He was so willing to take it all onto his shoulders. His generosity made her heart go all gooey. 'Connor, you're a sweetheart, but these are my problems, not yours, and they're not pretty,' she said gently. 'Please don't think that just because we're involved—'
'Hey.' He held up his hand. 'Hello! Earth to Erin! You're my girlfriend now. Your problems are now my problems. No question.'
She looked down at her hands, letting her damp, tangled hair hide her face. 'We've only been together for two days.'
'It doesn't matter if it's two days. It wouldn't matter if it were five minutes. And it's not a question of having to, or wanting to. It's just the way it is. So don't fight me. Because you'll lose. OK?'
She gave him a teasing smile. 'Oh, my hero.'
He rolled his eyes. 'Please. Spare me. Cat, sister, mother, any other relatives to take care of? Grandmas, aunts, cousins?'
She shook her head. 'None of them will have anything to do with us since the trial. It's like we have the plague.'
Connor's hand crept higher, his fingertips brushing her nipple. She grabbed his hand, sliding it back to her belly and holding it firmly there. He let out a wistful sigh. 'OK. The asshole relatives can go fuck themselves. It's just as well. There's only so many hours in the day.'
She flopped onto her back, giggling. All the things that had so much power to hurt and sadden her before now just seemed ridiculous, with Connor's energy and humor to buoy her up. She slid out from under the quilt, slapping his hands away. 'I have to take another shower,' she said. 'You stop that right now, Connor. Be good.'
'I'm always good, baby. Want to see?'
She eluded him, still laughing as she fled to the bathroom.
Connor was fully dressed and waiting by the door when she came out. 'I saw a grocery store down the block,' he said. 'Let's run down and grab some makings for breakfast. I'm starving.'
She smiled at him as she toweled herself off, resisting the urge to cover herself. He was her lover. He could look at her body all he wanted. He'd seen it all, from every angle, and he'd loved it The heated, appreciative glow in his eyes made her almost forget what he'd said.
'You run on down while I get dressed,' she said. 'The keys are on the shelf by the door. I'll stay. Cindy might call, or my mom.'
He dropped the keys into his pocket. He looked troubled. 'Do you know how to use a gun?'
'Dad showed us,' she admitted. 'He took us to the gun range a few times. I never liked them, but I can use one.'
He crouched down and took a small, snub-nosed revolver out of an ankle holster. He held it out to her. 'Keep this with you.'
She backed away, shaking her head. 'Connor, no. I'd—'
'Take it, Erin.'
She knew that stony tone of his voice. She sighed, and took the gun. Whatever made him feel better.
He dismantled the squealer and unbolted the door. 'Don't open up to anybody but me. Anything special you want from the store?'
'Some milk for my tea, please.'
'You got it.' His grin flashed. The door clicked closed.
She sank to her knees, boneless. The gun dropped to the rug.
Connor's absence changed the energy of the room so completely, it was like a pillar had been pulled from the roof. The need to stand up to him, to be strong and dignified, was gone. She huddled on the rug, half laughing, half crying. She couldn't breathe. Her heart had blown up to the size of a beach ball, and left no room for her lungs to expand. Her wildest dreams had come true. Connor McCloud was her lover, and what a lover. God. No amount of erotic fantasizing could have prepared her for a man like him. For sex like that.
The gun caught her eye. She picked it up with two fingers and placed it on the dresser. Time to get dressed and face the day, to be strong and tough and adult. She couldn't afford to be overwhelmed.
A phone rang while she was pulling on her jeans. Not her phone. She looked around, and realized that it came from the pocket of Connor's canvas coat, still flung over one of the kitchen chairs.
It could be Sean, calling with news of Cindy. She lunged for the phone. Several condoms and a bunch of her lost hair-pins came out with it and scattered across the floor. She stared at the display. She had no way of knowing if the number displayed was Sean's, but she couldn't risk missing his call. She flipped open the mouthpiece. 'Hello?'
'Who's this?' a deep, puzzled male voice asked.
'This is Erin,' she said. 'Who is this?'
There was a long, astonished pause. 'Erin Riggs?'
'Is this one of Connor's brothers?' she asked.
'No. This is Nick Ward.'
Oh, God, no. Nick, one of her dad's colleagues from the Cave. Nick, the tall, black-haired guy with melting dark eyes and dimples. Answering the phone had been a disaster. 'Um, hi, Nick. How are you?'
'Where are you, Erin?' There was an edge to Nick's voice.
'I'm at home,' she told him. 'In my apartment.'
'Where's Connor? What are you doing answering his phone?'
'He ran down to the store on the corner to get some breakfast stuff.' She was blushing like a tomato, even though no one could see her. 'I thought this call might be from one of his brothers, so I…'
'Huh.' He was ominously silent. 'So, what's up, then? Are you two together?'
Images of their intense lovemaking over the past thirty-six hours swirled through her head. 'I guess so,' she said.
She hated the quaver in her voice. It proved she was still afraid, beneath all the giddy euphoria.
Nick cleared his throat. 'Hey, Erin. I don't want to stick my nose in, but Connor… he's had a hard time of it in the past year or so, what with everything that's happened—'
'I know,' she said.
'Uh, he's got one bitch of a score to settle with your dad. Oh, hell. I don't know what to say. You're a nice kid. Try to keep a little distance, OK? I don't want to see you get hurt.'
Erin swallowed hard. 'I'm not a kid anymore, Nick.'
The key rattled in the lock, and the door swung open. Connor saw the phone in her hand, and froze in place.
'Connor's back,' she said tonelessly. She walked over to Connor and held out the phone to him. 'It's Nick.'
He let the groceries drop to the floor and took it. Erin closed the door and carried the bags to the table.
She wished the apartment had another room to escape into.
The pinched look on Erin's face alarmed him. Connor lifted his phone to his ear. 'Yeah?'
'What the fuck are you doing with Erin Riggs?' Nick snarled.
Connor waited several beats before he let himself respond. 'We'll have this conversation another time,' he said. 'In person, so I can express myself fully. Until then, it's none of your goddamn business.'
'Is this some kinky revenge on Ed? Seduce his baby princess, and thumb your nose at him? Try and stop me from behind bars, asshole, nyah nyah nyah? She's just a kid!'
'She's almost twenty-seven. Have you got anything relevant to tell me, Nick? Because otherwise, this conversation is over.'
'I bet you told yourself she needed protection 'round the clock. What a great opportunity. And now you're nailing her, you self-serving asshole. That kind of protection she don't need.'
'Fuck off, Nick. I'm hanging up now.'
'Wait a second. I'm going to pass this info on, not to help you, and not as a favor, but just to make you feel like the opportunistic prick that you are. We got word from Interpol. One of the guys that broke out with Novak got nabbed in Marseilles yesterday. Martin Olivier. He confessed that Novak and Luksch were both in France, but he was found dead in his cell before he had a chance to say exactly where. Poison of some kind, they think, pending the autopsy. So it looks like the only person that Erin Riggs needs protection from is you.'
