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  “Talk to me, Eliza. Are you saying he lied?”

  “Oh Rabb.” She touched the side of his face, unable to stop herself from reaching out to him. He’d been nothing more than a pawn in the deadly game Jason was playing with her. “I’m so sorry.”

  “So you were sleeping with him?”

  “No.” Just the thought was enough to turn her stomach.

  “Then why did he tell me that?” The light shone on Rabb’s brown hair, showing off the glints of dark mahogany and ash brown. His eyes were dark and filled with questions, so many questions.

  “Why didn’t you ask me that before you left? Why did you believe Jason’s lies?” After all she’d been through, Eliza hadn’t thought she could hurt any worse. But she’d been wrong. Her heart ached and her chest constricted. Rabb believed she’d two-timed him.

  Eliza pulled her knapsack around until it was on her lap and hugged her arms around it.

  “Talk to me, Eliza. Please.” It was the please that did it for her. No matter how much she hurt, Rabb deserved answers.

  “Jason started asking me out all the time. It didn’t matter how many times I said no, he just kept asking.” She licked her dry lips, wishing she had some water. She felt shaky and lightheaded.

  “Then he stopped being so nice about it. He’d follow me home from work and started calling me constantly. I don’t know why he told you what he did.” Eliza shrugged. “He probably knew we’d dated. He was watching me pretty closely by the end.”

  Rabb was so close she could feel the heat rolling off his big body. She had to fight the urge to lean forward and rest her head against his broad chest. He smelled good too, his soap light and woodsy.

  “What do you mean near the end?”

  Eliza shrugged and kept her answer as basic and simple as possible. “I left work not long after you did. Jason was hounding me so much I moved and got a new job. But he found me again.” And again and again.

  “He was stalking you?” The frown on Rabb’s face would make most grown men quail, but it didn’t frighten her. She knew him too well and he would never physically hurt her. The fact that he believed her lifted some of the weight from her shoulders.

  “Yes.”

  “What did the cops say?” Rabb pried one of her hands from her backpack and held it in his. His warmth sank into her cold flesh.

  “There was never any proof. He always has an alibi and he’s well-respected in the business community.” That was the most frustrating part of the situation. Jason had hurt her in so many ways and hadn’t even gotten as much as a slap on the wrist for all the damage he’d done.

  “So he got away with it.” Rabb surged to his feet and began to pace. She curled her fingers into her palm, wanting to hold on to his heat, the feel of his skin against hers.

  “There was no proof,” she reiterated. “Only my word against him.” And her word had meant little to the authorities, not with Jason masterfully spinning is half-truths and innuendos.

  Rabb stalked the small office space like a caged animal. He raked his finger though his hair. “He’s still after you?”

  “I think so.” She couldn’t be sure since she was constantly on the move.

  Rabb grabbed a pad of paper off the desk. “Give me your address and phone number so I can get in touch with you if I need to.”

  Hope spurred to life inside her. “You’re giving me a job?” Steady employment was the first step in her plan to starting a new life.

  “Maybe.” He held his pen over the paper. “Your number?”

  This was the tricky part. “I can check back in with you. Every day if you need me to.”

  Rabb scowled. “You don’t trust me.”

  Eliza slowly rose to her feet, still clutching her backpack. “It’s not that,” she began, not sure what to say to placate him. She chewed on her bottom lip. She didn’t want him to know she was homeless, that she’d fallen so far.

  Rabb’s head was spinning. Jason had lied to him. And idiot that he’d been, he’d believed him. He’d walked away from Eliza to nurse his own hurt feelings and had left her at the mercy of a stalker. It occurred to him he was taking everything she’d said as truth, which didn’t make much sense considering he’d thought she’d cheated on him.

  Damn, he was fucked up. Why had he so readily accepted Jason’s lies? Had it been his own fears playing on him? Yeah, it hurt like a son of a bitch to admit he’d allowed himself to be played.

  Some might call him a fool, but he believed Eliza. There was too much pain, too much sincerity in her voice for it to be anything but true. But she no longer trusted him. And that hurt most of all.

  “Why won’t you give me your phone number?” He took a deep breath and reined in his anger. “I understand if you don’t want me to know where you live, but I need to be able to get in contact with you.” And not just because of the job she wanted. Rabb wanted to spend time with Eliza, to figure out what his feelings were toward her.

  The one thing he didn’t want was to lose touch with her again.

  She nibbled on her lower lip and Rabb barely swallowed back his groan. She had full, kissable lips. He’d tasted those lips and knew just how lush and sweet they were. He’d had his hands all over her body too, but they’d never taken it all the way. He’d been waiting for the right time, not wanting to rush her.

  “I don’t have a phone.” She said it grudgingly, as if she were offering up a great secret.

  “You don’t have a phone?” he repeated. Who didn’t have a phone in this day and age?

  “Like I said, I can check back with you every day.”

  Rabb tossed the pad and pen back onto the desktop. “Not good enough. What’s your address?” No way was he letting her leave before he had some way of reaching her.

  Eliza lowered her gaze and picked at a loose thread on the knee of her jeans. Rabb noted the slight quiver in her hand. She really didn’t look well. Her skin was pale and her face thin. He remembered her with glowing cheeks and plenty of curves. He couldn’t see her shape beneath the bulky sweater and jacket, but he knew she was a lot thinner than she had been.

  “Eliza?”

  “I should go.” She skirted around him and made her way to the door. “I’ll check back in a day or so to see if you have an opening. You know I can wait tables or work in the kitchen. Whatever you need.”

  Rabb was right behind her. He put his hand on the door to keep her from opening it. His front pressed against her back. “Eliza?” It was obvious to him she’d fallen on hard times and doing her best to hide it from him. Her thinner frame and threadbare clothes were a far cry from the tidy woman he’d known. She hadn’t worn expensive clothing, unless she’d scored it from a thrift or consignment shop, but it had always been in good repair.

  She shook her head and didn’t look at him.

  “Let me walk you home.” He knew he shouldn’t press her, but he couldn’t help himself. “Please.”

  She leaned her forehead against the door and sighed. “There’s nowhere to walk me to, Rabb.”

  He stilled and digested her words, immediately wanting to deny them. She couldn’t be saying what he thought she meant. But he was sorely afraid she was. “You’re homeless.”

  She nodded, still facing away from him.

  Rabb wanted to roar with anger, to hit someone or something. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Eliza’s shoulders and simply held her. She didn’t make a sound, but something wet splashed on his hand and he knew she was crying.

  He turned her gently so she was facing him. She looked down and shuffled her feet, and he knew she felt ashamed.

  “How long?” he asked. He had to know.

  Eliza shrugged. “Not long. Six weeks.”

  Six weeks. That was a lifetime on the streets. And life before that couldn’t have been any easier. A person didn’t usually end up on the street all at once. It was generally a slow decline as they clawed for purchase in a disintegrating world.

  She felt slight in his arms, fragile. A
nd he realized that the beat-up backpack she clutched in her arms held everything she owned in the world.

  “When was the last time you ate?”

  Her head snapped up and her expression was filled with defiance. “This evening.”

  He’d bet every last dollar he had that she’d eaten at a soup kitchen. And while they certainly did their best, there was often not much to go around.

  Frustration filled him and he did the only thing he could. He pulled her close, leaned down and kissed her.

  Chapter Two

  Eliza was certain she must have fallen asleep in an alleyway and been dreaming. And if that were the case, she didn’t want to wake anytime soon. Rabb was kissing her. No, not just kissing her, but devouring her.

  He pushed his tongue into her mouth, stroking and coaxing a reaction. She moaned and leaned more heavily against him. He was so warm and she’d been cold for so long. He caught her chin in his hand and tilted her head, deepening their connection. He tasted like strong black coffee and hot male.

  The muscles in her legs quivered and her chest tightened. Rabb was really kissing her, but he also knew the worst. She was homeless. She had nowhere to go.

  Eliza pulled away, knowing she shouldn’t have allowed him to kiss her. Leaving here and leaving him would make going back to the streets even harder. “That. That shouldn’t have happened.” She was short of breath and slightly lightheaded. She wasn’t sure if it was lack of food or the potency of Rabb’s kiss causing it. At this point, it was a toss-up.

  “Yes, it should have.” He brushed his hand over her hair. “You cut it.”

  “Yeah.” She’d rubbed her hair, feeling self-conscious. She’d always loved her hair, but she’d hacked it off to try to disguise herself. “I had black hair for a while.”

  “Now that is a crime.” Rabb shook his head. “Your hair is beautiful.”

  Her cheeks felt warm and she knew she was blushing. “Thanks.” Unfortunately her hair would have to stay short until she was able to afford a place of her own. Keeping clean on the streets wasn’t an easy job. “I should go.”

  “No.” Rabb grabbed her shoulders and lightly shook her. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  “You’re giving me a job?” Excitement bubbled inside her.

  “Damn it, Eliza, I’m not giving you a job.” She tightened her grip on her backpack, and her stomach plummeted. Despair almost sent her to her knees.

  “Not yet, anyway.” Rabb eased her aside and opened the office door. Once again, music and voices assailed them.

  She was totally confused. “I don’t understand.”

  The look he shot her was so hot and fierce it could have peeled paint from the walls. There was a wildness in Rabb, a well of hot emotion that seethed and bubbled beneath the staid exterior he projected to the world. She’d always suspected it was there. It had come out when he’d kissed her. And now it smoldered in his eyes.

  “Come on.” He ushered her to the far end of the corridor. A huge steel door blocked their way. Rabb reached into his pocket, yanked out a set of keys and undid the various locks. He opened the door and all but shoved her into the foyer beyond before pulling the steel panel shut. Silence surrounded them.

  “Where are we going?” Eliza knew she should be more concerned. But this was Rabb and she really didn’t want to leave him. Plus, the longer she was inside, the less time she had to be out in the cold.

  “Upstairs.” He ushered her toward the staircase and she put one foot in front of the other and went up.

  “How far?” He was right behind her, his hand on the small of her back. Even through her coat, sweater, T-shirt and undershirt, she could feel the heat from his touch. Her lips still tingled from his kiss. She reached up and pressed her fingers against them.

  “Third floor.” He pointed at a door on the first landing. “My folks’ shops are through there.”

  “Your mother makes hats, doesn’t she?” Eliza remembered him telling her that. She remembered commenting that with a last name like Hatter it was the perfect profession. He’d laughed and told her that he and his brother teased her, calling her the mad hatter. It had made her sad, wishing for that kind of connection she’d never had with her own mother.

  “Yes. And my father is a tailor.” They were at the second landing now. “Their apartment takes up this entire floor.”

  Imagine living and working so near your family. They were close. She’d always known that, but she hadn’t realized just how close.

  They reached the third landing and there were two doors here, one red and the other blue. Rabb led her to the red door and unlocked it. “Welcome to my home.”

  She hesitated. “I should go.” She had no place here with Rabb. She should never have come. “I’m sorry. This was a mistake.” The last thing she wanted to do was bring Jason and his problems to Rabb and his family. They didn’t deserve that.

  Rabb stopped her by lifting her right off her feet and carrying her into his apartment. He kicked the door shut. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  Rabb knew he was acting like a Neanderthal, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. Eliza brought out that more primitive, wild side of him. No way he was letting her walk out the door, especially when he had no way of finding her if she did.

  He set Eliza back on her feet just inside his apartment. “I need to make a quick call.” He yanked his phone out of his pocket and dialed his brother, who picked up on the third ring.

  “Yeah.” The noise level in the bar made it hard for him to hear Nevar.

  “I won’t be back.” He hated leaving his brother in the lurch, but this was important.

  “I had a feeling that might happen.” Glasses clinked in the background. “Allison is helping me behind the bar.”

  “Really?” It was hard to picture Allison bustling behind the bar—not because she wasn’t a hard worker, because she was, but he didn’t think she had any experience bartending.

  “She’s good at following orders.” Rabb heard Allison promising retribution for that remark and Nevar laughed. Rabb glanced at Eliza, who was standing exactly where he’d left her, staring avidly around his home.

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he promised, knowing his brother would have questions.

  “If you need anything, let me know.” Rabb’s throat tightened. Family. He could always depend on them. “Yeah. Thanks.” He ended the call and tossed his phone onto the nearby kitchen counter.

  Now that he had her here, he wasn’t quite sure where to begin. She was swaying slightly and she held her knapsack by the straps now, as if it were too heavy for her to lift.

  He slowly reached out and hooked his fingers around the strap of her bag. “Let me take that for you.”

  She yanked it back. “No.” Then, as if realizing what she’d done, she added. “That’s okay. But thank you.”

  Rabb couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to have all your worldly possessions in one small bag. He’d grown up in a stable, happy home and knew his parents and brother would always be there for him.

  Eliza was alone.

  “How about you just set it down here right in front of the door.”

  She nodded and carefully put the knapsack on the floor. It took her quite a bit longer to actually release the straps. Rabb stood there, patiently waiting until she was ready, not pressing her any harder than he already had.

  Eliza was at the breaking point. He had no idea what she’d been through during the more than a year since he’d seen her, but what little he did know broke his heart. And he had a feeling she was hiding the worst of it, only giving him the bare bones of the situation.

  A surge of relief went through him when she finally released her grip on the straps and stepped away from the backpack. “How about a hot bath and something to eat?”

  Her chin went up and she scowled at him. “I’m not a charity case.”

  He reached out and touched her soft, pale cheek with his fingers. “I know you’re not, honey. But indulge me. P
lease. We can talk more about your job once I’ve taken care of you.”

  Because that was exactly what he wanted to do. Take care of her. She was fiercely independent and prickly as hell. He admired that about her. But what she didn’t seem to realize was that everyone needed help at some point in their lives.

  “What do you say?” he cajoled. “You can have a nice hot soak while I whip up an omelet for you.”

  Her stomach growled at the mention of food. Her face turned red and he knew she was hungry even if she wouldn’t admit it. She was also wavering.

  “I’ll feel better if I know you’re comfortable.” He was laying it on thick, but it was nothing less than the truth.

  “Why?” She tilted her head to one side and studied him. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because I care about you. Because we were friends once.” More than friends, but he was doing his damnedest to stay cool. One wrong word and she might bolt.

  “Friends.” She said the word as if he were speaking some foreign language.

  “Yeah, friends.” He put his arm around her shoulders and led her down the hallway. “I have this awesome bathroom with a big tub. Great for soaking in.” He flipped on the light switch and was gratified when he heard her gasp of pleasure.

  “I know, right?” He propelled her into the room. “I realize it’s a bit much, but I wanted a full tub and a large shower enclosure as well.”

  “This is incredible.” She stroked her hand over the earth-toned tiles that lined the wall beside the tub and Rabb’s entire body tightened. He wanted her hand touching, caressing his chest. His dick flexed and grew, as if to remind Rabb it was there. As if he could ever forget. And yeah, he wanted her hand wrapped around his cock.

  But for now, he’d settle for having her in his tub.

  He went to work and quickly had the hot water flowing and a clean towel and facecloth set out. “Help yourself. I’m going to start on that omelet.”