Never Gonna Happen - Cynthia Eden Page 0,37
him.”
“Got that.” Another few inches forward. Her gaze darted to the bed. Such a massive bed. She immediately had a visual of him in the bed. And—no. Stop it. Do not go there. “So, um, why did you pull a knife on him?”
“Dex asked me a question, and I answered it for him. I’m the kind of person who likes to use a visual aid in order to get my point across.”
“It was a very strong visual.” Her toes wiggled against the carpet. “And now I have to wonder, just what question did he ask you?”
His hands fisted. “You should go back to bed.”
“You should answer my question.”
“Why? You’ve already made up your mind about me.” He advanced, moved with his lethal grace, and eliminated the distance between them. The move was so sudden that she sucked in a quick breath even as he said, “You think I’m dangerous.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Not to you. Not ever to you.”
“Why did you have that knife?”
“Because he wanted to know what I would do if someone threatened you. If I had to choose between keeping the secrets I’ve learned as a spy or saving you…what would I do?”
Oh, damn. Alyssa’s heart lurched in her chest. “And your answer was the visual aid?”
“My answer,” he rumbled and that rumble sent goosebumps flying over her body, “is that if someone is threatening to kill you, if some bastard has a knife and plans to use it, I’ll kill the fool before he so much as scratches you.”
That was intense. No, intense wasn’t the right word.
“You’re scared to death of me.” Sebastian’s voice was still a deep, dark rumble. So rough. “You’re standing here, practically shaking.”
“It’s cold in here.”
“No, it’s not. You’re just afraid. You go from almost kissing me to being terrified of me. That’s a major one-eighty. Should have known it would happen. Like I said, my whole life, the things I wanted were always out of reach.”
“But I’m not out of reach. I’m right here.” Oh, jeez. She’d done it again. Why could her mouth not stay closed sometimes?
His eyes narrowed on her. “Are you playing with me?”
“I don’t really play well with others.”
“That’s a thing we have in common.” His green gaze burned. “Tell me that you’re not afraid.”
“I’d be lying if I did that.”
He flinched. Turned away. “Go back to—”
“Not until you tell me what Dex said about my brother.”
She saw his back tense.
“That’s why you’re here, huh?” Sebastian’s voice rasped. “You come in and expect me to spill classified secrets.”
“Is he alive?” Her voice broke. “Surely, telling me whether or not Antony is alive isn’t classified.”
“As far as we know, yes, we believe he’s alive.”
She waited for more. He said nothing. Dammit. She grabbed Sebastian’s arm and spun him back toward her. “You can tell me more than that.”
“Another test, huh?” Sebastian muttered. She had zero clue what he was talking about, but he continued, “Only this time, it’s how much do I want you? If you give me what I need, will I spill all my secrets to you?”
“I’m not asking you to betray your country for me. I’m just asking about Antony! I don’t want to know specifics about cases that you worked. I only want to know—”
“He’s gone dark, Alyssa. I told you that much before, and there’s nothing else I can tell you now.” He looked down at her hand on his arm. “You should walk away. Go back to bed. You don’t have to promise me anything in order to learn what I know. What I’ve said is all you’ll get. So take your fear and go.”
“You’re in a mood,” she accused.
His brows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“You had a knife at Dex’s throat! And, yes, he is a jerk, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to pull a knife on him. First you punched him—”
“Because he needed to watch his fucking mouth with you—”
“And then you pulled a knife! I’ve never even seen you get rough with someone before. You just had your crazy PR persona, but now, all of a sudden, you’re threatening to cut a man’s throat, so, yes, excuse the hell out of me, but that scared me. You scared me.”
Silence.
She was squeezing his arm.
“I don’t know you.” The truth hurt her to say.
“You don’t want to know who I really am.”
Alyssa looked down at the floor.
“The real me would terrify you even more. If you realized how fucking much I want you, then you would be scared out of your skin.” He laughed.