“I’ve got a bad feeling about this and?—”
She cut him off by kicking the blanket away and climbed out of the bed. She found her panties on the floor, stepped into them, and didn’t spare him another glance.
“Monica—”
She was already at the door. She glared over her shoulder. “You didn’t have to fuck me to have this conversation, asshole.” She stormed across the hall into her room and slammed the door.
“Fuck,” Kane growled, getting out of bed and following her. He grabbed her doorknob. It was locked. “Open the damn door!” He was a second away from kicking it down.
She opened it instead and shoved past him. She went straight to the bathroom and slammedthatdoor shut. Water started running.
Kane frowned. What the hell was she doing?
He tried the knob—locked again. With a sharp curse, he hit the door with his shoulder and went straight through it.
“You’re fixing that,” she called from the shower. “Now go away, Kane. Actually, get your shit and get out. You’re fired.”
“Fired?” he barked with a humorless laugh, standing there naked as hell. “You can’t fire me.”
“I just did. Get. Out.” She shut off the shower, pulled the curtain back, and stepped out—dripping, pissed, and absolutely gorgeous. She grabbed a towel to cover herself.
“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded, still not understanding any of this.
“Washing you off me,” she snapped, trying to push past him again. This time, he didn’t move.
Okay, that fucking stung a little bit. “You wasted your time,” he said darkly, grabbing her and pinning her gently but firmly to the wall. “I’ll have you again, Monica.” His face was inches from hers.
She just stared at him without saying anything.
“Tell me you didn’t like it.” He demanded, still feeling a little pissed about her washing him off her remark. No woman hadever dared say anything like that to him. Yeah, his ego took a big hit, and he didn’t fucking like it.
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” she whispered. Her breathing shook, and he caught the shimmer in her eyes, tears she refused to let fall. She straightened her spine, chin lifting with pride. “I didn’t expect romance from you, Kane. I didn’t expect cuddling or declarations. What I did expect was respect.”
He stared at her, completely lost. “How the hell did I disrespect you?”
“I opened myself up to you in the most vulnerable way I ever could,” she said, voice raw but steady. “And one of the first things out of your mouth is that I need to quit my job with Farrar. What did you think? That once you got me in your bed, I’d roll over and do whatever you wanted?” Her eyes flicked away. “A man tried that... once.”
“I’m not your fucking ex,” Kane growled, his eyes going dark.
“No,” Monica tilted her head to look him square in the eyes. “You’re not. He didn’t fuck me right before he demanded I choose between him and finding my sister.”
Once again, that stung more than he’d like to admit, and it pissed him the fuck off. No woman had ever come at him like this, and he had to admit his respect for her had hit a new level. He decided to remain silent because he didn’t want to say anything he would regret, and wasn’t that new... he never gave a shit what he said or who he said it to.
“I made a promise to my dead sister that I’d take down her killer. And nothing—nothing—not even a good fuck is going to make me break that promise.”
“I didn’t sleep with you to bribe you,” Kane snapped back, stunned she even thought it.
She laughed once, sharp and humorless. “Maybe if you waited a few damn hours before bringing it up, I might’ve believed that.” She shoved him, and this time he let her go. “Get your things and leave.”
She walked out, heading to her room, leaving him standing naked in the bathroom like a complete idiot. Knox poked his head through the doorway before it shut again, and for a second, Kane swore even the damn dog looked disappointed in him.
He dragged a hand over his face and let out a low, vicious curse.What the hell was he doing?He wasn’t the type to chase after anyone; hell, most women were lucky if he remembered their names the next morning, and most women just didn’t give a shit. The ones he went for wanted the same thing as him, good sex and quick goodbyes. It was an unspoken mutual agreement.
But Monica? She wasn’t just in his head. She was under his skin, buried so damn deep he couldn’t shake her even if he wanted to. And there were no unspoken mutual agreements with a woman like her.
He’d definitely screwed this one up. He could admit that to himself, at least. Dropping that shit about quitting her job right after they’d just blown each other’s minds… yeah, he could see how that landed wrong. It wasn’t that he didn’t respect her. It was the opposite. She was strong, stubborn, fearless, everything he wasn’t used to.
But saying it like that? Right after he’d been inside her, after she’d let herself be vulnerable with him, was definitely a dickmove. It probably sounded like he was trying to take something from her instead of protecting her.