“You’re not going anywhere.”
Paige crossed her arms over her chest and bit back a stinging response. “Did I ask?”
“You’re dressed up.”
“Pardon me. If I’d known I was going to be in need of them, I would have packed my prison blues. I was under the mistaken impression that I was here to attend business meetings.” She cocked her head at him. “Did you get up on the wrong side of the sofa?”
He slouched against the cushions and blew out a long breath. “Sorry. I had trouble sleeping. It’s been a grueling couple of weeks.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Coffee’s hot. Lloyd also brought pastries and fruit.”
After Paige served herself, she took a seat in a chair opposite him to use the same low table. “I want to talk to my father.”
“Any time. I have to route the call through another number.”
“How do I transmit data from my computer to the office?”
“You can’t.”
“But—”
“Think of this as a vacation, Harry.”
“And I’m supposed to fill my time watching you work? How exciting.” She bit into an almond-sprinkled bear claw and closed her eyes in appreciation as she savored the richness. She caught him staring at her, and looked down, expecting crumbs on her blouse or something. “What?”
He dropped his glance to the paper in front of him. “Nothing.”
She brushed the corners of her mouth, found no trace of food, then shrugged off his odd gaze. “Can’t we compromise in some way? I can’t just sit all day watching television. I’ll go nuts.”
“Do you have a printer?”
“No. I transmit by modem.”
“If I arrange for a printer, you could run things off, and I could have Lloyd fax them to your office, through another source, of course.”
“That’s fine for sending. What about receiving?”
“If you can figure something out, I’ll arrange it.”
His eyes focused on her mouth again, disconcerting her, making it difficult to swallow. She couldn’t get a handle on him this morning. He was distracted and intensely focused at the same time.
“Was the bed comfortable?” he asked as he wrote something else on the paper.
Her mouth curved teasingly. “Heavenly. It’s so big. I had plenty of room to stretch out and—”
He lifted his head. “This is the honeymoon cottage.”
“There was certainly room for two.”
He rooted her to her seat with his gaze. “I don’t suppose you’d consider trading beds? You’d fit on the couch a lot better than I do.”
“At your daily rate, you can manage a little discomfort, Warner. So, does security loosen enough to allow for maid service, or should I make my bed?”
“Management has been asked not to disturb us.”
“We can’t go out at all? Not even to eat?”
“Lloyd will keep us fed. Anything you want, just ask.”
“When does he sleep if he’s catering to us plus being a night watchman?”
Rye picked up the telephone receiver and began punching numbers. “He won’t be around every night. Just last night, because I was so tired.”
“Meaning, we pay for an extra man because you came to this job tired. No wonder your bills are so outrageous.”
“It’s all relative, Harry. What value do you put on your life?”
Paige opened and closed her mouth. He’d stumped her with logic, leaving her no argument. She drummed her fingers on the upholstered arms of the chair as she watched him punch in another series of numbers, then sit back, the slightest smile on his lips. His gaze dropped to her legs as she crossed one over the other, and she felt a tremor of awareness at the unspoken flattery in his eyes, hardly able to comprehend that such a little action could spur Warner the Barbarian’s interest.
“Warner here,” he said into the telephone before tipping the mouthpiece and saying to Paige, “Do you ever wear miniskirts, or is your standard the middle-of-the-knee look you’ve got on?”
She watched him catalog her body, zone by zone, forcing her to analyze her response to his blatant appraisal. Her nipples drew instantly into hard buds against sheltering lace that became suddenly abrasive, almost painfully so. Could he see her reaction? If she crossed her arms over her chest, would he smirk with self-satisfaction?
The longer he stared, the more she ached—and the more uncomfortable she became. She had to know what he could see.
She leaned forward to pick up her coffee cup and sent a quick glance down herself. Damn. There was no way his eagle eyes could have missed that.
“I’ve been known to expose my knees,” she forced herself to say into the heavy silence. “But since I work mostly with men, I have to be careful of the image I present.”
“It’s hard to imagine you letting down—” He jerked the receiver up again. “Patrick... No problems... Ask her yourself... All right, got it... Here, I’ll put her on.” He passed the phone to Paige.
“You all right, kid?” Patrick asked, after she said hello.
Paige welcomed the chance to divert her train of thought. “I’m furious with you.”
“What do you think of Warner? Nice touch, huh?”
She watched Rye add another line to his growing list. He’s younger than I expected, she thought. “As prison guards go, he rates a ten.” She returned a placid stare to Rye’s raised brows and a one-sided quirk of his mouth.
“He knows what he’s doing. You can trust him.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to, won’t I? Why didn’t you tell me about Joey? I’m not a child.”
“But you’re still my baby. You took care of me for a long time, honey. I’m just returning the favor.”
Paige slumped a little. “We took care of each other, Dad. We grew up together, but we’re both grown up now. I can handle the truth. Do you really believe I’m in that much danger?”
“Yes, I do.”
“And you? What are you doing to protect yourself?”
“Security’s solid, honey. Don’t worry about me. Did Rye tell you not to call home?”
“Oh, yes. I got my orders.” She unconsciously watched Rye as he moved to pour himself another cup of coffee. Comparing the width of his shoulders to the slenderness of his hips made her stomach flip-flop. She looked away, willing herself to remember his ego. “Are you sure I can’t drum up some business while I’m here?”
“Rye says you need to lay low. He’s the boss.”
“What’s happening with Collins-Abrahamson?”
“The deal’s on hold until you get back.”
“Promise?”
“Have I ever lied to you, kid?”
Paige laughed briefly. “That was a joke, right?”
He sputtered. “I haven’t lied about anything important.”
“How about the other bodyguards you arranged for me?”
“Now, Paige, honey. Those were just little white lies. They weren’t meant to hurt you.”
“Uh-huh.