Ten Below Zero(38)

“Red.”

Everett nodded, as if he expected that answer. “Cats or dogs.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Cats.”

Everett sighed and sat back in his chair. “Well now I know for sure I won’t fall in love with you.”

“Dogs are needy. Cats aren’t.”

“Dogs are good companions. Cats are self-centered,” he argued.

“I would have thought you’d have identified better with cats then,” I said before sipping my water.

He narrowed his eyes but seemed to enjoy the verbal game we were playing. “Okay, moving on. Cold or hot.”

“Hot.”

Everett shook his head. “That can’t be true. You’re ten below. Cold as ice.”

I eyed him with annoyance. It was on the tip of my tongue to call him my favorite word for him, but he beat me to it.

“Let me guess, you want to call me an *, don’t you?” He cut into his steak and studied the slice before looking at me again. “I’m surprised you don’t just call me that all the time. Forget calling me Everett.”

“Maybe we should add it to the rules,” I replied thoughtfully, as if mulling it over.

“Technically, I did write it down, but you crossed it out.”

I set my jaw in a firm line. “Why do you like riling me up so much?”

Everett finished the last bite of steak and chewed it for a minute, his fingers playing on the tablecloth. When he swallowed, he lifted his eyes to mine again. “Because.”

If my jaw could have fallen from my face, it would have right then. “Really?” I asked, incredulous. “All that suspense for that answer?”

“Do you want to add full disclosure to the rules, Parker?”

That shut me up. I shook my head and finished my meal, just as Everett handed his credit card to the waiter passing by.

Everett pulled out his phone and tapped something on the screen. I watched him for several minutes, even after the waiter returned with the check. And then I stood up and walked out.

“Rude *,” I muttered under my breath as I stood on the sidewalk. Throngs of people passed me, some of them bumping into me in their inattentiveness. I crossed my arms over my chest as I looked around for a cab.

A moment later, I felt his chest against my back. Involuntarily, I sank back into his chest. I couldn’t help it, I was relieved he’d come out after me. But a moment later, I remembered why I’d walked away. I turned around and stared daggers at him. “You,” I said, lifting a finger to push into his chest, “are so…rude. I don’t care if I’ve said it one hundred times. If anything, that should show you just how rude you are.”

“I’m not sorry.”

I gritted my teeth. “It’s disrespectful to ignore my company while you concentrate on your phone.”

“It’s disrespectful to stuff your face nearly to the point of choking just to avoid speaking with me,” he countered. “And yet,” he brushed a hand over my shoulder, down my arm. “You still did.”

I watched his arm progress down to my wrist. I became oblivious to the sights and smells around us. It was just Everett. He had a way of making the rest of the world fall off, as if he was the only thing I saw clearly.

“Where’s your phone?” he asked.

“I left it back at the hotel.”

He frowned. “Why?”

I shifted in my heels, growing uncomfortable standing in them on the concrete. “Only a couple people contact me regularly. And two of them only contact me for a favor. The other happens to be an * and is currently crowding my space-which, if you remember, is against the rules.”

Everett moved closer. Our legs, our hips, our chests-all touching. “I’m not giving you space when we’re in a public. If you want space once we get back to the hotel, fine. But if I gave you space here, that would be violating my rule.”

“Which one?”

“The seatbelt rule is more or less a blanket rule. In any situation that I feel could potentially be dangerous, we will both exercise safety.” He looked up the sidewalk, noting the inebriated patrons making fools of themselves. “This is not a situation in which I’ll give you space.”

I could live with that. I’d been so focused on Everett, I hadn’t paid attention to my surroundings. That was unusual for me. Come to think of it, I had even left my knife behind at the hotel room. I shuddered involuntarily.

I ran my hands over my utter arms. “You’re a bad influence,” I muttered.

“I hope so.” His grin was wide, as if he was very pleased with himself. “Hotel or club?”

“Hotel.” I said it quickly. I didn’t need to give any thought to it. And then I had a gut punch of guilt. “But if you want to go out, I can go back by myself.”

“Yeah right,” Everett said, grabbing my upper arm gently, steering me down the sidewalk.

“Did you come all the way to Vegas to not experience the nightlife?”

“All the way to Vegas?” he asked, dubiously. “Vegas was more or less a pit stop. And besides, I came here for the steak.”

“Did you find your one sweet moment with the steak?”

Everett looked at me impatiently. “What do you think?”