He paused at the door to the hall. You wouldnt want to have kept that milk anyway.
Why not? she asked, startled.
Because I drank right out of the carton.
He heard her make that strangling sound again. Raphael went on toward the bathroom, imagining her expression, grinning to himself. Regardless of the fact that he didnt want the prize, winning felt damned good, he decided.
Chapter 5
Regardless of her many irritating traits, the woman could flat-out cook, Raphael realized half an hour later. Hed come back from his shower to find huevos rancheros waiting for him. He didnt know how she had managed to do it so quickly, then he thought of her labeled refrigerator containers. Under the circumstances, they didnt annoy him quite as much.
Raphael dug into breakfast. Spices rolled over his taste buds, caressing them like a lover. There was the bite of the chilies, perfect enough to make him want to groan with pleasure. He almost felt guilty for using, and probably ruining, the razor hed found in her shower.
He pushed his plate away and wiped his mouth with his napkin. Listen, about that shower I just took But he was interrupted by a knock at her door.
The sound galvanized Raphael. It wasnt a conscious decision to shove his stool back and have his gun in his hand, the safety off, before his next heartbeat. It was fourteen years worth of ingrained reaction to trouble. It was the image of Anna Lombardos crime scene photos that flashed across his minds eye before he took his first step toward the door.
What are you doing? Kate cried, horrified.
Go to the bedroom. Now.
I will not! It was the second time in as many hours that hed pulled that gun out! At first shed been merely astonished at his lightning reflexes. But now he was waving the weapon around again like he was some kind of Wild West vigilante, and her heart threatened to stop entirely.
When he turned to her, there was something dangerous about the way he moved. Each motion was contained, violence restrainednot at all like hed been in Mr. McGaffneys kitchen last night.
Go to the bedroom, he said again, every syllable a warning.
Panic seized Kate by the throat, but she held her ground. Ill do no such thing.
Then, suddenly, she was furious. Kate marched up to him and stuck her face close to his. Stop this! Stop it right now! Youre running around here like Billy the Kid! It was a knock on the damned door, not a gunshot!
Did you just swear?
Kate reared back. What?
I could have sworn I just heard you swear.
So what?
What was all that earlier about watching my language? What, underneath all that proper and practical surface youre really a wild woman? That could make these next few days a lot more interesting.
It happened instantly, a feeling Kate had never experienced before in her life. It was complex, tangled and frightening. Too many things happened to her simultaneously. Her breath shortened in the same moment something warm swept upward from the very core of her. She felt her skin burn, her heart pump, her adrenaline race.
Was he flirting with her?
Then he turned away. The moment was gone.
If you wont leave the room, he said, then at least stand over there behind the breakfast bar where you can duck if you have to.
Kate found herself moving obediently on legs that wobbled. Then she got a grip on herself. Please. I have friends, she said weakly, turning back. Ive got associates. I have a job tonight. It could be a delivery. You cant answer the door with thatthat thing, ready to shoot somebody.
He looked at her sharply. What job tonight?
Kate bit her tongue. It wasnt time for that particular battle.
Hello? came a female voice through the door. Katie, are you in there?
Relief flooded Kate. It was Shawna, her old roommate.
She swept past him, and Raphael put an arm out to stop her. She ducked under it neatly, or maybe he just hadnt acted quickly enough. He felt a little off balance.
He frowned after her as she rushed to the door. At the sound of the voice from outside, her features went soft with happiness. Her mouth seemed fuller when she smiled. That single dimple came back, winking at him. Raphael realized with a jolt that when she was relaxed, she wasnt just pretty. She was knee-buckling appealing. He noticed that her turtleneck clung to small but uplifted breasts and her braided belt nipped a waist that his hands could probably span. Shed done something to her hair while he was in the shower, taming it off her forehead with a headband. Near-black curls fell to her shoulders.
He stared at it, wondering if he might like it better wild.
Then she threw the door wide and his heart caromed into his throat. Hed been standing there like a fool, staring at her, feeling as though he was seeing her for the first time. He wasnt ready for whatever might happen in the instant the caller had access to her apartment. But it was only a woman.
With a dog.
Kate made one of her strangling sounds.
Good morning, Shawna said brightly, stepping inside.
Look who I found barking downstairs in the lobby! Isnt this wild? Belle came home. Shes back! Then her gaze fell on Raphael, and her eyes widened. Who are you?