startled her into silence by cupping her jaw, his touch warm and firm. Then he leaned in, all intent.
Her breath caught, and excitement winged through her abdomen.
He came an inch closer. “I’m not gonna let anybody hurt you, and that’s all I have to give.”
Amusement infiltrated the desire she couldn’t seem to banish. “You’ll jump on a grenade for me?”
His lips tipped, and he released her. “Yeah. Gladly. I’ll help you get your story and keep you safe in the process. But then we’re done. The job I have to do . . . I can’t have any distractions.”
Distractions? Why did that tickle her ego? Wolfe always seemed so focused, that was probably a compliment. It hit her then. When she was in trouble, when she was in need, she called Wolfe. He came. But he was telling her that he had other things to do, and she was taking advantage of a truly good guy. It wasn’t right. “I’m going back to my apartment tomorrow,” she said quietly.
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “It’s not safe.”
Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. But she had to get out of this situation before she did something really stupid and kissed the guy. “I’m not yours to worry about.” Yeah, they were friends, but it was pretty much a one-way situation with him giving and her taking. That needed to end now. “I hate ultimatums,” she murmured, not meaning to give him one.
He blinked. “Me, too. I’ve had enough of those for tonight.”
She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
He shook his. “Nothing.”
Ah. Once again shutting her out. She took a deep breath. “We’re either friends who share our problems or we’re not. Let me help you like you’ve helped me.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Dana, stop whatever you’re thinking right now. You can’t help me, and you sure as hell can’t save me. Trying is only going to get you hurt.”
His mouth was so close to hers, she could almost taste him. Whiskey and male and Wolfe. She blinked once and then again. Wait a minute. Fix him? He was warning her off? Again? “I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.” She edged away and let herself feel the sorrow of losing something she’d never had. “Believe me. When a man tells me to stay away, I’m not dumb enough to want to change him.” The ego on the guy. He was just too much.
“Good.” Quick and graceful, he stood and stalked to the doorway. “Oh. I have a call in to Captive to see if the annual party next Tuesday is still on or not. If it’s on, I’m going. You can come if you want, but you’ll have to act as a sub so I can keep you safe. Have a nice night, Dana.” He shut the door behind himself.
Her jaw dropped open, and she snuggled the kitten closer. “Can you believe that?” she muttered, her body uncomfortably tingly.
Kat snorted and bit her ear.
Males. Seriously. Males.
Chapter Six
The woman looked a mite grumpy in the morning as she walked out with the binder she’d had on the bed the night before. Wolfe fought to keep his face stoic and quickly poured Dana a cup of coffee, shaking the whipped cream bottle he’d bought earlier and spraying generously before nudging a fresh pan of cinnamon rolls across the table. “Pippa brought these over.” He’d already eaten three before running quickly to the store.
Dana took the coffee, inhaled deeply, and then drank. “Thanks.” She’d donned another pair of faded jeans with a green striped button-down shirt that somehow hugged her curves. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and with no makeup, she looked about sixteen. He really liked the freckles across her nose. Did she have them other places?
Damn it. He had to stop thinking of her as anything but a friend. When he’d almost kissed her the night before, he’d realized he had to get a grip. “What are your plans for this Sunday morning?”
She took a seat and eyed the cinnamon rolls. “Well, I’ll probably eat one of those, regret it, do some research, compare notes with you, and head home.”
So she was still on that track. “You need to stay here.”
“No, I don’t. I’d also like to work out, but I can do that later tonight.”
Yeah, she had nice muscle tone but was still curvy. Not that he’d noticed. “I turned the garage into a gym. Feel free.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Thanks. Also, we need to compare notes and figure out why we have two different names for the same dead guy.” She looked up, her green eyes clear. “Care to explain why you think you’ll be invited to another Captive party after you scattered last night the second the body dropped to the floor?”
He lifted a shoulder. “That’s easy. Half of the people there made a run for it once the cops were on the way. It’s a BDSM club, and many of the members want that part of their life to remain private. There were some influential people there.”
Her frown wrinkled her forehead. “They think you’re influential?”
He grinned. “They think I’m a mercenary who founded my own business and became a millionaire. Some of it’s accurate.” Should he have another roll? If so, he’d need to jog a couple extra miles tonight. “But not the millionaire part.”
“Huh.” She sipped her coffee, her lips a pretty pink against the cup. “I’m surprised they’re having another party so soon.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I think they’re looking for leads on who murdered Albert Nelson. I checked with the local cops, through Angus Force, and there are no leads. The cops are frustrated at the lack of cooperation on the part of witnesses.”
She nodded. “Who do you think killed Albert Nelson?”
Wolfe had his suspicions but wasn’t ready to speculate. “That’s what we need to find out. Let’s eat and then we can share our case files and strategize for the next party.” He knew her well enough to assume that she was all in, even if it meant wearing a skimpy outfit.
She bit her lip. “If we’re really going undercover at a sex club party, we’ll need to get some rules in place.”
Man, she was cute when blushing and being bossy. Obviously she’d been giving it some thought since he’d dropped the challenge on her the previous night. He sat back, enjoying his second cup of java, although he’d only bought whipped cream and forgotten the sprinkles earlier. He’d have to go to the store again. He was out of dish soap, too. “All right. What rules?”
She picked at a piece of roll. “If there is a party next Tuesday, we both go as guests. No cuffs and no touching.”
“No.” He calmly took another sip. Yeah. Definitely needed sprinkles.
She coughed and then sputtered. “Excuse me?”
“The next party is members only, and they’re courting me for membership, so I’ll barely get in. The only way you get to go is as my sub.” More importantly, that meant she’d stay near him, where he could keep an eye on her.
“How
