04 Naked Games (12 page)
Fifteen minutes into the flick, Catherine discovered she was actually having a good time. She’d learned that Gracie had the same love of movie theater popcorn as she did. They shared a big tub, and it wasn’t until the credits were rolling and the lights came back on that Dean’s hurtful words came back to her.
“Come on,” Gracie said, as she tugged her out of the theater. “It’s time for some girl talk.”
They entered a little café on the second floor of the mall, and Gracie ordered them both a cup of coffee while Catherine found a table for them near the back. After they were seated, Catherine said, “Clearly putting on a brave front is a waste of time.”
Gracie blew on her coffee, then said, “I was always terrible at hiding my emotions from Wade. He can see right through me.”
“I don’t know why Dean is so bent on thinking the worst of me.” Catherine squeezed her eyes closed tight. “He’s so hardheaded.”
Gracie snorted. “He’s a Harrison, so that explains the hardheaded part.”
Catherine thought of the conversation she’d had with Deanna in the car on the way to the hotel from Dean’s house. “Yeah, I can see it runs in the family. Deanna was intent on making me see that Dean didn’t mean what he said. The thing is, I heard it with my own ears.”
“Deanna didn’t tell us what happened exactly. She only said that Dean spoke without thinking and that you got hurt because of it. That alone was enough to send Wade into a tizzy.”
Catherine took a sip of her coffee. It was too hot to drink yet and she ended up burning her tongue. She barely noticed though. “The night we shared was so wonderful, Gracie. Dean was attentive, gentle, rough, and completely insatiable.”
Gracie winked. “So far, so good.”
“He seemed to really want me. The way I wanted him. It felt right, but I’d been deluding myself because all he’d wanted was answers. The sex was nothing more than a means to an end.”
Gracie’s brows scrunched together. “Are you saying he was only using you?”
Catherine nodded. “He said as much. The joke’s on him though, because I have no answers to give him. The idiot won’t listen to reason, of course.”
“God, Catherine, I can’t imagine how you must feel.” Gracie frowned. “I’m surprised he’d do something so callous. I really thought he was into you.”
“Yeah, he’s really great at pretending, I guess.” She thought of how many times he’d come, and doubt started to seep in. A man couldn’t fake that sort of thing. He’d turned to her again and again, wanting her with such intensity.
“Are you sure he wasn’t just spouting off? Men sometimes say things when they’re angry that they don’t mean. Women too, for that matter.”
Catherine wasn’t sure of anything anymore. “It seemed like he sincerely enjoyed our night together.” She looked across the table at her sister. “Should I give him a chance to explain?”
“At this point, I don’t see how it can hurt.” She paused before adding, “Not that he deserves it.”
Maybe Gracie was right, but Catherine had a terrible feeling that if she wasn’t careful, Dean was going to end up breaking her heart.
16
A
fter Catherine had left, Dean had done some serious thinking. He’d hurt Catherine with his careless words. He needed to make it up to her, if that was at all possible. But he also couldn’t shake the feeling that he couldn’t trust her. That she wasn’t telling him the full truth about her parents, her adoption, all of it. He, better than anyone, knew how easily a woman could lie. Hadn’t Linda acted the part of the perfect girlfriend? She’d pretended to be so in love with him, even going as far as wanting to have his babies. Dean would’ve gone on believing her too, if he hadn’t come home early and found her in bed with Jimmy. Then there were the women who’d lied and used Dean before Linda had entered the picture.
fter Catherine had left, Dean had done some serious thinking. He’d hurt Catherine with his careless words. He needed to make it up to her, if that was at all possible. But he also couldn’t shake the feeling that he couldn’t trust her. That she wasn’t telling him the full truth about her parents, her adoption, all of it. He, better than anyone, knew how easily a woman could lie. Hadn’t Linda acted the part of the perfect girlfriend? She’d pretended to be so in love with him, even going as far as wanting to have his babies. Dean would’ve gone on believing her too, if he hadn’t come home early and found her in bed with Jimmy. Then there were the women who’d lied and used Dean before Linda had entered the picture.
He didn’t know if Catherine was capable of such deceit. He wanted to believe she wasn’t. Dean ached to have faith in her the way everyone else did. The bottom line was, if he was ever going to have more than one night with Catherine then he needed to find out one way or the other whether she was the innocent long-lost sibling she claimed to be. That thought had brought him to Deanna and Jonas’s house.
Dean pounded on the front door and waited. He needed to talk to Jonas. He knew the idiot was home, because his black Charger was in the driveway. He couldn’t reach him on his cell, and no one was answering on Deanna’s house phone either. Dean was starting to think Jonas was avoiding him. When the door swung wide, revealing Jonas barefoot and wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt, Dean frowned. “Why aren’t you answering your damn phone?”
Jonas crossed his arms over his chest. “Because I’m seriously pissed at you at the moment.”
“What the hell for?” He rubbed his hands together to stave off the cold and asked, “Can I come in, or are you planning on letting me freeze to death?”
To Dean’s consternation, Jonas actually appeared to give that some thought. When he stepped back and let him enter, Dean was only too pleased. Jonas slammed the door shut behind him and proceeded to glare. “Deanna is upset because of the way you’re treating Catherine. I really don’t like Deanna upset.”
Dean looked around for his sister but came up empty. “Where is Deanna anyway?”
“She went shopping with your mom. She needed to get her mind off her asshole twin.”
Dean winced. “Look, that’s why I’m here. I want you to run a search on Catherine.”
Jonas threw his hands in the air. “Why the hell would I? In case you forgot, we already did a background check on her when she first contacted Gracie claiming to be her sister. Get it through your thick skull that she’s clean, Dean. The. Fucking. End.”
Dean unzipped his Carhartt and tossed it over a chair. “Then you need to dig deeper. I know it sounds crazy, but there’s something she’s hiding. I can’t move forward until I know what it is.”
“Why are you so sure she’s hiding something? Don’t you think Wade or I would’ve gotten the same vibe from her if that were true? We’re the private investigators here, not you, and our instincts say she’s harmless.”
“You and Wade want her to be harmless. You don’t want to find anything on her because you care about her. My head is less clouded by my feelings.”
Jonas quirked a brow at him. “Oh, really?”
Dean squared his shoulders, ready for a fight. “Really.”
“From what I hear, your feelings are plenty involved, seeing as how you spent the night with her.”
Dean took a step forward, closing the distance between them. “Don’t even go there, Phoenix. What happened between Catherine and me is off limits.”
Jonas fisted his hands at his sides and shot right back, “I sort of thought so too, until I saw Deanna cry earlier today.”
Dean felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He couldn’t have heard right. “She was crying? Because of me?”
Jonas rolled his eyes. “Haven’t you figured out that she loves you and wants to see you happy? She came home in tears after dropping Catherine off. It was all I could do to get her to tell me what had happened.”
Dean shook his head, unwilling to think of how much pain he’d caused everyone already. “Catherine and I had a little misunderstanding. I’m going to fix it. Deanna doesn’t need to worry about me.”
“Yeah, well, she does. So if you don’t get your head out of your ass soon, I’m going to lose my temper and do something we’ll both regret.”
He had to bite back a smile at Jonas’s protective attitude toward Deanna. Dean’s admiration for the guy went up a few notches. “Then help me find out more information on Catherine. Once I know for sure that she has nothing to hide, I’ll gladly let this whole thing go.”
Jonas sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. “Deanna won’t like it if she finds out we’re digging around in Catherine’s life. She considers her part of the family already.”
“Look, if you won’t do it, I’ll find someone who will.”
Jonas was quiet a moment before asking, “You aren’t going to stop, are you?”
Dean shook his head. “Not until I can see the proof of Catherine’s innocence with my own eyes.”
“I’ll do it, but I think you’re making a big mistake,” he said. “She’s not the con artist you think she is. You could really fuck this up, Dean.”
Dean was starting to think the same thing. On all counts.
“Give me a few days. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks,” Dean muttered as he grabbed his coat and headed for the door. “I owe you one.”
Jonas snorted. “If Deanna gets wind of this we’ll both be up shit creek.”
Dean cursed under his breath at the thought. His twin wasn’t a pretty sight when she was angry. “Let’s make damn sure she doesn’t find out, then.”
Jonas nodded and shut the door in his face.
It wasn’t until Dean was behind the wheel that he thought of Jonas’s words.
You could really fuck this up.
Pain shot through his chest when he thought of never seeing Catherine again. Never touching her soft skin, never kissing her awake. Never slipping inside her welcoming body and making slow, sweet love all night long. No, he wouldn’t let that happen. He would talk to Catherine. Grovel if necessary. She’d gotten under his skin, and Dean aimed to keep her there. In the meantime, what was the harm in having Jonas get him some answers? It was peace of mind, nothing more. It would all work out, Dean would make damn sure of it.
You could really fuck this up.
Pain shot through his chest when he thought of never seeing Catherine again. Never touching her soft skin, never kissing her awake. Never slipping inside her welcoming body and making slow, sweet love all night long. No, he wouldn’t let that happen. He would talk to Catherine. Grovel if necessary. She’d gotten under his skin, and Dean aimed to keep her there. In the meantime, what was the harm in having Jonas get him some answers? It was peace of mind, nothing more. It would all work out, Dean would make damn sure of it.
It’d been more than two full days since Catherine had seen Dean. She’d avoided his calls, even though it’d been the hardest thing she’d ever done. When he’d stopped by her hotel suite a few times, Catherine hadn’t answered the door. It hadn’t been until she’d spied the pretty bouquet of daisies on the floor outside her room that she’d cried like a baby. Her heart was breaking, which was insane because they’d only spent one night together. She wasn’t supposed to fall for a one-night stand. They barely knew each other, so why did she feel such an overwhelming connection to Dean? It made little sense.
The time she’d spent with Gracie had helped to take her mind off the big jerk. She’d had fun going to the historical museum on Monday. Ohio was swiftly growing on Catherine. So much so that she’d begun to think of living in the Buckeye State. To be closer to Gracie would be wonderful. Unfortunately that would put her closer to Dean as well.
Now it was five o’clock on Tuesday, and Catherine had the evening to herself. She’d killed some time by doing some updates on a few clients’ websites, but she’d finished them too quickly. She still had the evening to herself. She contemplated going down to the hotel spa and getting a massage, maybe a mani-pedi as well. She felt like pampering herself a little. The distraction would do her good, and maybe the massage would loosen up a few of the knots in the back of her neck.
As she reached for the phone to call the front desk, a knock on the door stopped her. Her heartbeat sped up at the thought that it might be Dean. God, she missed him. It wasn’t fair that she could long for a man who saw her as some sort of fraud.
When she rose up on her tiptoes to see through the peephole, she all but swallowed her tongue. Dean stood outside her room, and he had the look of a man who’d had just about enough. His gaze zeroed in on the peephole, right at her, causing Catherine to stagger backward.
“I know you’re in there, Catherine, and this time I’m not leaving.”
His voice was loud enough to have everyone on the floor wondering what was going on. Catherine sighed, knowing she couldn’t avoid him forever. It was time to face the man, once and for all. She took a deep breath and turned the knob. The vision of him sucked all the air out of her lungs. He had on a pair of low-riding jeans, a black pocket T under his Carhartt, and a pair of black work boots. He was carrying a grocery bag in his right hand. Damn it, she could’ve stayed strong if he’d looked like crap. Maybe. As it was, Catherine knew it was only a matter of time before she caved.
On the other hand, she resembled something out of a horror movie. Her hair was piled up in a messy bun on top of her head, and she had on an old pair of jeans that so did not flatter her figure. The worn, baby-blue T-shirt she only ever wore to bed was the icing on the cake. Great, the ball was in his court already.
“It’s about time you stopped hiding from me,” he said as he strode through the door and pulled off his coat. After he tossed it onto the couch along with the bag, he turned and glared at her.
Catherine’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. She closed the door, then took a second to gather her courage. “I wasn’t hiding,” she lied as she turned toward him. “I simply didn’t want to see you. There’s a difference.” She pointed to the computer and decided to use work as an excuse. “Besides, I had some work to tend to.”
He moved closer to her, and Catherine found herself backing up. “You were hiding,” he reiterated, his voice as hard as steel.
Catherine wasn’t about to get into a debate with the man. “I have plans tonight, Dean, so make it fast.”
He grinned. It reminded her of a panther, once it had cornered its prey. “I talked to Wade and Gracie a little bit ago, Catherine,” he said, as he took another step in her direction. “You don’t have plans with them. They’re on their way out to dinner with one of Wade’s clients.”
Her head shot up in the air. “My plans might not include my sister, but I have them nonetheless.” Okay, she hadn’t actually made the massage appointment yet, but Dean didn’t need to know that.
Dean stopped dead and cocked an eyebrow. “If not them, then who do you have plans with? You haven’t been in Ohio long enough to make friends.”
Was that jealousy she detected in his tone? Hmm, interesting. “I don’t see as how that’s any of your business.”
In two strides, Dean was in front of her, his hands wrapped firmly around her upper arms. “Everything you do is my business, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Who do you have plans with?”
Too late Catherine realized her mistake. Baiting a man like Dean was simply suicidal. He was too possessive and predatory. “No one,” she finally admitted. “I was going to make an appointment with the hotel spa, that’s all.”
He relaxed his hold, but he didn’t release her. “Why wouldn’t you answer my calls?”
She jerked out of his arms, angry that he’d even ask such a ridiculous question. “You can’t guess?”
He cupped her cheek in one calloused palm. “I hurt you.” His voice was low and rough. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
Finally they arrived at the crux of the issue. Catherine debated the merits of shutting him down by simply refusing to hear his side of things, but she remembered her conversation with Gracie about giving him a chance to explain. Besides, didn’t she deserve to know the truth? The way Catherine saw it, she had a right to know if the night they’d shared meant anything to him. “Tell me something, Dean, and I want the truth.”
He shoved his hands in his front pockets. “I’ll always be honest with you, Catherine.”
She wasn’t so sure of that, but she let it slide. “Did you sleep with me simply to gain answers?” she blurted out. “Is that what our night was to you?”
“Christ, Catherine,” he growled. “Is that what you’ve been thinking all this time?”
Catherine tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and plowed on. “You said yourself that before I went back to Georgia you would have your answers. What else am I to think?”
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