for every new stage of my life. Every major turning point. It seemed only right to get one now that I’ve found my birth parents and sisters.”
His gaze moved over her as if he could see through the multiple layers she was wearing. “What other tattoos do you have?”
She had no idea if he was asking out of professional curiosity or if he was trying to distract her so he could snatch the camera from her hands, but she answered nonetheless. “I’ll show you when I don’t have so many clothes on.”
Oh. Oh dear. That was so not what she’d intended. The words came out and only after she heard them aloud did she catch the deafening innuendo.
She looked over to see if he was smirking—she would have been if someone had said the same to her—but there was no smirk. Just desire.
Lust shone clear as day in his eyes. Heat flooded her cheeks and she was suddenly dying to shed some clothes just to alleviate the fire that was raging in her blood. Embarrassment and sexual tension had her on the verge of combustion.
“Um, what about you?” She blurted out the first topic-changing question that came to mind.
He leaned closer and she was suddenly grateful and irritated that there was a kitchen island between them.
“Dagger—that’s a nickname, right? Where’d you get it?”
He rolled up the sleeve of his T-shirt to reveal a large dagger tattoo…along with the most outrageously sculpted biceps she’d ever seen in real life.
Her mouth went dry and breathing grew difficult. What had happened to the oxygen levels in this room? She was about to start panting for air.
“Any meaning behind it?” she asked.
His eyes narrowed a bit and she caught the suspicion there. “How did this conversation get so off track?”
It seemed like a rhetorical question so she didn’t offer up an answer.
Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he came around the side of the island so he was standing right beside her. “Let’s try this again. Did Anthony contact you?”
“Why does it matter?”
He let out a sound that was part groan, part growl. “Must you make this so difficult?”
“Yes.” She scooched off the stool so she was standing in front of him. She needed all the leverage she could get—not that standing helped much, he was still a foot taller than her so she was still forced to tilt her head up to meet his gaze. “I’m merely trying to get to know you. That way maybe we could trust one another and avoid all these secrets and lies.”
“If you don’t trust me, why did you let me stay?”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Because my gut told me that you’re not a bad guy. I may not trust you not to steal my camera but I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Your gut, huh?” He rubbed a hand over his eyes and the weary gesture had her softening toward him. No matter what his deal was, this guy was clearly going through some serious stuff. Why else would he need to crash at a stranger’s place?
“If you had the camera, which is what you want, why did you come here and return it to me?”
He didn’t answer. His face was once more set in stone.
“Are you staying here because you’re in danger?”
Silence.
Well, this wasn’t exactly a fruitful conversation. The only time she’d cracked that armor of his was when she’d mentioned Anthony.
In a decisive move, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “If you’re not going to give me answers, I guess I’ll just have to take Anthony up on his offer to meet up tonight.”
“Don’t you dare.” Dagger made a move to snatch the phone from her hands but she spun around neatly and kept typing her response to Anthony.
“Andie, I swear, if you hit send I’ll—”
Her finger poised over the send button, she turned back to him with arched brows. “What? If I hit this, what exactly will you do?”
Chapter Five
He had no answer to that. He wasn’t about to threaten violence to a tiny slip of a girl. It wasn’t like he could ground her; he wasn’t her father.
And thank goodness for that. There was absolutely nothing paternal about the way his body reacted to her proximity. Or the way he found himself wanting to smile when she was telling him stories about her life. Or the way he found himself asking questions about things like her red rose tattoo when his life and hers