Rory (Coded for Love 1)
“Be careful, you’re beginning to sound all big brother again and I’d hate that.”
His gaze lingered on her. “We’re both still wearing our coats. I can’t help noticing the temperature.”
“I’ll feed the meter later.” She sipped the beer. “Right now I want you to tell me about the computer stuff.”
Rory reached in his pocket and threw a few coins on the sofa between them “Feed the meter.”
“It’s not that kind of meter. It’s a card you have to feed.”
“Do you need cash for that?
Annoyance hit her hard and fast. “I can take of myself. I vowed I would when I came to London, made a serious promise to my Nan. If I run short I take an extra shift at the Coffee Hut.”
He frowned. “I don’t like to think of you being cold.”
The tension between them rocketed. She shot him a look.
“Jesus, Sky, there’s no need to look at me as if I’ve just threatened your favorite puppy. I want to make sure you’re okay. Is that so wrong?”
“I’m fine, don’t fuss.”
He wasn’t going to let it go though. “This place,” he gestured around the room, “how much rent are they charging you for this rabbit hutch? How many shifts do you have to do to pay for it? I can’t help worrying about you I
’m your stepbrother; I’m supposed to care about your well being.”
Stepbrother. She drew away, folded her arms on her knees and turned away. “Don’t say that, I don’t think of you that way.”
Silence. After a moment, she glanced back at him. He stared at her, his eyes shining, but he gave no clue what he was thinking. At least he didn’t argue. Ignoring the money he’d offered, she stood up and went to the meter cupboard, and shoved in the card she had stashed there. Crossing to the electric heater, she flicked it on.
She wasn’t going to look desperate or be more obvious than she already had. Not for any man, no matter how sexy. She wanted him, hell yes, but she didn’t really believe in relationship stuff. Her real dad had left them when she was a toddler. Her older sister was pregnant before her seventeenth birthday and now split with her partner and bringing up a child alone. All of it forced Sky to be realistic. Men took what they wanted and walked. As far as she was concerned a woman had to be the same way or suffer.
“So tell me about the software. Why is it bad news, why did it get you in trouble with the police?” She took off her coat and threw herself back down on the futon beside him.
He side-eyed the slinky black mini dress she wore under the coat. “The less you know the better.”
“Hey, I helped you out when you were in trouble and I’ve been holding the goods for you. I deserve an explanation.”
“No. You don’t.”
Was that it? He didn’t want her to know about his stuff now he’d got it back?
“At least tell me why you call it a kit.”
He rolled his eyes. “The software, it’s like tools to unlock code, therefore tool kit.”
“You took your laptop when you left home.”
“Yeah, that and my bike, that’s all I had.” He took a swig of his beer.
“I looked for it when you’d gone. All I found was some abandoned T-shirts.” She wore them in bed, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
He stared at her for the longest moment. “You’re dangerous when your curiosity is up.”
Laughing softly, it pleased her he thought of her as dangerous.
“When I first came to London I hooked up with some people I knew online. The only way to make money quickly was doing computer stuff. I got some work restoring data on crashed hard drives. That only lasted a while, then I got mixed up in some stuff I regret, big time.” He took a deep slug of his beer. “Now I’ve had the chance to go straight, to work with bikes in a decent mechanics workshop with a good reputation, and I want to put an end to the dodgy software scams.”
“Was it about money?”