at least no one had mentioned it to her anyway.
Putting her mouth around the bottle, she tipped her head back and gulped down the wine, much faster than she would ever have done in the past. Her mother would faint or scream if she could see it.
When she did eventually come up for air, Poppy sucked in a long inhale. “Does Charlotte know?”
His whole expression was warm; a complete contrast to the one he’d worn the previous day. She had noticed him. She shouldn’t have, but it was impossible not to notice such a capable, attractive man. All the lighter side of him was doing was prompting her to think that maybe approaching him, getting closer, might be a possibility.
“She didn’t say anything to me if she does,” he said. “Charley senses need, she doesn’t care about the why.”
The need. Did that mean she’d exuded some kind of pathetic vibe that her co-worker had picked up on? Maybe. It wasn’t a nice thought, but she couldn’t fault her colleague for acting on it.
“Did Charlotte find a car?”
His smile dropped. “Don’t get me started on the car,” he said on a low groan.
Still in the dark, Poppy had no idea what the story was behind the car, but his reaction put a smile on her face. “You know, if Charlotte needs a place to stay closer to work, I bet she would go for this kind of deal.”
“Charley in a place I’m working on?” he asked, his brow tensing to clear every trace of ease away. “You heard what I said about you irritating me, right?” She nodded. “You think I could handle two of you?”
On a laugh, she offered him the wine bottle. “Get drunk with me.”
“No,” he said, drawing out the word and backing up a step. “You’re a cheap date if that’s all it would take.”
She guessed he meant because he’d drink more of the alcohol. “I don’t mind sharing.”
“Damn,” he said, running a hand through his hair as his attention swung around to the wall. “She did just roll off the turnip truck.”
“What?” Poppy asked, leaping a step closer. “What does that mean?”
There was something edging into anger in his eyes when they next met hers. “It means you’re alone in a bedroom with a guy you don’t know… You’re drinking alone in a bedroom with a guy you don’t know… And no one knows you’re here… If I was your husband, I’d be mad at you too. Do you have a father? Brothers?”
“Sisters,” she said. “And who cares if I’m drinking alone here with you? You’re married, why would you—”
“Who the hell said I was married?” he asked. “And since when did that stop guys from being assholes to beautiful women?”
Her chin rose. “You think I’m beautiful?” she asked, wrapping her arm around the wine, clutching it to her chest. “Then I rescind my offer.”
Spinning around, Poppy could feel the pronounced sway of her hips as she approached the bed. It was insane. She should stop. Had to stop. Why did she want him to notice her?
“What has beauty got to do with rape?”
As Poppy turned again, she dropped to sit on the edge of the bed. “So you’re a rapist?”
Unimpressed, he narrowed his eyes in a glare. “If I was a rapist, I’d have had you yesterday.”
“I know where you work, and Charley knows who you are.”
Poppy only ever heard people at work call Charlotte, Charlotte. Yet mirroring his use of the name just seemed natural.
“Yeah,” he said, coming closer, slowly, almost like he was stalking her, like she was the prey in the sights of a predator. “Charley knows who I am. And until you’re ready to know it too, no more offering me alcohol in your bedroom.”
He stopped, right in front of her. Above her. Looming there, casting a shadow over her from a dozen directions as the candles threw darkness over his eyes.
Poppy wasn’t scared of him. He was right. Not that she wanted to admit it. Being alone in a room in a strange building, alcohol coursing through her veins, potent in the absence of sustenance, maybe she should be wary. She hadn’t eaten anything at all that day. Breakfast in the hotel was a sit down affair and she’d needed to go shopping, pack, and drop her things off before work. There just hadn’t been time.
Taller than her, muscular, her landlord wasn’t the kind of man she’d be able to fight off if he chose to overpower her. But he