Page 235 of Duty and Desire
“Why?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Why the hell do you think?” What an idiotic specimen of the male species. Seriously. I spun back around with a frown in place. “Because you got hurt today. Because of me.”
His gaze narrowed. “Are you crying?”
“No.” I wiped away a tear with the back of my hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can go now.”
“I’m not leaving you when you’re upset.”
“Well, I’m not going to stop being upset until you leave.”
He raised a brow. “Guess we’ve got a problem then.”
“You’re serious? Seriously? You’re refusing to leave?”
“That’s right.”
“Enough. I’m done.” Give me strength. I pointed my finger at him in a very hostile manner. “You, Ziggy Thayer, are frustrating and annoying and confusing and I don’t like you very much right now so you should leave and not come back for several days.”
“That so?”
“Yes, I…stop questioning everything.”
“How else am I going to find things out?”
I looked to heaven. Then I crossed my arms over my chest because even the flimsiest of defenses was better than nothing. “What things exactly do you need to find out? Actually, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know. Good night.”
He cocked his head, leveling me with that stare.
“What?”
“You’re allowed to ask questions and I’m not?”
“Oh my God,” I groaned. “How much blood exactly did you lose because honestly you’re kind of acting crazy?”
“Yeah, I know. You should probably make a complaint about me. Want me to fetch your cell so you can call Sam?”
“You think I won’t?”
“I honestly have no idea what you’re going to do, Mae.” He took a deep breath. “I had every intention of coming in here, checking you were fine, then leaving. That’s it.”
I shrugged. “So what happened?”
“Then you started talking. Then you got upset. And now…I don’t know.” There was no professional blank to his face now. If anything, the man seemed to be holding back an excess of emotion. His lips were a fine line, his brow furrowed. “This is the problem, whenever I’m around you, every rational thought goes straight out the damn window. I honestly don’t know if I’m coming or going.”
I gasped in outrage. “Me? What did I do?”
“Just walking around breathing and being you, mostly.”
“That makes absolutely no sense.”
“I know,” he said, voice resigned. “Funny you should say that thing about how frustrating and annoying and confusing I am. Because that’s exactly how I feel about you.”
“But I’m just a job to you. You shouldn’t have feelings for me.”
“Wish to hell I didn’t. It’d make things a fuck of a lot less complicated.”
