He was so hard and stoic, making it hard to read him. Was it awkwardness after being intimate for the first time, regret, or was she just another number to him? The man was built like an Adonis, so she didn’t even feel like she was in his league, making it easier to feel insecure about his intentions.
“What phone?” he asked.
She wanted to discuss them, the future, and when they’d get intimate again. He wanted to talk about that dumb phone?
“It was in my dresser drawer. The note said if I called he’d give me answers.”
“Did the note address you by name?”
“Um, I don’t know. I can’t remember.”
He pulled away, his softening demeanor returning to the armor plating. “Show me.”
There was no point arguing with him. They’d lived together long enough that she was starting to know him and his behaviors. Right now, he was focused and completely one-sighted.
Cleo led the way to her room, and he closed the door behind him. She pointed to the dresser, then sat down on the bed.
Priest rummaged through all the top drawers until he had the phone and note. “This had to be for me.”
“You?”
“Boss owes me answers. He’s given me an unsearchable name, but there has to be more details.”
“A name? What name?”
Was this about her past or the men trying to kill her?
He leaned against the dresser, staring at the phone, then her. “I told you about my past. The only thing fueling me all these years was the chance for revenge. To kill the man responsible for giving the order to kill my family and everyone I cared about.”
“And Boss knows who it is?”
He nodded. “He’s already given me a name, but I need more.”
Cleo wanted to be enough for him. She wanted to heal him, to make him love her enough that he wouldn’t need revenge anymore.
“Then call.”
He took a breath and then turned his back to her, dialing the phone.
She listened to him talking and immediately knew the phone was intended for him. Boss probably expected them to share a room. The conversation grew heated at times, Priest shouting and swearing, even punching his fist against the wall. Then he’d be silent, listening to whatever Boss was telling him.
“You couldn’t tell me this before?” he finally said. “I won’t let him have her.”
After a few more minutes of talking, he tossed the phone into the drawer. He ran both hands through his hair and exhaled. Damn, the man was sexy.
“How’d it go?” she dared to ask.
“The news wasn’t for me. I didn’t get any more information about the name I told you about. I’m going to have to do a lot of research on my own.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He sat down right beside her, cupping her cheek. “Don’t be.”
“Well, he told you something. You guys weren’t talking about the weather.”
He ignored her query, leaning in for a kiss. She couldn’t refuse him, not when he made her coil tight just being near him. “Is it okay if I stay in here tonight?”
“Yes,” she said.