Page 31 of Pike

His arms snaked around her to pull her against him. He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, which curled up into a grin at the contact. What she wouldn’t give to be wide-awake to enjoy it.

“So what are you?” she couldn’t help but ask again.

If she hadn’t been tangling tongues with him, she might have missed the flicker of stiffness. The slight backing off even when his arms stayed around her.

“Sorry, I’d rather not say.”

“Aw, come on. I think we’ve gotten to a point in our relationship that I deserve to know who I’m sleeping with.”

Pike leaned in. “Don’t you mean what?”

It bothered her, she realized. Like an ant crawling under her skin. She was an open book for him, answering questions when he asked and baring her soul for his scrutiny. But she knew nothing about him.

“You won’t give me an answer?” she pushed.

“Lavinia, drop it. Enough. How about we go back to bed and I’ll show you the man you’re sleeping with. No more questions.”

“I’m going to start getting a complex about this.”

“Get whatever complex you want,” he retorted.

“You really aren’t going to tell me?”

“No, I’m not. Sorry, but there are some things that are better left unsaid.”

“Fine.” She moved out of his embrace and snatched up the nearest piece of clothing that wasn’t ready for the trash heap, which turned out to be Pike’s leather jacket. With a soft curse, she yanked her arms into the sleeves and let the towel slide to the floor. She headed into the living room, where the carpet was warm and clean beneath her bare feet. A stark contrast to the mud and sewage they’d been trouncing through the night before. The contrast was almost sublime.

Nevertheless, she began pulling on her disgusting pants and boots.

Pike followed her own, hands on his naked hips. “What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving,” she stated. Whirling around in a circle, she searched for her own jacket and wallet. She’d need money for another cab. And where the hell was her pepper spray? “Anything is better than staying here with you.”

“You can’t run out just because I refuse to tell you what I am.”

Pike said it with a laugh. As if the very idea amused him. And that had Lavinia seeing red. He found this funny? He found her emotional torment amusing? No wonder he kept her around. She was good for a laugh.

“I’m not running out because of that. I’m running out because…because I can’t stay here. There needs to be honesty between us. I tell you whatever you want to know, and many things you don’t even ask.” She paused and shook her head at that little absurdity. “It’s the principle of the matter, Pike.”

“The principle, Lavinia? Is learning what I am going to make a difference in how you feel?” He followed her as she stomped back into the kitchen.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

His hands framed her face, urging her to look at him. “Why don’t you tell me, then? You’re an observant woman. In some cases. Surely you’ve spent enough time staring at me.”

The admission cost her little. “I do stare at you a lot.”

“You do.” He tweaked her nose. “Now come, sit. If you’re so determined, then I’ll help you figure it out.”

The muscles around her heart compressed at the prospect. He’d been around a long time. That was painfully clear from the moment she first saw him.

“You obviously have had a long life,” she said, leaning against the kitchen counter. She dragged the jacket closer around her torso.

“True. I’ve lived for centuries.”

“So you’re…what…some kind of supreme, mythological being?”

“Exclude the pantheon of gods. It will make this easier.” His fingers tapped against the counter. He was nervous, she realized. He didn’t want her to find out. Why had he agreed, then?

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