“If you think I’ll jump into bed with you like all your other easy conquests, you’re wrong. You aren’t so irresistible.”
“What makes you think I think I’m irresistible?”
She turned her head. One blue eye pierced him. “Do I need to answer that?”
Tony chuckled. “I didn’t know you’d dug that deeply. Did you see anything you like there, little angel?”
“I saw a man desperate to hide from his hurt feelings, and using casual sex to do it. Hoping if he takes love out of the equation, he can reduce his relationships to unfeeling animal sex. I guess if you objectify us enough, we’re all Jane, aren’t we?” The air practically chilled around her. She drew away from him, out of his reach, and turned to face him. Determination tightened her jaw; anger lit her glare.
Anger and something else. Something darker, smokier. Something he very much wanted to explore.
“Get this through your head, Tony Weis. I’m not going anywhere. Not until I know your soul from the inside out, and know you’ve truly been saved.”
“That could take a long time, Rebecca.” And he was still so very tempted. So very tempted to make every minute of it a living hell.
Rebecca lifted her chin. “If that’s what it takes.”
She whirled and pushed past a stack of boxes—and scraped her shin on the coffee table. Swearing viciously, she plopped down on her butt on the floor and clutched her calf.
Tony couldn’t help himself. He burst into laughter.
Were angels even allowed to curse?
…
Rebecca spat out every curse word she could think of, then made up a few more. Stupid table. Stupid giant, throbbing bruise on her calf. Stupid Tony, for being such an arrogant ass.
At least the pain had distracted her. She’d almost made a huge mistake.
And she could still feel the roughness of his fingers, tingling over her skin.
“You can stop laughing,” she muttered. “It’s not that funny.”
“You didn’t see it from my perspective.” Chuckling, Tony offered his hand.
Rebecca ignored it and hauled herself to her feet on her own. “I did, actually. It still wasn’t that funny.”
She limped away from him, muttering to herself. Coffee. He’d wanted coffee. Like hell she’d make it just to please him, but it was something to do to keep her thoughts on track and make herself useful. Rebecca dared a peek into his mind once more, just long enough to pluck out the subconscious memory of which box had the coffee pot. Sometimes telepathy was damned inconvenient, but it did have its little perks.
She found the box, slit the tape with her fingernail, and pulled it open. Under a jumble of baby sippy-cups was a battered CoffeeMate and a tin of grounds. She escaped into the kitchen with both, away from the heated green eyes that followed her every move.
Telepathy was more than inconvenient. It was embarrassing, especially with a man like Tony. Men in general. All they ever thought about was women and sex. And kissing. Kissing with those large, long hands tangled in her hair.
Damn it, Rebecca.
She felt too hot. Her hands were shaky on the coffeepot, and she had to try twice to fit the plug into the socket. This was bad. This was more than bad. And if it continued, this would be a long few days.
She sensed more than heard him follow her into the kitchen. In his mind’s eye, he studied her ass and pondered how it would feel cupped in his hands.
Sweet Jesus.
At least he was making an effort to suppress it. She caught the edges of a few choice curses, then a forcible shift of focus to the coffee. Good. Coffee was safe. Coffee didn’t make her knees tremble, or her stomach flutter.
Tony sighed and leaned against the counter with a loud yawn. “Thanks, Rebecca.”
The way he said her name nearly broke her. The same way he’d said it when he’d traced her shoulder with his warm touch, his smooth voice shivering down her spine like a lover’s caress. No one had ever said her name that way.
She shouldn’t want him to. She was an angel. She didn’t need such things.
She swallowed down hard on the uprising of heat and tried to keep her voice steady. “No problem.”
“I still didn’t say you could stay.”
“I still don’t see you stopping me.”
He chuckled, ripped open a box on the counter, pulled out a mug, and stripped away the protective bubble wrap before reaching for a second cup. He handled the ceramic gently. His fingers were long and masculine, but he looked as if he knew exactly how to use them to make a woman tremble. Just as he’d made her tremble. She watched him move in hypnotized fascination.
“Rebecca? Hello?”
He waved a hand in front of her face and leaned down until they were face to face. She jumped and jerked back. Her cheeks warmed.
“Um. What?”
His eyes glittered with amusement, and a smile pulled at his lips. “You in there?”
She scowled and made a rude nose. “What do you want now?”
He only grinned wider. He covered it with his hand, but it was too late. Jerk. It was entirely his fault she was fighting to get her temper under control. He didn’t get to laugh at her, too. Especially with how his smile made his eyes soften, so warm and inviting. She imagined when he laughed, they could drown her with their intensity.
That just pissed her off even more.
“You know, you really don’t act like an angel,” he said, giving her a contemplative once-over. “And now that I think about it…you don’t look like one, either.”
“That’s not what you thought when you first saw me.”
“…damn it.”
Now it was Rebecca’s turn to grin. She finished scooping grounds into the CoffeeMate, turned it on, and turned to face Tony fully. “So what should I look like, then?”
“Um. Blond? Innocent? Angelic…?”
She snorted. “That’s the best you can come up with?”
“I don’t know.” He drummed his fingers on the counter, studying her with a frown. “Halo. Wings. Shiny.”
“Eloquent. I’m sure I’d look perfectly normal, walking down the streets of Texas with a halo. Shimmering in the sunlight, too. Someone might try to stake me.”
His brows furrowed. “What?”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “I guess reading isn’t high on the list of a caveman’s career skills.”
He choked on a laugh. “I don’t think angels are supposed to have tempers or be funny, either.”