Kayla folded her arms across her chest and remained silent. Her mama had another expression she’d ingrained into her girls: give a man enough rope, and he’d hang himself with it.
“The date, the setup, the dinner…those were part of the job,” he admitted. “What came after wasn’t.” The subtle darkening of his eyes spoke of sexual heat and need. The softening of his features hinted at something more. “By the time we finished dinner, I knew you were innocent,” he said.
Kayla inhaled. Mama was wrong in this case. Kane wasn’t hanging himself. He’d taken a step toward redemption, not further condemnation. Yet how could she believe his words when everything that came before had been based on a lie? And what he’d done after had been beyond insulting. It had hurt.
She’d given her body to him in ways that spoke of trust. In time, she could have given her heart. He’d repaid her faith with the deepest violation she could imagine. But she still sensed an innate decency. One she wanted to believe in.
“Do you always offer money to the women you sleep with?” she asked.
Silence greeted her. Apparently, she trod on sacred ground. “How reassuring,” she said dryly. “My sister will take me home.”
“Not unless you want her in the line of fire.” Kane spoke like the cop he was.
“There’s no danger.” Kayla swept her hand in the air, gesturing to the expanse of the room. Her head pounded in time to the motion. She winced but continued. “Look around you. No valuables, no merchandise…nothing. The guy didn’t find what he was looking for. He won’t be back.” Despite the pounding pain, she put all her energy into convincing him so he and his lies would disappear.
He shrugged. “Depends. Is that why you don’t have an alarm system here? There’s nothing anyone would want?”
She nodded, then regretted the jerky motion. She gripped the armrests of the chair until the dizziness and pounding subsided.
He placed a firm hand on her thigh. He might have meant to steady her, but his touch did more than reassure, it aroused buried feelings as well as sexual need.
“Do you have a burglar alarm at home?” he asked.
She cleared her throat. It still hurt to speak. “Don’t need one. The guy probably thought he’d get money, then he was interrupted. He won’t bother me again.”
“I disagree, and if I’m right and your sister gets hurt, will you be able to live with yourself?”
He’d hit her weakness and obviously knew it. Kayla wouldn’t risk Catherine’s life just to get Kane McDermott out of hers. “You’re an asshole, you know that, Detective? You want to act as my personal home safety system? Fine. Park your car in the driveway and have a blast. Just remember to turn on the heater. I don’t want your death on my conscience.”
“Careful, Kayla,” he said in that husky voice that caused an erotic tingling deep inside. “I might begin to think you care.”
“Fat chance.”
“Same with me hanging out in my car. The paramedics said you vetoed the hospital, so you need someone to watch over you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “And you’re offering your services?” The thought of spending any time with this man who pulled her mind, her heart, and her body in opposing directions was impossible.
She didn’t trust her response to him, yet she trusted him to keep her safe. The contradiction wasn’t lost on her. It was just one of many. “No way are you staying with me.”
“You won’t put your sister at risk, which leaves you alone. What if the guy shows up again? You were no match for him the first time. What makes you think you’ll do a better job injured?”
“Like I said, you’re –”
“An asshole. I got it. And I never argued the point.”
Kayla saw Captain Reid approach. “I’m through here. Feeling better?” he asked.
“If I don’t move,” she said wryly.
He turned to Kane. “Remember what I said. Call if things turn serious—and enjoy your time off.” The older man walked out into the cold afternoon.
“Time off?”
“Looking after you,” Kane said. “And before you give me shit, remember I already won this argument. I’ll go square things with Catherine.”
She opened her mouth and shut it again. He might have played on every weakness she possessed at the moment, but he was right. Catherine wouldn’t leave her for the night unless she knew she had protection. And Kayla wouldn’t be comfortable alone in the first floor of the old two-family house in which they lived. She loved the many windows because they let in light, but they left her vulnerable. Besides, she could barely lift her head.
Like it or not, she needed Kane.
* * *
“This place is a burglar’s dream,” Kane muttered to himself. He paced the kitchen and small family area of the rented house. One step inside the unprotected home had cemented his decision to stay no matter how high the personal risk. Good thing Catherine had agreed to stay at a friend’s. Kane needed his focus on one Luck woman at a time.
He’d waited outside the bedroom while Kayla changed into a T-shirt he’d found in a drawer filled with satin and lace, scented with the tempting fragrance his body associated with Kayla. Her full breasts and soft flesh were known to him now. Desire and arousal would be his companions as long as he remained in this house.
Apparently, so would longing and misplaced dreams. He’d settled her into bed, a pastel, feminine mass of ruffles and pillows. A safe haven that, like Kayla, reminded him of warmth, home, and a sharing of lives. Things he never had and never would.
She was a luxury he couldn’t afford. They hadn’t just shared quick and easy sex, the kind that left both parties unfulfilled after the initial peak subsided. With Kayla, it was complicated, involved, and made him inefficient in his job—the one area of life he’d always been able to count on before.
He scrounged through the old, wooden kitchen cabinets and found a
