“What are you doing here?” she asked, in a tone, she hoped sounded unaffected.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know.”
Her brows dipped. “What does that mean?”
He gave her a steady stare. “Invite me in.”
In the background, her phone rang. Damn. “I have to get that.” She turned and rushed toward the other room leaving the door open and Declan standing in the hall. The cordless was on the floor by her ice cream. She grabbed it and punched “receive”. “Hello, Zoe? What’s wrong? You sound out of breath. Are you crying?”
It was Lucy, shooting questions at her with rocket speed. Regardless, her friend’s concern had a calming effect and Zoe relaxed a little. “I was at the door. I’m fine. I just had to make a mad dash for the phone. I was hoping for some news.”
“So, nothing yet?” she asked. “I wondered when I didn’t hear from you. You said you’d call after you went by Marks.”
“I know,” Zoe said. “I should have called. I was waiting to see if I heard anything this evening. I haven’t talked to anyone.”
“But you went by Marks?” Lucy asked.
Zoe turned to see Declan sitting down on her couch, the pizza now on the coffee table. He eyed her half-eaten pint of ice cream with interest. Turning away, she gave him her back. Neither her eating habits nor her phone call were his business.
“Yes,” Zoe said into the phone. “Not that it did me any good. He wouldn’t see me.”
“He should have seen you,” Lucy said, frustration in her voice. “But then, I’m sure he has his hands full. He’ll call.”
Unwilling to say more with Declan present, Zoe cut the call short. “I hope so. I’ll let you know. Listen, pizza man’s at the door. Gotta run.”
“I would have come over and had pizza with you,” Lucy said.
“I know you would have, sweetie,” Zoe said, “but you belong with your man. Take good care of him.” A few more words of goodbye and they disconnected. Bending down she put the lid on her ice cream that was melting at a rapid pace. “I see you let yourself in.”
“The open door seemed an invitation but I bought the pizza for good measure.” He smiled. “But you have to share it. That’s my price.”
She straightened. “I’ll share, but only because I’m not as hungry as I thought I was.”
Declan laughed and eyed the container in her hand. “I wonder why.”
With a mean look directed his way, she walked to the kitchen. When she returned to the living room, she had plates and two colas. Sitting next to him seemed like trouble. She chose the floor again, directly in front of him with the nice, solid coffee table between them. It would be so easy to let physical adventure be her escape. But for some reason, she hesitated. Declan made her feel something she didn’t quite understand. Right now, she wasn’t herself. It seemed a smart idea to keep her wits about her. That meant to keep her clothes on. Because with Declan, sex felt a bit too intense.
Declan studied her as she opened the pizza box. “Keeping your distance, I see.”
She ignored his comment. “I hope you like cheese. I like my pizza straight up.”
With a laugh, he said, “I love cheese.” He picked up a piece and took a bite. “I’m hungry.”
“So am I,” she said, but she wasn’t. Zoe just wanted something to do so she wouldn’t think about how intimate she’d just been with this man only twelve hours before.
“Even after the ice cream?” he asked popping the top of his drink.
“Hmm,” she said. “All that did was take the edge off. I didn’t eat all day.”
His eyes locked with hers. “I woke up starving.”
Zoe swallowed hard. Normally she loved the power of a little flirtation. Not now. Not with Declan. She reached for her drink, popping the top, and taking a long drink. His laugher drew her attention. A soft, teasing rumble of pure male sexuality. “What?” she asked setting down her drink and acting innocent.
“You tell me.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“There’s not, is there?” he asked, a twinkle in his eye as he patted the couch next to him. “Then come sit beside me and help me figure out why, tired as hell, I couldn’t go home until I came here first.”
“No,” she said abruptly.
He laughed and reached across the table and took her hand. “Come here.”
“No.” But she wanted to. Damn it, she wanted to. “Figure it out for yourself.”
“I will,” he said, moving with briskness she didn’t expect. Before she knew what happened, he was on his knees beside her, pulling her close. And then he kissed her. Though her mind told her to resist, her body had other ideas. One stroke of his tongue against hers, and she melted. Her arms went around his neck, and as she had feared, she was lost.
And lost wasn’t a good place to be…no matter how damn good it felt.
Chapter Three
The sound of the phone ringing again jerked Zoe out of the seductive spell Declan had so easily pulled her under. She tore her lips from his, breathing heavily from the effort it took to stop kissing him. “I have to get that.”
“Call whoever it is back.” He tried to claim her mouth again.
Her hands gripped his shoulders and she leaned away from him. “I’m expecting…it’s important.”
For a moment he looked like he would argue, but then he nodded and released her. Zoe took the instant of freedom to scramble to her feet and grab the phone. She needed to get her call, but she also needed to get a grip on herself. Normally, a hot guy and a pizza would be a damn good combination. Tonight, with so much junk going on in her life and in her head, it seemed dangerous. No. It was Declan that was dangerous. Other men didn’t impact her the way he seemed to.
“Hello,” she said, punching the button on her phone.
“Hey. It’s Chris. I’m headed to a dinner meeting with that building investor I told you about last week, but I got your message. I also just flipped on my car radio. What the hell is going on?”
An architect for an up-and-coming firm, Chris’s team was close to landing the design of a high-rise in Houston. It would make his career. She hated this thing with her father was happening smack in the middle of negotiations. Zoe headed for her sliding glass door and pulled it open. She wasn’t about to have this particular conversation in front of Declan. Stepping onto the balcony she struggled with the door and it jammed half open.
“And,” Chris continued, “why the hell don’t I know about it before the rest of the world?”
“Hey, don’t feel bad,” Zoe said, feeling the heaviness of the hot night slide along her skin. Abandoning her efforts to shut the door she went to the far corner of the tiny balcony and tried to keep her voice low. “I’m in the same city as Daddy, and I know nothing.”
“Damn,” Chris said. “I was hoping you called with information, but I should have known better. Like always, the two who chose a path outside of Marks are excluded.”