Shadows At Sunset - Anne Stuart [41]
She glanced down to the darkness at the end of the balcony. At least Coltrane was asleep—he wouldn’t trouble her during her bouts of insomnia. And if he intruded on her privacy she’d kick him out, no matter what Dean or Rachel-Ann said.
“Can’t sleep?” Coltrane murmured, far too close for comfort.
9
“You frightened me!” she snapped.
Coltrane moved closer. He’d heard her moving around on the balcony, known instinctively that it was Jilly and not her sister. Not his sister. After more than twenty-four hours the knowledge still made his head spin.
“No, I didn’t frighten you,” he drawled. “Not this time. You already knew I was there. That doesn’t mean I don’t frighten you in general, of course. But you weren’t shocked to see me.”
She didn’t bother denying it. “It’s two-thirty in the morning. Why should I expect to run into you?”
“Kindred spirits? I have trouble sleeping on nights like this. Maybe I’ll go for a swim. I presume like all L.A. houses you have a pool….”
“Don’t!” There was a ragged edge of panic in her voice, one that surprised him. Maybe he’d scared her, after all. “The pool isn’t usable,” she continued in a shaky voice. “It seemed like low priority when the roof was leaking and the electricity was dangerous.”
“I could pay for a pool service.”
“No!” she said, sounding as if he’d suggested having sex with a goat. “I don’t like having a pool. Besides, there’s something wrong with the ground there. Some kind of toxic seepage. It would cost a fortune to have it repaired.”
He would have dropped it, except that she was so unexpectedly vehement. “Your father pays me a fortune,” he said. “I could afford it.”
“You could afford to live somewhere else.”
“But then I wouldn’t be able to help you, would I? And you want my help, don’t you? Much as it galls you to admit it.”
“I want your help,” she said. “With my brother. But I want you to leave my sister alone.”
Now she’d managed to surprise him. “What makes you think I’m interested in your sister?”
“Most men are. And you’ve been asking about her, talking about her since you first showed up here. I don’t know why you’re so interested, and I don’t care. Leave her alone. She’s fragile, and she doesn’t need her life complicated right now.”
“You really do take your family responsibilities seriously, don’t you? I’m not interested in sleeping with your sister.”
“Good.”
“I’m interested in sleeping with you.”
Even in the dark he could sense her reaction. He’d never had a woman hit him, though he’d deserved it more than once. Jilly Meyer might be the one to do it.
“Yeah, sure,” she drawled after a moment. “If you think that’s the way to my father’s heart then you’re not as smart as I thought you were. Jackson doesn’t give a damn who I sleep with, any more than he cares about Dean. You’d be wasting your time.”
“I don’t think having sex with you would be a waste of time. I think it would be quite…pleasant.” He chose the word deliberately, knowing it would enrage her.
“Pleasant?” she practically sputtered. “I don’t do things because they’re pleasant.”
“Then maybe you should,” he murmured. She couldn’t know how close he was to her on the night-shrouded stone balcony, or if she did, she wasn’t wise enough to realize he could reach out and touch her, quite easily. “What have you got against pleasure?”
“I don’t trust it. And I don’t trust you,” she said sharply.
“What do you think I’m going to do to you, Jilly?”
She didn’t answer, but then, he didn’t expect her to. He knew exactly what she was afraid of. Being vulnerable.
He took her hand. She jerked, obviously startled, but he held on, not letting her pull away. Her hand was strong, chilled beneath his.
“I’ll tell you what, Jilly. You’re so worried about your fragile older sister, so concerned about your family. Why don’t you sleep with me to keep me away from Rachel-Ann? You can keep me so busy I won’t even look at your sister.