99 Percent Mine(56)

“Don’t you fucking dare try to cut me out of this. You’re overreacting like crazy.”

“You just get me so …” Tom closes his eyes. There’s that shoulder roll. Like he’s climbing back into his body a little. “Just look at it from my perspective. These guys on-site, they know I’m the boss. You’re the homeowner. We’re a team now. I thought I got that across to you.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be nice to these guys.”

He leans on the wall, coating his shoulder in dust. “Early on, I was everyone’s friend, but I got walked over. I suppose that’s not news to you.” There’s vulnerability there before he blinks it away. “I’m supposed to be in control of everything.”

Colin’s list of burdensome responsibilities is still running on a loop in the background, and I nearly open my mouth to ask if everything is going okay. But I can’t. He’ll just growl at me.

My glowing sense of pride is completely gone now. “I was really enjoying myself just now. I was looking forward to you seeing what I did. And you come in and tell me I shouldn’t even be here? Real nice.” I pull on the window for air. Of course, the little asshole doesn’t budge.

“Leave it. I’ll do it.” For him, the fucking thing will probably slide up like silk. I go for the crowbar on the floor but Tom puts his boot on it. “I said demo the room, not level it to the ground.”

“Another thing, Tom. Don’t tell people to keep an eye on me. That’s really insulting. Do they all know about my … ?” I tap my chest.

“Just these three know. I doubt my insurance covers you doing this. That’s the risk I’m taking for you. And now I have to go and find a new roofing contractor.” His eyes narrow.

“Why is that my fault?”

“I fired him.” Tom might as well have a sledgehammer in his fist now.

Well, at least I know who called me hot-in-quotation-marks. “You’ve been marinating in too much testosterone. I was doing a job in here.”

His eyes flash bright. “And that’s why I have zero patience for guys who talk like that about women on a job site. I’d fire him for saying that about anyone, not just you.”

Every time Tom steps up to the plate and shows me who he is, it’s a relief. Aldo would have roared laughing. I look out the window. “What exactly did he say?”

“I’ll spare you the details.”

I put my hand on my hip. “Well, am I digging a grave or not?”

He laughs without much humor. “Make it a real deep one. He was one of my last options, too. One of the last that Aldo hasn’t gotten to. Your house may have no new roof at this rate.”

I gesture upward. “I’m sure the one up there is fine.”

“Oh, Darce. If you knew the things I knew, you wouldn’t sleep. Not even in a bed like yours.”

My mattress made quite an impression. He’s thinking about it right now. His pupils are dialing out. I stab around for some way to toss some cold water on the rising heat in this room.

“Megan must have loved it when you got like this.”

“She’s never stepped foot on one of my sites. Never picked up a crowbar, much less broken a sweat.” His white teeth bite into his bottom lip. “I’ve never been like this. Whatever this is.”

The beast I had imagined as a child and that has followed me around the globe every step I took? The one that would sleep at the foot of my bed and tear out throats? He’s here in this room, but I’m not scared. If I stepped toe-to-toe with him and put my hand up, he would press his cheek into my palm. But now is not the time to explain the concept of Valeska.

“You’ve always been like this. Trust me.”

“Only around you. Never Megan.” His eyes hold steady on mine until whatever internal guilt-pinch he just experienced eases off. “I can see you like hearing that.”

I’ve probably got wolf eyes myself. “Of course I do. I’m a jealous bitch. She never came to visit? Not even once in a dress with a picnic basket?” He shakes his head. “Damn. If you were—” I cut myself off short.

His dark eyebrow arches. “If I were yours, what?”

I huff a disbelieving laugh. He’s getting bold. The way he’s looking at me right now? He’s going to lick me, just to know my taste.

I chicken out. “You don’t want to know what I mean.”

“The problem is,” he says with slow deliberation, “that I do want to know.”

“Use your imagination.” I have nothing. I’m outclassed here, and he knows it. There’s amusement in his eyes and the sharp point of his canine tooth showing as he steps back toward the door.

“I have been. That’s why I’m a goddamn wreck.” He opens the door like that’s going to keep us safe. A tiny bit of tension evaporates out of the room in a pink steam cloud, but it’s not enough. We could still leap on each other and give the guys in the hall a show.

He advances closer again, and with one finger he slides the strap of my tank back onto my shoulder.

In a voice so quiet I almost miss it, he says, “You’re driving me insane with your skin and your sweat.” When he sees me recoil, he clarifies and my stomach bottoms out. “You seriously don’t know you’re sexy, do you?”