“Who died and made you boss?”
He crossed the room and glared down at her. “Younearly did. What if you had been in bed when they threw that into your apartment?”
Carrie shrank away from him. He was right, but he was still being a dick about it. “All I know is I can’t just follow your work schedule.”
“We’ll figure something else out for the rest of the time we’re stuck together. I just need you to be a good girl and cooperate with me for tomorrow.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits at the good girl comment, and she turned and stomped toward the bed, throwing her suitcase on it with more force than needed.
“Whatever. If you’re making me get up at six, I guess I should get to bed.” She unzipped the case to pull out pajamas.
He backed out of the room, pausing just past the threshold. “I’ll be leaving here at five-fifteen.”
“Oh, this just gets better and better.” She grabbed the first article of clothing she touched and hurled it at him. It wasn’t until he reached up and caught them midair that she realized it was a pair of panties.
“You already know I prefer thongs, but these are pretty cute.” He held them out to her with the crotch hooked over his index finger.
Crossing the room to him red faced, she snatched the panties from him and slammed the bedroom door. She could hear him in the hallway laughing on the way to his room. Bastard.
9
AT four the next morning, Peter cursed the assholes who made it necessary for him to stay awake until almost midnight. As his alarm squawked in the dark, he fought the urge to throw the phone across the room.
He pushed through the fog of sleep and pulled himself out of bed and made his way downstairs to the apartment complex gym where he ran for thirty minutes.
On a normal day, he would run for a full hour, but he needed coffee, and he suspected Carrie wouldn’t get up easily. Thoughts of her sleeping down the hall had made his sleep restless, and he was feeling the effects. The way she dominated his thoughts irritated him. They weren’t even friends and probably never would be but all he could think about was her in his bed. Sure, it was his guest bed, but that didn’t matter to his brain. As his feet pounded against the treadmill, he tried to convince himself to see her as one of his protectees.
When he had showered and dressed, he knocked on the bedroom door. There was no response, but he could hear the faint sound of her snoring. When she didn’t respond to a second knock, he eased the door open and stepped inside. The bedside lamp was still on the dimmest setting and it cast a soft light across her face. She looked peaceful.
“Carrie. It’s time to wake up. I’ve got to get going soon.”
Still nothing. She didn’t even stir.
He crossed the room to the bed and gently shook her. This time, she mumbled something incoherent and rolled away from him. As she rolled, the sheet fell partially away from her and he sucked in a breath. She was naked and the curve of her ass peeked out from under the cover. An intricate key tattoo caught his attention. It was dripping red droplets. Was it supposed to be blood or paint? It was a curious tattoo he hadn’t noticed during their frenzied encounter on the rooftop sofa. He closed his eyes and resisted the urge to slide into bed with her.
“Come on. It’s almost time to leave, and you have to come with me.” He leaned over and jostled her again.
“This is stupid.” She rolled back toward him thankfully covering herself as she did.
“I agree, but this is where we’re at. There’s coffee in the kitchen. I need to leave in twenty minutes.
When he was certain she wouldn’t fall back to sleep, he headed to the kitchen where he poured himself some coffee and set an empty travel mug on the counter for Carrie.
Fifteen minutes later, she was in the kitchen looking bleary-eyed. She made a beeline for the coffeepot and filled the mug. He watched with amusement as she drank half of it and topped it off.
“Do I really have to stay at my office all day?”
“It’s safer this way.”
“I don’t do cooped up well.”
He moved closer to her and put his hand on her arm. “You’ll do cooped up better than you’ll do dead.”
Her eyebrow went up.
“That’s a little dark for five in the morning, buddy.”
The corners of his mouth lifted in half a smirk. Her sarcasm amused him. There was a lot about Carrie that amused him.And even more, that annoys you,he told himself and searched for something to get his mind off the path it traveling.
