He flashed her a small smile, still wondering who the hell she wanted to call and considering handcuffing her to his bed just to make certain it wasn’t Cordeau. “I like your coffee too.”
“I’ll make that first,” she said. “And then I’ll look through your fridge and the cupboards to see what you’ve got in the way of food.”
“Emma is pretty thorough,” Eli said, still distracted. He caught the back of a chair, spun it around and straddled it, leaning a little forward to look her in the eye. “You going to tell me why you were looking for a phone? You still think you’re going to make Cordeau your choice of mate and not me?”
There was no keeping the snarl from his voice. He had gone from mellow to angry – it was there in his tone – and quite frankly, he didn’t give a damn if it scared her or not. She had to see the rage in his eyes. It roiled in his gut. “You want to tell me that shit, Cat? Because I can tell you, no fucking way is Cordeau ever going to put his dirty hands on you.”
8
CATARINA turned back around to face Eli. He’d been right about the leopard and his temper. The lines in his face were cut deep. There was a hard set to his jaw. His eyes were cat yellow and fixed on her intently. She shook her head and turned back to the espresso machine, concentrating on making that first cup. She needed it if she was going to face him after ripping her own clothes off and jumping him. He obviously needed it just to mellow him out.
“And you call me grumpy in the morning,” she muttered.
“What the hell did you just say?” he demanded.
She rolled her eyes at the coffee machine. “Clearly you’re the grumpy one in the morning, not me. I’m being all sweet making you a cup of coffee and you’re snarling like some raging wild beast.”
“Newsflash, Kitten. I am a snarling, raging beast. You want to answer the damn question?”
“Not particularly. At least not until I have two or three sips of coffee under my belt and you have a full cup. What a grouch.”
“Don’t give me attitude, baby, not when I’m feeling like this¸” he warned, a low growl rumbling in his throat.
“Don’t you give me attitude when I’m making a masterpiece,” she countered. She glanced at him over her shoulder.
His hair was all over the place, and she liked it that way. She didn’t know exactly what to think anymore so she didn’t want to think too much about anything. He’d broken her heart, devastated her, basically kidnapped her and then opened his heart to her – if she could believe him.
There was the problem as she saw it. Could she actually believe anything he said? He was a good actor. She’d fallen for him hook, line and sinker, and he’d betrayed her. She tried hard to keep an open mind. At first she hadn’t wanted to hear anything he said. Then she wanted him to be Ridley again. Eli wasn’t Ridley, but there seemed to be a part of him that was.
“Woman, you keep it up and you’re going to find yourself in trouble.”
“Maybe.” She turned around again, and this time had a cup of perfection in her hands. “But this just may buy my way out of it.” She took him the coffee. “Drink that, Mr. Grumpy Pants, and see if it doesn’t improve your disposition.”
His gaze moved over her face with a brooding look she tried not to think was hot and sexy, but of course she really did. She began making her own cup of coffee, needing to do something besides look at him. Looking at him didn’t help her confusion.
“All right. I’ve got some coffee in me. Now are you going to tell me why you were looking for a phone?”
She burst out laughing. She couldn’t help herself. He was like a dog with a bone. He wasn’t going to drop it, but then she was beginning to realize he didn’t drop anything important to him.
“You like your way, don’t you?” she asked.
“In all things, Kitten. You’d better get used to it,” he cautioned. “Now answer the fucking question before I throw you over my shoulder and haul your ass back to my bed to show you who you’re supposed to be with – let me give you a clue – his name is Eli Perez.”
Catarina heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Seriously, Eli? Are you going to threaten me with sex every time you don’t get your way?”
She heard him put the coffee cup down, and the chair scraped. Her heart jumped and she spun around to face him. He was on his feet, stalking her purposefully. She held up one hand to ward him off, laughing in spite of the sudden fear coursing through her body. Fear and excitement.
“Who the hell said anything about sex? I’m considering something entirely different.”
She didn’t want to test him and she backed up until she collided with the counter. “You do know that your behavior is causing serious disappointment, Eli. I held out hope for my Zen fantasy, and you’ve buried that deep.”
“Catarina.” He bit out her name between clenched teeth.
“I noticed you didn’t have a phone. It was an observation, that’s all. Rafe would be the last man on earth I would call in this situation.”
He stopped, towering over her, in her space. She could feel the heat from his body and she remembered how it felt to melt against him. She didn’t close her eyes and hold that memory to her, but she wanted to and that confused her even more.
“A situation like this?” he echoed.