Page 35 of Erik's Salvation
The drive home consisted of a stony silence. It was only when they were a street away that she finally turned to him, almost cautiously. “Can I ask you a question?”
His fingers tightened on the wheel. He wanted to say no, but he knew that would get the woman’s back up after she finally seemed to have calmed down. “Depends on the question.”
“Do you have some secret family somewhere else?”
The word family made his breath come out in a hiss. “No, Angel. I was married. I’m not anymore.” When she was silent a beat too long, he shot her a look. “What?”
He could see questions in her eyes. He expected her to ask what happened to his wife. Most people did.
“You were different then, weren’t you?”
He frowned. That wasnotwhat he expected. “Every part of me was different.” The very foundation of his world was made from a different slab back then. A smooth, neat one that had all been in one piece.
“Now I have something to askyou,” he said before she could respond.
Her brows rose. “If you ask me to move so I don’t live next door to you, the answer’s no.”
He chuckled. It felt good to laugh. A bit unfamiliar, but good. “No. That’s not what I want.” Although it would make his life easier. “Stay away from Marco.”
She seemed to think about it for a moment. “I thought you were friends.”
“I’ve done jobs with him, so we get along. That’s all.” After tonight, though, things had changed. “But that doesn’t mean I want you around him.”
She tilted her head. “It was only a dance. It never would have become anything more.”
That’s whatshethought. He knew with every fiber of his being thatMarcohad wanted more. “It’s never just a dance when a man gets to hold a beautiful woman.”
Her breath caught. Then she swallowed. “I’ve been called beautiful a lot tonight but coming from you…it’s different.”
Another tightening of his fingers on the wheel. He didn’t like hearing about other men calling her beautiful.
“Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll stay away from him in exchange for one thing.”
Shit. “What’s that?”
“Cereal.”
His head whipped around to look at her. “Cereal?”
Hannah lifted a shoulder. “I’m an addict.”
Where had this woman come from? “You got a particular kind you prefer?”
“Frosted Flakes.”
A ghost of a smile played on his lips. “Done.”
“Good.” She straightened in her seat. “And when I called you an ass tonight, I only meant sometimes. You’resometimesan ass.”
“I didn’t know you called me an ass.”
She shrugged again. “Now you do.”
He shook his head, trying to keep the fully formed smile from his lips.
The second he stopped his Corvette in front of her house, she was out of the car. He cursed when she instantly stumbled, falling to her knees.
“Crap,” she grumbled.
