Irritated that he was even pondering emotions and sex, he raised his fist to bang on the door.
He heard the sound of water being shut off and a feminine, ‘Just a minute.’
He let out a rough breath. Excellent; she was just out of the shower.
The door opened wide and he found himself staring into Regan James’s gorgeous eyes. Seconds seemed to lengthen into minutes as his eyes automatically travelled down her slender form.
‘You!’
‘Me,’ Jaeger growled, his voice roughened by the swift rise of his body at the sight of her in a cotton dressing gown and towel around her head. He pushed past her into the room before she had a chance to collect herself and slam the door in his face.
‘Hold on. You can’t come barging in here.’
Jag didn’t bother to point out the obvious. That he already had. Instead he scanned the small room, looking for any signs that might clue him in as to where her brother might be.
‘Did you hear me?’ She yanked on his arm to turn him towards her and the move was so unexpected, so shocking that he did indeed turn towards her, a frown on his face. Nobody touched him without first being given permission to do so. Ever.
His eyes narrowed as she clutched the lapels of her robe closed, making him acutely aware that she was naked beneath the thin cloth. He wanted nothing more than to wrench the garment from her body and sink into her feminine softness until he couldn’t remember what it felt like to be burdened by duty. Until he couldn’t remember what it felt like to be alone. But no one could escape destiny and one night in this woman’s arms wouldn’t change anything. Duty and loneliness went hand in hand. He’d learned that from watching his father.
Savagely tamping down on needs that had materialised from who knew where, he scowled at her.
‘I heard you.’
‘Then...’ She lifted her chin in response to his brusqueness. ‘What are you doing here?’
Jag glanced at the photo of her brother in his hand before flicking it onto the coffee table. ‘You left this behind.’
Her gaze landed on the photo. ‘Well...thanks for returning it, but you could have left it with the front desk downstairs.’
Ignoring her, Jag raised the flap of her suitcase and peered at the contents. ‘Is this all the luggage you have?’
Frowning at him, she crossed the room and slammed it closed. ‘That’s none of your business.’
Deciding that he’d wasted enough time humouring this woman, Jag gave her a look that usually sent grown men into hiding. ‘I asked you a question.’
This close, he dwarfed her in height and form, but her instincts for survival must have been truly lost because she still didn’t move back from him.
‘And I asked you to leave,’ she shot back.
Jag’s lip curled. He would have thought her much braver than she looked if not for that pulse point throbbing like a battering ram at the base of her neck.
‘I’m not leaving.’ His voice held a dark warning. ‘Not before you’ve told me everything you know about your brother.’
‘You do know my brother, don’t you?’ Finally she took a quick step backwards. ‘Do you also know where he is? Did you lie about that?’
‘I ask the questions. You answer them,’ he stated coldly.
She shook her head. ‘Who are you?’
‘That is not important.’
‘Do you have my brother?’ Her voice held a fine tremor of panic. ‘You do, don’t you?’
Jag’s lip curled into a snarl. ‘If I had your brother, why would I be here?’
‘I don’t know.’ Those cinnamon-brown eyes were riveted to his. ‘I don’t know what you want or why you’re here.’ She swallowed heavily and Jag felt his chest constrict at her obvious fear. The need to soothe it—the need to soothe her—took him completely by surprise.
Knowing this would go a lot easier if she were relaxed he tried for a conciliatory tone. ‘There’s no need to be afraid, Miss James. I merely want to ask you some questions.’