Fisher

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The woman looked as shocked as I felt, and for the first time since she had walked in, I felt like I was back on even footing.

Barely, but I would take what I could get.

So far, Jade Green had proven quite unpredictable, but I could handle her. But first I had questions.

“What the hell was that?” I asked, referring to the kiss that still had me reeling.

She gave me a look that I was beginning to recognize as annoyance.

“It’s been a rather eventful evening; can you be more specific?” she said.

Were this a different situation I would have laughed. She was doing a very good job of being put upon, which was surprising given the circumstances.

“That kiss. What was your plan?” I asked.

Her answer shouldn’t matter. But it did, and I needed to know why she had done it.

She had already proven to be quite crafty, and I needed to get a better handle on what I was dealing with.

“You mind letting go of my wrists?” she asked.

“Can I trust you not to try anything else?” I said.

“Probably not,” she responded.

“I appreciate your honesty,” I said. Then I let her hands go.

“You’re the second Murphy who’s said that to me today,” she said as she shook out her wrists.

“But I’m the Murphy that matters,” I responded.

I realized too late what I had done, that I had indeed confirmed I was connected to if not completely one of them.

I cursed my own stupidity and reminded myself to stay on top of things. She didn’t acknowledge that she had heard what I said, but I wasn’t naive enough to think that she hadn’t. She had, but I ultimately decided that wouldn’t matter.

Jade Green would tell me what I needed to know and then I would send her far, far away.

“So what’s your answer?” I asked.

She shrugged, then let her arms hang loose by her sides.

I had expected her to cross them, knew that doing so was probably a natural reaction.

But she hadn’t, which was another wrinkle in the tapestry of expectations that I realized I needed to throw out.

“I was thinking it was pretty fucked up that I had been betrayed by a man who I’d thought was offering friendship. And I was thinking it would suck to die not having done something I really wanted to,” she said.

The latter part of her statement definitely sparked my curiosity, but I ignored that and focused on the first part.

“So I take it Patrick Murphy offered you friendship today?” I asked.

She tilted her head, looked me up and down slowly, assessing.

“It’s really none of your business,” she finally said.

And yet again I was struck dumb by her calm.

“I don’t think you understand what’s happening here,” I whispered.

“I don’t think I understand what is happening here either,” she countered.

I wanted to sigh in frustration but I didn’t.

“No more games, Jade,” I said on a low growl.

At my second use of her name she inhaled sharply, but then she shrugged.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you know my name,” she said.

“No, you shouldn’t,” I said.

“What’s yours?” she asked.

“My name isn’t important.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “How cliché. Of course it’s important. You barge in here, you know my name, make me ruin my favorite kitchen rug, and you won’t even give me the courtesy of your name. Not only that, you refuse to do so in the most hackneyed way possible. I’m disappointed,” she said, tutting.

I narrowed my eyes, staring at her, wondering what the heck she was doing.

“Look, I don’t know what your game is, but—”

“My game?” she interjected, looking appalled. “My game was to come to my house and do my work while I drink my tea. You’re the one who barged in here.”

“You said that already,” I said.

“Then let me say it again,” she said, pointing a finger at me.

She was much more than a foot shorter than me, but the way she pointed her finger made me certain that if she didn’t think she could take me, she wanted me to think she would try.

To my surprise, I found it kind of adorable.

But as amusing as Jade Green was, adorable didn’t get me any closer to what I had come here for. So I pushed down all of that intrigue that she stirred, ignored the curiosity that made me want to know more and more about her.

And then I moved, stalking one step closer as she took another step back and on, and on until her back was against her refrigerator.

She had a couple of magnets on it, a calendar, the number for a plumber, a picture of the little girl I now knew was Patrick’s daughter. But I ignored those little domestic touches and focused on her.

I lasered my eyes on hers, but didn’t blink as I glared deep into the dark depths shaded by thick lashes. Her eyes were an arresting shade of brown, just this side of black, but still lit through with flashes of color. I immediately began to imagine how her eyes would look when she wasn’t afraid or angry, but instead in the throes of passion. Just the thought set off a warm tingle that raced down my spine, sparked a stir in my cock.

I swallowed hard, ignored my burgeoning desire, and refocused on her eyes. They were complex, much more than what they seemed on the surface, much like the woman herself, I concluded.

But again I reminded myself that that didn’t matter. I had come here for a reason, and Jade was going to give me what I needed to take the next step in my journey.

So I stayed there, staring into those fathomless brown eyes, ignoring my desire for her, wanting her to see how close I was, see how serious I was.

It was difficult, near impossible, as I remembered the way she had pressed her soft body against mine, brushed her lips against mine, exploring so openly, yet so guilelessly.

It was probably a shameful thing to admit, but that kiss from Jade was the most honest, and most pleasurable, of my entire life.

But that didn’t matter either.

Because I didn’t need to be thinking about that kiss now, couldn’t be thinking about anything but making sure that Jade understood that I wasn’t to be trifled with.

It felt wrong doing this, threatening her, intimidating her, but I had no other choice.

I studied her, wondering if she was getting the message.

She wasn’t.

My eyes were locked on hers and I glared at her, and she glared right back.

Everything in her stance, the way she held her shoulders back, tilted her head up so that she appeared to be looking down her nose at me, even though I was so much taller, the way she had her hands curled into little fists at her side. All of it told me she wasn’t getting the message.

I regretted that.

I didn’t know how far I wanted to take this, how far I would be able to take it, but Jade seemed intent on testing me. I didn’t like that. I respected her strength, admired her tenacity, but needed her to understand that there was no place for it here, not with me.

Because like her or not, respect her or not, I wouldn’t be deterred.

“Jade,” I said, making my voice flinty, “you—”

My last words were cut off by the ringing of the doorbell.