His Captive Lover (The Thorpe Brothers Series) (8 page)

Mia couldn’t believe how relaxed she was just sitting here talking with him.  Once there was a lull in his questions and she piped up, eager to gain her own insight into the man she’d been around for what seemed like days or even weeks although it was only hours.  She sipped her wine and worked on whittling down the enormous pile of pasta he’d given her while she asked him questions about how he’d renovated this building on his own.  She loved listening to him talk with his deep voice sending shivers along her skin with awareness.  He seemed so competent in the legal areas, and yet he had this whole other side of him.  She discovered that he liked cooking and working with his hands, explaining that it was the complete opposite of what he did all day long. 

“It helps me work through the legal issues.”

She thought about that for a moment, thinking that it made sense.  “Sort of like occupying one side of your mind with the mundane while the other side is occupied with working through a problem,” she suggested.

“I suppose that’s one way to put it,” he agreed.

She smiled.  “I do that with my kids.  After recess, I give them a craft project to work on. While their little hands are busy cutting and gluing pieces of a puzzle or a craft, I give them facts about history or science.  I’m always amazed at how much they actually absorb during these periods.  One would think that they were distracted with the craft materials and, to a point, they are.  But our minds can process more than one thing if the distractions work together with the facts.”

He was impressed.  But then his eyes looked down at her lips one more time and he was once again lost in the idea of tasting those lips.  Of feeling them tremble underneath his.  He knew she would tremble too.  He had no idea how he knew that.  It was just a sense or maybe a vibe. 

He was just about to lean forward and test his theory.  But he stopped himself, suddenly realizing that she was his client.  And she was terrified of what she was facing.  He couldn’t take advantage of her fragility right now.  No matter how soft and sexy she looked, Mia Paulson was off limits.

“You must be tired,” he said and stood up abruptly.  He picked up both of their plates, noting absently that she’d eaten barely any of the pasta and only drank half a glass of wine.  “Can I make you anything else?” he asked as he put the plates in the sink. 

“Goodness, no!” Mia said, feeling awkward now.  She’d been hoping that he would bend over and kiss her.  But why on earth would she want that?  This man didn’t respect her at all!  He thought she was a murderer. 

He must have remembered that little issue and pulled back, repulsed by the idea of even touching her.  “I will do the dishes,” she offered, needing to pay him back in some small way for his hospitality. 

“I have a housekeeper who comes in each morning and cleans up.  She’ll do the dishes,” he countered.  “Why don’t you head to bed?  I’ll lock up.”  He was wiping his hands on a dishtowel, using it to keep his hands from reaching out and grabbing her, pulling her against him and kissing her until she was gasping for breath.  He only stopped himself because he could see the dark circles under her eyes and her smile wasn’t quite as bright as it had been this morning. 

Then there was also that irritating little issue: he had to remind himself over and over how unethical it would be to kiss her!

Mia watched him for a long, painful moment, wishing he would wrap those big, strong arms around her and kiss her, make her forget all of the mess her life had become over the last eighteen hours.  She shouldn’t want him, and this crazy fluttering she kept experiencing was probably just because he looked so strong and capable.  And she needed someone to reassure her today.  No, it was probably nothing, but her emotions were teetering on the brink and she should just leave right now before she did something crazy.  Like throw herself into his arms. 

When she saw the distance in his eyes, she knew she should be relieved.  She didn’t like him.  And he didn’t like her.  So why did she feel like crying simply because the man wouldn’t kiss her? 

She turned around and headed towards the bedroom he was loaning her for the night, but she paused.  “Thank you very much,” she said with one hand on the steel bar that acted as a railing for the architectural-like stairs, staring back at him from the distance for a long moment. 

She walked slowly up the stairs and turned down the hallway, feeling like it was a march of shame.  She should have just stayed away.  Why had she silently begged him to kiss her?  Was she slowly losing her mind?  Today had been horrible, she thought as she brushed her teeth and slid into the bed.  In fact, of all the bad days she’d experienced in her life, this one ranked just below the day her parents had died.  She missed them terribly right now. 

She pulled off her clothes, refusing to let the tears flow.  She just had to get through this day one moment at a time.  She should listen to Ash’s advice because she knew he was the best.  Financial issues aside, he was right.   She should figure out how to save herself before she worried about how she was going to pay for him saving her. 

With a sigh, she slunk down under the covers, impressed by how comfortable the bed was and how soft the sheets were.  His housekeeper had good taste, she thought as she stared up at the ceiling.  And he even knew how to cook!  She smiled at his worried expression earlier when she was able to eat only a quarter of the enormous amount of food he’d given her.  But she’d continued to sip the wine, downing a whole glass tonight.  The alcohol had helped her relax and she definitely felt better with the extra carbs from the pasta. 

Chapter 4

Ash heard the door click closed and was instantly awake.  It was just after midnight!  Where could the woman be going at this time of the night?

Several ideas occurred to him, one of which was to hide any evidence in her home that the police hadn’t yet discovered.  He probably should have been more concerned with her breaking the law to save herself.  But the only thing he thought in that moment was to stop her from going home, because the police were surely there, waiting for her to come home.  He couldn’t let that happen!

Sitting up in bed, he listened carefully for a long moment but when he didn’t hear anything else, he cursed under his breath and threw the covers off.  Pulling on a pair of jeans and some old running shoes, he only took another second to grab a shirt,  pulling it over his shoulders before sprinting down the hallway.  He glanced in her bedroom and sure enough, the covers were pulled back and the bed was empty.

With another curse, he raced down the hallway, hoping he didn’t break his ankle or trip over anything in the dark house.  The building was only four stories so, instead of waiting for the elevator to come back up, he took the stairs down, hopping from level to level.  If she was going out meeting with someone, trying to hide evidence or even out killing someone else, he was damn sure going to stop her.  He dismissed from his mind the fact that he’d assumed she was innocent.  He’d told people over and over again that looks could be deceiving and he wasn’t going to let his libido control this situation.  Just because he wanted to bed her didn’t mean she was automatically innocent.  No one was as innocent as Mia appeared to be.  No one was that naïve either! 

Damn her!  She’d half convinced him that she was all that and a cupcake and here she was, sneaking out at midnight going who knows where.  No one snuck out at midnight to do anything innocent which meant he was going to somehow stop her from committing whatever crime was on her mind now.

It only vaguely occurred to him that he was going to chase her down and stop her, only to drag her back to his place.  A reasonable man would just leave her alone, let her fall down and make her mistakes, but something urged him forward, determined to save her, even if it was from herself. 

He caught up with her just as she was exiting the building.  Instead of announcing his presence and demanding that she march right back upstairs, and into his bed where he could keep an eye on her, he waited, watching to see where she might be going. 

When she ducked into the convenience store on the corner, he blinked in surprise.  Was she out of cash?  Was she going to rob the place?  He stood on the stoop, wondering what he should do.  A sane lawyer would call the police and have her arrested but everything inside of him rebelled at the idea of Mia being in handcuffs again.  No, he couldn’t do that to her.  Not again.  His stomach clenched at the idea of anyone touching her with handcuffs.  Well, except himself, he thought with a handful of lusty thoughts. 

Shaking his head to clear out those images, he reminded himself that the police wouldn’t be gentle if they arrived to arrest her again when it was their second arrest in less than twenty-four hours. 

So when she appeared in his line of sight again, her arms loaded down with something he couldn’t immediately identify, he went through what he knew of her.  She didn’t have a gun, at least not one that he could see.  So how was she going to rob the store?  He knew the store owner and wouldn’t allow her to hurt any of Louey’s employees.  Louey was a good guy with five kids and ten grandkids.  He needed every cent he could earn from the convenience store. 

He was actually still standing there, debating what to do when the night shift employee laughed at something Mia said to him and started loading whatever she’d dumped onto the counter into a large, brown bag.

Was she stealing supplies for some heist?  He saw her hand the guy a credit card and something in his chest eased somewhat.  A true criminal wouldn’t purchase items with a credit card.  It was too easy to trace.  Okay, that was yet another ridiculous thought.  A true criminal wouldn’t even have credit cards.  Would they? 

So what was she buying?  What on earth could be so important that she had to go out in the middle of the night when she should be exhausted after the day she’d had. 

When she came out of the store, he was still standing there, glaring down at her with his hands on his hips.  “What was so important, Mia?” he asked.

He had a small sense of satisfaction to see her startled reaction to his presence.  She looked up at him, worried and trying to hide the bag under her arm.  “Ash!  What on earth are you doing up at this time of the night?” she demanded.

Ash wasn’t going to let her hide anything from him.  “Remember what I said earlier today about full disclosure?” he asked, moving closer to her, invading her space before he wrenched the brown paper bag out of her hands.  “What did you need that was so urgent that you had to sneak out at…?” He was looking into the bag and words failed him.  He blinked once.  Then again.  Trying to focus on what he was seeing. 

Impossible! 

“Mia!  What the hell were you doing sneaking out in the middle of the night to buy ice cream?” he demanded angrily.

Mia shifted on her feet, feeling embarrassed to be caught with her kryptonite.  “Just give it back to me!” she demanded, holding out her hands and trying to get it back from him without actually touching him.  She’d thought he looked nice in a suit and then he’d revealed a bit of that tanned, yummy looking skin over dinner.  Now he was wearing jeans that molded to his muscular thighs and a tee shirt that was stretched taught over those bulging muscles in his arms and chest.  That wasn’t fair!  He should be ugly or flabby or short and rude or…something!  The man was just…damn him!  He was hot!

Ash laughed as the relief surged through him.  “You couldn’t sleep so you had to sneak out and get…” he counted quickly, “six different flavors of ice cream?” he demanded. 

“Give me back my bag!” she growled, reaching up and trying to take her ice cream bag back.  But he was too tall and he held it over his head, way out of her reach.  “You’re being a jerk, Ash.  Just give me back my bag!”

Ash wrapped his arm around her waist, laughing at her angry expression.  “Don’t you remember me telling you that everything you need is in my place?” he asked.

She sighed and glared up at him, pressing her palms against his chest, trying to put some room between their bodies, but he wasn’t giving an inch and she was starting to react to his closeness. She needed that ice cream!  “Ash, if you don’t give me back my bag, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions!” She wished she could come up with something more specific, some dire threat that would make him reconsider holding her ice cream away from her.  But she couldn’t think about anything with his arm around her waist.  And he smelled so good!  Now that she was closer to him, she could smell his spicy, male scent that filled up her nostrils and made her ache to bury her nose in his chest or against his neck and just…inhale!

“Come with me,” he said and grabbed her hand, pulling her back to his building. 

“You’re being a bully!” she said, following simply because she didn’t have a choice.  First of all, she wasn’t going to be able to sleep until she’d had her ice cream which he didn’t seem inclined to give back to her.  And secondly, when Ash wanted her to move somewhere, he didn’t really take no for an answer. 

In the small elevator, she pressed her shoulders back against the paneled wall and crossed her arms over her chest.  “You’re a rude, insensitive jerk, you know that?”

Even words didn’t hurt the big lug, she thought with resentment.  He just laughed at her anger.  When the front door opened up, he grabbed her hand again and pulled her all the way through to his stainless steel and brick kitchen. When the two of them were standing in front of the enormous freezer, he looked down at her a moment before opening the door.

And Mia just stared, not sure if she could believe her eyes. 

Row after row on his freezer sat just about every different kind of ice cream she could imagine.  There were maybe twenty different kinds and her mouth started drooling.  “You’re kidding!” she gasped with delight and surprise.

“I guess I should have told you that I love ice cream,” he said.  He turned to face her and a moment later, his hands were on her waist lifting her up.  He lifted her easily and set her back down on the counter behind her.  “My favorite is praline pecan, but feel free to try out each one and give it a try.”