s still a cage.
When Rafe took my face between his hands, I started. Then his thumb brushed over my cheek, and I realized I was crying.
“I’m not sure what to do with you, Di. This is a difficult situation. After what you stole and what you now know, you’re not safe out there.”
I snorted. “You’re worried about my safety after I stole fromyou?”
But I could tell how sincere he was. Something else was at play here. Oh hell, that was the last thing I needed, to start feeling guilty. But there it was. How could I not be a little bit charmed by a guy who consistently put me first? Especially one who insisted on looking at me like I was a cinnamon bun that he wanted to lick.
“I’m worried aboutbothof us. That information you took is dangerous and not just to me. To other people who won’t hesitate to harm anyone that gets in their way. Did you show it to anyone else?”
