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The canopy curtains that had been loose earlier in the day were now tied to the thin metal frame over the platform bed.
Slipping the sandals from her feet, she kicked them aside and slid the straps of her sundress down her arms to wriggle out of it. Being freed from her clothes felt good. Dropping onto her back on the bed, Tess spread her arms wide.
“Some days are more surreal than others,” she said, arching to hook a heel on the edge of the bed to boost closer to the middle. “Though I guess every day is just another day at the office for you.”
“Not every day.”
The direction of his voice opened her eyes. He was standing at the side of the bed, directly over her. If he was Danny, he’d be eating her or riding her already. But he wasn’t. The vision of the man he was, tall and dominating, casting his formidable shadow over her, was alluring.
She could point her toes, raise her leg, slide her foot up his inner thigh, tease him until she tempted him to be hers again.
She didn’t want him. Shouldn’t want him. Shouldn’t be thinking about how the weight of his body on hers would be pure security. How it would promise her a safety even Danny couldn’t have offered.
“What would you do if someone walked in right now?”
He didn’t pause to think about his answer, it came immediately. “Tear out his eyes and his tongue.”
Tess laughed. “What? Could be an ally, one of your buddies, you don’t know.”
“Any man who lays eyes on you like this will lose them,” he said, riveted by every detail of her body. “I’ll cut out his tongue so he can’t tell his tale.”
Her underwear wasn’t that revealing. He’d seen her in less. Her bikinis exposed more skin. The intense spotlight of his eyes rolled through her. Waves of warmth cascaded over her, rising in force until every inch of her was seared by the ownership he exuded.
Danny never wanted to own her. He’d never asked to. Never even hinted at it. But that was all she felt under Daire’s scrutiny as it slithered over her, coating her in his protection, in his strength.
His next inhale was slow. He held it for a few seconds, then released it at the same speed. In a twist, he crouched to swipe up her dress and shoes, then vanished into the closet.
Tess rose to support her weight on her elbows. “You like things tidy,” she said, figuring out something else about him. “You’re a neat freak.”
“Less of the freak,” he said, coming out of the closet to retrieve her bag from the end of the bed before returning to the walk-in.
“Then why are you unpacking for me?” she asked, climbing off the bed to stumble into the closet to confirm her suspicion. Yep, he was putting things away. “I guess we’re staying.”
He paused, bag in hand. “You don’t feel safe?”
“I don’t know anyone,” she said. “No, I don’t feel safe. But would I be safe anywhere? Even if I run, if I leave here, walk away from you and Harry… I don’t know what way is up anymore. I wouldn’t be safe in a hotel, in a trailer, drifting across the world. Until I know the truth, until I understand Olympus and what it is you do, I don’t know what I’m running from. Hell, I could get in a car, drive a thousand miles, live happily for a year and still never know Zeus if he walked right up to me and shot me in the head.” Tess smiled and folded her hands on the doorframe to lean against it. “Well, I’d probably know it for the fraction of a second before I died.”
Daire dropped the bag and started toward her. “Babe…” he said, hesitating the moment the word came out.
“It’s okay,” she said, knowing he was second guessing the slip up. “What? What were you going to say?”
He took his time about replying. “No one will ever hurt you…” He came a step closer. “I know I hurt you. I know my tactics were… cruel and underhanded. I’ll dedicate my life to protecting yours, to erase the hurt that I caused you. You didn’t deserve it.”
“You said that the night I met Harry. The night I lost my Danny.”
“Pandora—”
“No,” she said, pushing away from the doorframe to narrow the last of the space between them. “No code names.”
“They detach us,” he said. “It’s important to keep that distance.”
If he wanted them detached, Tess would respect that wish. He’d lied about being Danny, which could mean he’d lied about being attracted to her. Except, if she’d been a simple job, he wouldn’t have said half the things he’d said to her since the night the truth was revealed.
The man in the bedroom had been attracted to her. But it didn’t matter. Regardless of whether he wanted her, he’d made it clear that his life belonged to Harry.
“Okay,” she said because it wouldn’t be fair to pressure him.
No expectation. Everyone expected something from him, so she never would.
