"One little problem, Cat," he said, and leaned into her.
He smelled as good as ever. Like outdoor, rain forest, jungle after the first rain. She inhaled because she had to, she'd run out of air. She drew his scent deep into her lungs. He surrounded her with heat. Up close he looked even more handsome than she'd first thought. He had a five-o'clock shadow, dark scruff she couldn't help but find sexy. His dark hair was in contrast with his strange but beautiful eyes. He had three scars, one by his left eye, one higher up by his temple and a longer one along his jaw. Even those scars didn't detract from his good looks and instead only added to them.
She refused to back away. "What would that be?"
"My hands aren't full," he said, and threaded his fingers through her hair, a soft glide that ran all the way from the top of her head to the ends at her waist before his fingers fell away. "The coffee I can get rid of in seconds and then you'd be in trouble."
Her stomach did a roller coaster loop just as a million birds took wing, fluttering against her insides when his fingers moved through her hair. He had done it almost absently and he didn't call attention to doing it, but it felt sexy and sweet at the same time.
"And, if you did succeed in dragging me out, I wouldn't be able to install your security system." He flashed a grin at her.
He was dangerous to all women, but apparently to her in particular. Just looking at him turned her insides to mush. He melted her without trying, just by giving her a quick smile. Not even a high-wattage, just-for-her smile, just a casual one that showed his white teeth. And then there was his cocky, arrogant grin. She could weave tons of fantasy and perv around him for a good solid week with just one of his grins.
"Fine, I won't try to take you down before you finish the security system."
"I'm getting the tools out of my truck, so I'll be leaving the door open for a minute or two. Wouldn't want to have to lean on that buzzer."
"I'm already tempted to use that thing for target practice," she admitted, but the coffee was doing its job, putting her in a better mood. Still, she needed clothes. Her tank wasn't covering much and as soon as he was outside, she was rushing to change.
She dragged old faded jeans from the drawers in her bedroom, underwear and a soft T-shirt and raced for the bathroom. She managed to close and lock the door before she heard the heavy front door swing shut. She did a quick once-over, teeth, hair, face, and dragged on her clothes. She rarely wore shoes inside. Mostly she just wore her sweats so she could work out whenever she felt like it.
Catarina loved her days off. She could be herself. She didn't have to be on her guard every moment. She didn't need to expend energy keeping her eyes on the floor and hiding behind baggy clothes and dark sunglasses. She read--a lot--listened to her music and spent hours punching and kicking the bag. She stretched and ate ice cream. She stretched more and drank coffee. She was free, and she enjoyed freedom.
"Need some help, Cat," Ridley said as she emerged.
He was up on a ladder. A really tall ladder. He had no problems invading Malcom's corner and confiscating anything he needed. Or maybe he'd brought the monstrosity. Either way, he was on nearly the very top rung and his hands were over his head, fiddling with a black mount.
"What do you need me to do?"
"You afraid of heights?" He glanced at her over his shoulder, his eyes taking her in, taking in the change of clothes and bare feet.
Catarina suddenly wished she'd put on shoes. She could have fantasies about Ridley, but she knew better than to allow anything more than that, and bare feet brought some weird intimacy she hadn't expected. Or maybe it was the look in his eyes when he did just what he was doing now, his eyes, like melted gold, moving over her body with a hint of things she didn't quite understand.
"No. I'm not afraid of heights."
"Good." He turned back to his work. "Climb up behind me, baby, and pull that screwdriver out of my back pocket. I think you can lean around me and tighten that screw for me."
Her breath caught in her throat. Her mouth suddenly went dry. "It takes two people to put one of those thingies up?" But already her hand had curled around the ladder. She wanted the security system up. She needed it up. She had no idea how she was going to repay him, but the idea of a few cameras and motion detectors right now, without having to wait a few months, was a huge relief.
"Not as a rule. I was distracted and chose the wrong screwdriver. The other one is in my back pocket. I've got this thingie in the perfect place and you can get it secure for me if you're not afraid of heights."
Amusement and a challenge. "You knew what I meant." She began her climb up the ladder. It was so secure it didn't even shake.
"Kitten. No one says thingie."
She loved his voice. His voice could make her forget everything. Even if it was for just a few moments. She had to put her hand on his back and then his shoulder to steady herself as she climbed past him. Pulling the screwdriver from his back pocket seemed more intimate than ever and it was just a tool.
"Thingie is acceptable if everyone gets what it means," she insisted, and slid under his arm so that she could maneuver into position.
She hadn't thought about how she was going to have to stand, feet on the ladder, her body inside the circle of his arm, stretched up, so that her butt was against his chest. She tried not to be aware of him as she began to twist the screw into the ceiling. It was difficult because his body was hot and the heat moved straight into her like a living flame, heating her blood and putting all kinds of crazy, erotic images in her head.
"I want you to let me into your life," he said, his voice low. So low she almost didn't hear him.
Her heart did a little stutter. "I don't let people into my life." She tried to be honest. He was so close she could smell him--that clean rain forest scent that took her to another place where there wasn't danger lurking in every corner.
"I know that, Kitten," he said. "That's why I'm asking you to let me in."
His body was rock hard. Oak tree hard. He was all roped muscle. She could feel his muscles through his thin shirt as she carefully turned the screwdriver.
"Ridley, it's too dangerous to let anyone in right now." That was the most she could say, the only warning he would get. "Don't ask me questions, because I can't answer them, but not letting anyone into my life is so I know they're safe."
That was way too much information. She knew she'd made a mistake by the way his body froze. He wasn't the kind of man to walk away from a woman in danger. She knew that. Why had she said something so stupid? Was she trying to get him killed?
He mesmerized her. She just blurted things out around him. Let him see who she was. Made her break every rule she had. But really? Asking her to let him into her life? How amazing was that? How many men were that sweet? He made her want to cry and she didn't cry. She never cried. Never. That was a rule too, an unbreakable one.
"I know that too, baby," he said. "I'm not asking for anything but you to let me in. That's all. I've done dangerous before and I'll be careful."
She felt his breath on her neck and she closed her eyes briefly against the tidal wave of need rising. She was so alone. She didn't have friends. She'd never had a friend. She tightened the screw and handed him the screwdriver. She had no choice but to put her hand on his shoulder as she began the climb down.
"I don't want you dead." Catarina didn't look at him when she said it.
He began screwing in the other side. "I won't get dead. We'll work out and I can show you some moves. Have coffee now and then. Sneak in a dinner, even if it's takeout. I like your company. Truth is, Kitten, I haven't had much to laugh about in a long time, and you do that for me."
Her bare feet hit the floor and she rested her forehead on the rung, fists clenched around the ladder, breathing deep. Panic was close. He wasn't going away. She heard that in his voice. She knew he was persistent in his casual Zen way. He wasn't walking away from her and leaving her in her mess of a life.
"I don't know what to do with you, Ridley."
His laugh was unexpected. Low with a hint of gentleness in it. She felt his laughter move right through her body.
She looked up at him, frowning. "Why is that funny?"
He glanced down at her. "I knew you were going to give me attitude."
His eyes were laughing, pure gold this time, and her stomach did that peculiar roll so rough that she pressed a hand to it, hard, trying to glare at him. "I was not giving attitude. It was a simple question. What was funny about what I said?"
"You're the only woman on the face of this earth that would say that and mean it," he said.
"Do you have any idea how arrogant you are?"