The Ruthless Caleb Wilde. Sandra Marton

careful.

      She was gone five minutes, which was fine. It gave him time to get control of himself.

      And to wonder what she was changing into.

      Images flashed through his head. The kind he should have been ashamed of because there was nothing sexual about any of this, and she confirmed that when she reappeared wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, her face scrubbed clean, her hair loose.

      How could she be even more lovely without any artifice?

      “… jacket.”

      He blinked. She held out his suit jacket.

      “I said, I’m afraid your jacket is creased.”

      “Oh. It’s nothing. Just—just forget about—” He took the jacket, laying it over the back of an upholstered chair that had seen better days. Dammit, why couldn’t he come up with a coherent sentence? “Uh, I’ll just wash up, if that’s okay.”

      “Oh, of course. I’ll put on the coffee. Do you think the driver would want a cup? I could take it down to—”

      “He has a thermos. Drivers from that company always—” He shook his head. Amazing. After all that had happened to her tonight, she could still think of someone else’s needs. “But I’ll tell him you thought of it,” he said. “He’ll be pleased.”

      Somehow, he made it to the closet-sized bathroom.

      Caleb turned on the cold water.

      He had to get his head together.

      Sage was a good-looking woman. Hell, she was beautiful. Bottom line. So what?

      She lived in a bad location. Worked in one, too. But he wasn’t her protector. He wasn’t her guardian.

      And he didn’t want a one-night stand with her, either.

      She wasn’t the kind of woman meant for casual sex.

      He cupped his hands under the water and splashed it over his face.

      “A cup of coffee,” he told the mirror. “And then you’re out of here, dude.”

      He opened the door. Went into the kitchen. Drank coffee. One cup. Fast, while she did the same thing, because yes, it really was time to put an end to this.

      “Excellent coffee,” he told her, with a quick smile.

      “I grind the beans myself,” she said, returning his smile.

      “Well,” he said finally.

      He stood up. She did, too. They walked to the door.

      It wasn’t much of a door.

      Hollow, not solid. No peep hole. A chain, but a chain on a door like this was like loading a gun with foam-rubber pellets.

      It looked good, but it didn’t serve any purpose.

      “You forgot something,” Sage said.

      Caleb swung toward her. She held out his jacket.

      “Thanks,” he said, and took it from her. He hesitated. “Will you be okay?”

      “I’ll be fine,” she said quickly. Too quickly.

      “Look, maybe you should call a friend. Maybe you shouldn’t be alone here tonight.”

      “Really, I’ll be all right.”

      Caleb looked at the sofa. It was ugly as sin and built for a doll house, but it had a big throw pillow at one end and a blanket folded over the back.

      “Looks comfortable.”

      She blushed. Why? Did she know what he was going to say? Because he knew, even before he got the words out.

      “I’m staying,” he said. “On that sofa. Until morning.”

      “No,” she said, “really, that isn’t—”

      He took out his cell phone. Spoke to the limo driver. Told him he’d changed his plans.

      “Tell your boss to bill me, and to add two hundred dollars for you. Yeah. Sure. You’re welcome.”

      “No,” Sage said again. “Wait—”

      “Remember what I said about getting my own way when I want to?” Caleb unbuttoned his shirt cuffs, rolled them back. “Well, this is one of those times.”

      “But I’m fine. I’m safe. I’m—

      “I know some people,” he said briskly. “I’ll make some calls in the morning, see what we can do about finding you an apartment and a job.”

      “Caleb. Really—”

      He lifted his hand, brushed a strand of golden hair back from her cheek.

      “Here’s something you need to learn about me,” he said in a low voice. “I can be as stubborn as a mule.”

      His eyes swept over her face, lingered on her lips. The desire to kiss her beat hard within him, but he wasn’t going to do it. He was staying the night to protect her, not because he wanted her.

      Liar.

      He wanted her. Badly. But he wasn’t going to take advantage. No way was he going to do that. He could kiss her, though. Just once …

       Dammit!

      “Go to bed,” he said roughly. “Get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

      She didn’t argue.

      He wondered if that meant she was having the same problem, if she was thinking similar thoughts …

      Caleb gritted his teeth.

      No way was he going to try and find out.

      Instead, he watched her walk into the bedroom and close the door. Then he sat down on the sofa, kicked off his shoes, lay back. He didn’t expect to sleep but, eventually, he dozed …

      A sound woke him.

      It was Sage, standing just outside her bedroom, watching him.