"Because I want answers."
"You'll get them when you get dressed."
He moved across to the freezer and opened the lid, then hesitated and met her gaze. Heat trembled between them, skimming like electricity across her skin. She knew that if she so much as breathed his name right now, he would take her in his arms and make love to her, right here in this dusty old living room. And while she ached for his touch, she wasn't ready yet to give in to desire. Wasn't ready to trust that completely. So she tugged the blanket closer and remained silent.
He sighed. "I'm not made of stone, Kirby. I've made no secret of my desire for you, and right now, you're not making it any easier for me to keep my distance."
Her blushed deepened. "Sorry," she muttered and retreated. God, she hadn't even thought.. .which was so extremely unlike her. She'd only been with two men in her life, and both times it had been an uncomfortable experience. She'd certainly never been relaxed enough with either of them to parade around seminaked. Yet here she was, draped in nothing but a blanket, padding about in the presence of a man she barely knew.
Maybe she'd lost some brain cells somewhere in the last twenty-four hours. She found the bathroom but skipped the shower, deciding a wash was easier thanks to the bandages. By the time she was dressed the smell of toast was drifting through the air, making her stomach rumble.
She headed back out and sat on one of the stools near the kitchen bench, sniffing the air appreciatively. "Smells good."
'Thank God for canned food and freezers," he said, sliding a plate of baked beans and toast across to her. "Remind me to leave some money behind for our unknowing hosts when we leave."
She raised an eyebrow. "A considerate thief?" He smiled. "Always." He motioned with his fork to her plate. "Eat. You need to regain your strength."
She ate, discovering she was hungrier than she'd thought. He offered her a second helping, and she demolished that as well, feeling a whole lot better for it.
'Thank you," she said as he replaced her empty plate with a cup of coffee.
"Now, answers, if you don't mind."
He sipped his coffee for a second, leaning back against the sink and regarding her steadily over the rim of his mug. There was a touch of accusation in his gaze, and heat crept across her cheeks, though she wasn't entirely sure why.
"Why didn't you tell me about the wounds on your back?" he asked. She frowned for a second, then remembered the manarei attacking her as she'd tried to flee over the fence. 'To be honest, I forgot. It was my leg that hurt, not my back."
"The wounds got infected and could have killed you. Next time, mention it." A shiver ran through her. She hoped there never would be a next time.
"What's that got to do with the reason we're still here? Shouldn't we go before Felicity gets back?"
"She left me here to die, and I don't think she'll be back for a while. Too obvious."
She raised an eyebrow. "So we're here because it's safe?"
"No, we're here because you collapsed with a high fever, and I had no other choice but to stay here."
And he'd been worried about her, really worried. The thought warmed her. Maybe he wasn't just attracted in a physical sense...
"It's way beyond physical, and I've already told you that." He had? When? She stared at him, more than a little troubled by his words. How could any emotion be real after little more than twenty-four hours? "Doyle, we barely know each other."
He shrugged. "Sometimes you don't have to know to care." Care, not love. She looked away for a moment, inexplicably hurt by his choice of words. "Your boss told me I should ask about your father and grandfather."
'The old witch should mind her own business."
"Does that mean you're not going to tell me?" She sipped her coffee and regarded him steadily over the rim.
He sighed again. "My father asked my mother to marry him after knowing her for precisely ten minutes.
My grandfather waited a whole hour before he did the same with my grandmother."
She grinned. "You're kidding."
He shook his head. "Of course, in my mother's case, she thought my father was crazy, and at one stage she asked her brother the policeman to threaten him. But in the end she came around."
"And your Grandmother?"
"Shoved my grandfather in the car and headed for Las Vegas as fast as her old Ford would go."