placed her feet on an elaborate piece of vine-covered metalwork on the side of the building. He couldn’t tear his eyes away. Not even when he acknowledged she’d risked her life just to avoid talking to him. He even had to admit to a grudging amount of admiration for her temerity.
Beauty, brains and guts. A deadly, tempting combination.
A little squeal from above brought Sam’s attention back to the truly dangerous situation she’d put herself in. She was halfway down the six-story building now, and one of her Converse-clad feet had come loose.
Sam’s gut churned.
He stepped to position himself under Meredith. He figured that, best-case scenario, she made it down and landed—probably angrily, definitely reluctantly—at his feet. Worst-case scenario, she came crashing down and he took the brunt of the fall. Maybe he’d break a bone or two, but at least she’d be safe.
She grumbled something loud but incomprehensible as her foot regained its hold, then she began to inch down again.
Sam kept his gaze on her, thankful for each yard that brought her closer to him and to safety. He wondered what, specifically, had prompted the rooftop escape attempt. Had she got ahold of her sister? Or was she just that opposed to speaking to Sam? Either way, he was going to get his hands on her and tell her how insane she was for putting herself at risk simply to avoid him and his questions.
She’d reached the one-story mark now, and she finally paused. She was close enough that Sam could hear her labored breathing and see that she was shaking with effort.
Almost there. Don’t stop now.
Meredith still hadn’t looked down, and Sam tensed as her head tipped in his direction. She looked back up quickly, though, and started moving again.
Good.
She hit the home stretch, and just as Sam was about to reach up and grab one of her ankles, she lost her grip on the metalwork and tumbled backward. Heading straight for Sam.
* * *
A shriek escaped from Meredith’s lips as she fell, then the sound died abruptly as her back smacked against something that was just the right amount of firm.
Not something, her mind corrected. Someone. A good-smelling, solidly male someone.
Vaguely, Meredith thought she should be embarrassed about falling into some poor passerby’s arms. But she didn’t have time. The impact sent whoever it was stumbling backward, and as her savior tried to keep himself on his feet, he propelled them both forward instead. Hard.
Too hard.
Together, they flew toward the wall. The man slipped one hand to her waist and slammed the other out in front of them, just barely stopping their momentum before they hit.
Meredith inhaled a shaky breath, and as her rescuer loosened his hold, she turned to face him.
“Thank you!” she gasped. “I thought I was going to—”
She cut herself off. Too-blue eyes—mildly amused but no less intense than they had been when he’d darkened her door frame—stared down at her.
Dammit. I should’ve known.
“You thought you were going to what?” he asked almost teasingly. “Get away? Fall to your doom? Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’m glad to stop you from doing either.”
“I’m sure you are,” Meredith retorted.
She feinted to the left and ducked to the right, trying to slip away, but the dark-haired stranger shot out an arm, stopping her movement. She moved in the other direction, and once again, he blocked her in. No part of him touched her, but she could somehow still feel every bit of him. The rise and fall of his chest. The corded muscles of his forearms. All of it made her tingle. She took a breath. It only made things worse. She could smell his light, masculine scent, and it begged her to drink it in even more.
“Let me go.” Her command came out as a whisper.
“Not until you answer my questions.”
“I’ll scream.”
“I’ll find a way to keep you quiet,” he countered.
Involuntarily, her gaze landed on his lips. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“There isn’t much I won’t do to get the job done.”
He leaned forward, and his mouth was so close Meredith could practically taste him. And she almost wanted to.
Almost?
She shoved aside the accusing thought and forced herself to speak in a strong voice. “You proud of yourself, Mr. All-Or-Nothing? Capturing a defenseless girl like me?”
The blue-eyed man, who definitely wasn’t a cop, pulled away. Just enough to let her breathe safely. But he looked like he was trying to cover a smile.
“Most people call me Sam,” he told her. “And I’m not convinced you’re defenseless at all. But I’d hardly call this capturing anyway. After all, I did just save you from landing on your—”
This time, she cut him off. “On my what?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Head.”
“I don’t believe for a second that’s what you were thinking.”
“Do you want me to tell you what was really going through my mind as you fell into my arms?”
“Actually, I have zero interest in knowing what you think,” she stated.
“I’m going to tell you anyway.”
“Of course you are.”
“I think that you owe me one.”
“Owe you one what?”
“One rescue from certain death.”
“You didn’t save my life!”
“Are you deliberately picking a fight with me?”
She felt her face heat up. “Of course not!”
“Oh. So this was your way of saying thank you?”
“This is my way of avoiding men with stalkerish tendencies.”
“By climbing down an entire building like some kind of deranged superhero?”
“A deranged— Ugh! If you weren’t following me, I wouldn’t have had to take the roof.”
“That. Or you’re hiding something. Did you talk to Tamara?”
“No.”
It wasn’t quite a lie. She hadn’t spoken to her sister again. He seemed to sense the deception anyway.
“If
