Finally, after what felt like hours, but was probably only a minute, he tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. Let loose a string of curses that were… inventive. Eventually he lowered his head and stared at her. “You’re a pain in the ass.”
“You’re not the first man who’s said that to me.” She huffed out a short laugh. “Or the first woman.”
“Doesn’t surprise me.” He dropped onto the couch a good foot away from her. “So what’s your brilliant plan to keep Davies from grabbing you at this conference?”
“Limit my exposure,” she said, pleased that her voice was even. Confident. “I’ll go to the opening reception. Tickets are required, and they’re only given to the industry movers and shakers. They’re not available to most of the conference attendees. Even if he comes to the conference, Ethan won’t be at the reception. So it should be safe.”
“And after that?” Spence swiveled on the couch and stared at her. “What about when the events are open to anyone who paid the price of admission?”
She drew a ragged breath and shifted her gaze to Spence. “I won’t go to any of the sessions, other than the one I’m giving. I can get a flash drive with all the sessions recorded and listen to that whenever I want.”
“Hold on,” Spence said, grabbing her hand. “You’re giving a session and the keynote?”
She shrugged but gripped his hand tightly. She knew she could be abrasive. Irritating. But it hadn’t seemed to put Spence off. He’d given as good as he got. She’d never met a man willing to go toe-to-toe with her.
It was arousing as hell.
She slid her fingers between his. Pressed her palm to his and felt the now-familiar zing that made her shiver.
“That’s the way most of these conferences are organized, and it’s what I agreed to. The group at the session will be a lot smaller than the one at the keynote. You should be able to scan all the faces and see if Ethan is there.”
“If your sister gets me a current picture of him,” he muttered.
“She hasn’t done that yet?” Zoe raised one eyebrow. “Want me to call her and tell her to get it in gear? Find a current photo of Ethan?”
His jaw worked as he stared at her, but his mouth twitched. As if she amused him. “I already did that when I called her earlier.”
“And what did she say?”
“That she’s working on it.”
“Then you’ll get a picture. My sister is the most competent person I know.”
“And you’re the most frustrating person I know,” he shot back.
“Then I guess we’re even,” she said calmly.
He studied her for a long moment. His gaze shifted from her eyes to her mouth. His chest rose and fell. Rose and fell. Desire roared through her, need and lust and arousal swirling through her belly, and she wanted to pull him to her. Crush her mouth to his.
He leaned closer. “I should be mad as hell at you right now,” he murmured. His voice drifted over her like liquid velvet, warming her. Making every part of her tingle with awareness of how close he was. “You’re taking a ridiculous chance by attending that conference. But all I can think about is how strong you are. How gutsy.”
He leaned closer. “And how much I want you.”