Shoving down his triumph, he approached her on silent footfalls. “It’s okay, honey.”
Finally, she turned to face him. Her eyes were red, slightly puffy. She’d been crying. Shit.
“Of course it is.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “It was fun. Thanks. But now it’s over, and I’m still in the mood to party. See you around.” She shouldered past him, focused on the suite’s front door.
Hunter hooked an unyielding arm around her waist and reeled her close again. He didn’t believe her for a second. “Tell me what I did to upset you.”
Kata hesitated, then tossed him a stare full of mock confusion. “No idea what you’re talking about. I had to get you off of me. You were heavy, I couldn’t breathe, and time is wasting.”
“And you’re going to party with who? Ben is passed out, your girlfriends are out on the prowl, and your sister is asleep.”
“What is this, an interrogation? You may be used to calling the shots when you go on your missions, but I told you, no one controls me. I’m ready to leave, so unless you want me to scream down the entire floor of this hotel, take your fucking hand off me.”
Everything she’d said since crawling out of bed made his bullshit meter ring. What she didn’t say was even more interesting. Her entire body was taut. She tried damn hard to repress a shiver as she licked her lips, looked at his. Definitely, he’d reached her on a level she hadn’t expected. That connection between them had her panicking. Even if he couldn’t get the why out of her now, he’d be god-damned if he was going to let her leave this suite alone wearing that curve-hugging sweater sans bra and those fuck-me shoes.
“Give me a minute, and I’ll get dressed. We’ll find a party and have all the fun you want.”
She leveled a stare at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Look, thanks for the bedroom tango. But I’d rather spend my birthday with people I know. No offense.”
He tightened his arm around her waist. “We’ve been as close as two people can get. Why don’t you get to know me better? I want to know everything about you.”
Kata shoved at his hold. “There you go again with your ‘everything’ talk, like this is some meaningful relationship. We fucked. It was nice. Now go away.”
Nice? He snorted. “Walks on a sunny day are nice. Orgasms so powerful they incite tears aren’t. We both know what’s going on.”
“I think you may have overestimated your prowess.” She raised a dark brow.
“Yeah? So all the gasping, clawing, and screaming were you just stroking my ego? Okay . . .” He shrugged. “I think you’re lying, but I’m more than willing to fuck you again if you’d like to prove me wrong.”
Her mouth pursed with fury—then suddenly she went limp. Had she fainted? He nearly stumbled at the unexpected shift in weight but found his balance and brought her upright.
As he lifted her hair aside and whispered her name, she elbowed him in the belly. He released her to clutch his middle. The tricky woman darted out of the suite.
Vixen. Damn, he was used to fighting enemy combatants, not sexy females.
But by the time Hunter worked into his clothes and hit the door at a run, Kata was nowhere to be seen. He charged down the hall and made his way to the elevator, but all of the cars had moved to lower floors. He watched the indicators as one of the cars descended to the lobby. The ugly certainty that she was on that one sliced through him.
No way he could leave her upset. He’d come on strong, he knew. He was a soldier, and subtlety wasn’t his forte. But once he found her, he could let her breathe a little. He just needed to know exactly what had spooked her so they could work through it. And he couldn’t know that without getting her to open up.
Glancing at his watch, Hunter wondered where the hell she would go at this time of night, even in Vegas, alone and on her birthday. She’d said that she wanted to party. Pounding on the elevator’s down button, he waited. Finally, a ding announced its arrival. Empty. He prowled inside, hit the button for the lobby, then scanned all the hotel’s advertisements for its many bars and restaurants. In short order, he found one for a club that looked trendy and loud, with pretty people dancing and lots of alcohol. His money was on that place.
After picking up another person or two on the way to the bottom floor, the doors opened. Hunter surged outside, scanned the area, and cursed. Fucking people everywhere, milling around the lobby, checking in, flooding the casinos that flanked the bank of elevators.
As a bellman stepped past, Hunter waylaid him for directions. In less than thirty seconds, he was jogging through a casino, up a flight of stairs.
As he reached the top, the electronica music throbbed through his body. Ahead stood a set of frosted double doors. The club’s name sparkled across them in glittery paint: SIN
Hunter stepped inside, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, then scanned the area for Kata. Thirty seconds later, he spotted her at the bar, drink in hand, tossing clear liquid back with one swallow, then sucking a lime.
Shit, what exactly had he done to fuck with her head? He flipped through their encounter mentally, but nothing stood out except the explosive connection and earth-shattering orgasm that had obliterated any in his memory. She hadn’t gotten her ménage, didn’t like the lamp on. She hadn’t seemed this disturbed about anything until the sex was over. But something about their connection had made her cry.
She’d panicked a little when he’d gotten possessive. That, Kata was going to have to learn to live with, because it wasn’t going to go away.
Slowly, Hunter circled the room. He watched her push her glass forward, order another, then suck it down immediately, chasing with a lime. She repeated the process. Thank God for one small favor: She’d paused somewhere to put on her bra. Not that it kept guys from leering.
A tall punk in a baseball cap and baggy-ass jeans approached her, a come-on based on his body language. Hunter was close enough to read her lips and bit back a chuckle. His Kata knew creative ways to say no.
Then his smile fell. He couldn’t let her use those creative ways on him. He wanted her again, bare skin sliding against his as he slid as deeply into her body as possible. In fact, “want” was a weak word. He itched, craved, needed.
When the would-be Romeo stalked off, and Kata was sucking down her next drink, Hunter approached. “If you’re looking to get trashed, you’re doing a great job.”
She snapped around to meet his stare. “Why can’t I get rid of you?”
Hunter considered his possible answers, then went for the one least likely to cause more conflict. “You can’t party alone, honey. And you just pissed off the last guy who approached you. Looks like you’re stuck with me.”
“This isn’t funny, Hunter. I told you we’re done. Stop stalking me.”
So she preferred straightforward? Fine by him. “I got to you enough to make you cry. What did I do to bother you so damn much?”
She ordered another drink from the bartender, refusing to look at him. “Just because we spent an hour between the sheets doesn’t mean I owe you any answers.”
“How about a little common courtesy, then? I won’t leave until you tell me what the hell is wrong.”