She stared at him.
“Say something,” he hissed.
“A—a bath? That sounds—it sounds—”
“Yeah. It does.”
Cam scooped her from the bed, held his breath and waited for the kiss of whatever it was she had in her hand, a carving knife, a steak knife—except, how big could it be if she’d been able to hide it in the bit of gold string she called a thong?
“Bath time,” he said loudly as he carried her across the floor, into the bathroom and elbowed the door shut behind him.
She started to speak. He put his finger over her lips and waited. Nothing happened. No pounding at the bedroom door, no shouts, no footsteps rushing down the hall. Still holding her, he reached for the taps in the tub and turned them on.
Water drummed loudly against the marble.
“Now,” he said quietly, “give me that knife.”
“Tell me your plan. Then we’ll see about the knife.”
Cam clenched his jaw. The lady was tough as well as beautiful. He’d have to handle her with a little more caution.
“I’m going to put you down. Just don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
“You’ll have more to regret than I will.”
Carefully he set her on her feet. The knife had disappeared—for the moment, anyway.
“Okay,” he said, “tell me what you know.”
“Asaad is planning something.”
“And?”
“I’m supposed to distract you.”
“That’s it?”
“Isn’t it enough?”
Cam ran his hand through his hair. “Great,” he muttered. “My own Salome.”
“What?”
“Salome. Remember? The babe who got a guy so hot he didn’t even know it when she whacked off his head for the king.”
“While you’re being clever, Asaad’s probably getting ready to kill us both. What are we going to do about it?”
We? He almost laughed. There was no “we.” All he was interested in, when it came to this lady, was getting that weapon—whatever it was—out of the hand she was keeping behind her back. Then he’d say adios to her and get the hell out.
She was on her own. If he took her with him, she’d be a liability.
“Okay,” Cam said, lying through his teeth. “But you aren’t going to like my plan.”
“Try me.”
“They’re waiting for the big moment. The climax, as it were.”
Color striped her cheeks. “You think this is funny?” She moved closer to him and he felt the quick kiss of steel against his belly again. “Maybe you think this is funny, too.”