The warmth and the softness of her skin registered first. Then he saw her crystalline blue eyes go wide, and the genuine fear that flashed through them struck him like a punch to the gut. With an oath, he set her free. He stepped back and plowed a hand through his hair. "I just want to know where my sister is." Hearing the apologetic tone in his voice, he snarled, "For all I know, finagling yourself a cushy berth here wasn't enough to keep you satisfied."
"Meaning what—that now you think I've harmed her? For heaven's sake! She's gone on a trip!" Crossing her arms over her breasts, she rubbed her arms. "You might want to consult a professional about that paranoia."
Shoving down the flash of guilt he felt seeing her hands pat the flesh he'd just manhandled as if searching for bruises, he honed in on the pertinent information. "A trip where? With who?"
"North," she replied coolly. "With a friend." Eyes narrowed, she thrust her jaw up at him. But she couldn't quite hold his gaze.
It told him louder than words could have that the "friend" was someone he wouldn't approve of. "Aw, crap. She's off with another fortune hunter, isn't she?"
"Insinuating that I'm one too, I take it?"
"If the high heel fits, honey chile." Although, taking in that tousled blonde hair and those kiss-me-daddy lips, he'd grant that gulling a naive young woman might be a departure for her. Little Miss Lily's wiles were probably more often practiced on the dick-bearing segment of the moneyed set.
"My gawd." She blew out a disgusted breath and shot him a look that should have dropped him in his tracks. "You are some piece of work."
"And don't you forget it. Now let's you and I sit down and get nice and comfy. Then you can tell me exactly where up north Glynnis has gone—and just who the hell her travel buddy is."
"Can I now," she said flatly. "And is there anything else I can do for you while I'm at it?"
"I wouldn't say no to one of those omelets."
"Oh, you bet—I'll get right on that. Meanwhile, I tell you what." She cocked a hip at him, gave one pretty, rounded cheek a resounding smack, and tendered him a sweet smile. "Kiss this."
He gave the anatomy in question a comprehensive perusal, then slowly raised his gaze. "Wouldn't say no to that, either."
A soft shriek of frustration escaped her, and pivoting on her toe, she stalked from the room—or at least that was the impression conveyed by the unyielding set of her golden-skinned shoulders as she left the kitchen. Genuine stalking had to be a tough act to pull off in heels that tall.
He watched the rhythmic twitch of her hips as she walked away. How can someone as sweet as Glynn is have such a pig of a brother ? Her words from last night whispered in his mind, and he scowled. What was it about her, anyway, that loosened every restriction that ordinarily guarded his tongue? Two lousy minutes in her company seemed to be all it took to destroy years of having manners drummed into his head.
This wasn't how he'd been raised to talk to women. Grandmother must be spinning in her grave—she'd had very concrete ideas of how gentlemen dealt with ladies, and she would've skinned him alive to hear the disrespect he'd tendered Lily.
But, damn , the woman had annoying ways of getting to him! Like dabbing on just enough of that scent she wore to make him want to get closer to sniff out more. Or doing whatever it was she did to make herself look as if she'd just tumbled out of bed after a bout of really hot sex. Not to mention the way she walked, with those hip swinging, tippy-toed little steps.Hell, she even ate seductively. The look on her face when she'd been forking that omelet into her mouth had practically knocked him on his butt. He'd seen women in the midst of an orgasm who hadn't looked half as ecstatic.
He shook his head, trying to get the image out of his mind. He didn't get it. What the hell was it about her that drew him so? It wasn't as if Lily were the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. Or even the sexiest, when it came right down to it. But just let her be in the same room and, without any effort on her part it seemed, she kept his attention trained squarely on her.
And you think that's by accident, genius?
Zach swore. Well, duh. Keep a guy's attention focused on disheveled blonde hair and a well-rounded little fuck-me body, and it sure as hell won't be his mind doing the thinking. Lily Morrisette might be about the girliest female he'd ever clapped eyes on, but she had a habit of meeting both gazes and situations head-on, a way of refusing to ever back down, that was almost masculine in its determination. She knew precisely what she was doing.
He didn't think he was jumping to any hasty conclusions by questioning her motives. Glynnis certainly had a record of trusting the wrong people. She'd run afoul of some real losers in her life, and more than one young buck had thought to score himself a free ride by attaching himself to her. But they hadn't all been out to take her, so it wasn't as if he automatically suspected every person she came into contact with. She'd managed to make some regular friends; he'd give her that. Every one of his sister's girlfriends he'd met up until now, though, had been her own age—young women in their early twenties who'd tended either to start giggling or to flirt blatantly whenever he tried to have anything resembling an intelligent conversation with them.
They were nothing like Lily. They lacked that aura she had of knowing the score, for one thing. It took years and experience to gain that kind of worldliness. He might not be the greatest judge of age, but he'd put money on Lily being quite a bit older than his sister— somewhere closer to his own thirty-six than to Glynnis's not-quite twenty-five.
And all things considered, he had to wonder: What would someone as self-assured as Lily want with an ingenuous girl who was nine or ten years younger if it wasn't her money?
The origins of their association definitely bore closer examination.
Lily paced her room, seriously irritated. And to think she used to dream of having a big brother! If Mr. I-Am-the-Commandant-of-All-I-Survey was any example, she could count herself fortunate she'd been an only child.
She made a conscious effort to unclench her teeth. But, really! She'd excused his rudeness last night because he'd obviously been tired and not thinking clearly, but how dare he continue to heedlessly assume she had no integrity? Yes, she was a busty, blue-eyed blonde who loved makeup and jewelry; so rarely in her life had any man bothered to look deeper than that. But there was a big difference between being considered a dumb blonde and Zach's careless assassination of her character.
She plopped down on the edge of the bed and concentrated on regaining her equilibrium, trying to look at the situation without all the emotion that had her blood churning. It took her a while, but her pulse finally began to settle down.
Then the pounding on her door commenced. Lily jerked and to her disgust made a sound like a startled screech owl. Popping off the bed, she faced the closed door with her hands fisted on her hips, all her high-minded promises forgotten as her heart once again pounded double time. "Go away!"
"Open up, Lily. I want to talk to you."
"Oh, well, then," she muttered. "Let me just trot right over and let you in. Your wishes make all the difference in the world."
"I heard that." He had the effrontery to sound amused. But his good humor apparently didn't last. He thumped the portal. "Open the damn door."
She crossed the room in several angry strides, ripped the door open, and stared up in annoyance at his tanned face. "Are you incapable of completing one lousy sentence without cursing?"
He blinked, then to her surprise gave her a sheepish look. "Sorry," he rumbled in that deep voice. "I've been a soldier so long I sometimes forget that conversations are more refined in the civilian world. I'll try to do better." Then he seemed to recall he was conversing with the enemy. He stepped into the room, forcing her to take a step back before she caught herself and stood her ground. "But that's not why I'm here," he said. "Tell me how you met my sister."