“I’ve never seen a woman so beautiful when angry…especially when you’re angry about this. It’s very endearing.”

“I’m glad this is so entertaining for you,” I said with thick sarcasm.

Jared shook his head, trying not to smile. He held out his arms. “Come here.”

I stood there a moment, arms crossed, eying him suspiciously. The plan that he would change his mind from my protesting had backfired. He was maddeningly resolved.

I didn’t want to give in, but his arms looked so inviting I couldn’t help myself. Before I knew what I was doing, I curled up in his lap.

“You’re making me crazy, you know. I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn,” I grumbled.

Jared’s shoulders shrugged around me. “I’m being cautious. Beth and Chad walked in on us.”

I looked up at him with a dubious expression. “Since when do you care what other people think?”

“I didn’t hear them. They caught me off guard,” he said in a low voice.

I felt one corner of my mouth turn up. “Obviously.”

“That’s never happened before. I should have been able to hear them exit the elevator. I should have heard her pull out her keys. I heard nothing until they walked through the door. If that had been one of Shax’s men, you would have been dead.”

My grin faded quickly, and I struggled to push away any worry. “What does that mean?”

“That means Eli was right. When I’m with you like that, I can’t focus. I’m not only fighting my feelings, Nina. When we’re alone and things get intense, I struggle with your…desires as well. Can you imagine what you were feeling doubled? It’s impossible to think about anything else.”

“Doubled? I don’t think that’s possible.” As soon as the words stumbled from my mouth, I felt my face flush with crimson. “I just meant that I wouldn’t complain about it.”

“I’m not complaining,” he said, kissing my forehead. “I’m saying we’re going to have to wait until I can afford to be distracted. If anything happened to you …I’ve already put you in danger from my selfishness, Nina. I have to keep my priorities straight.”

I grudgingly nodded. By keeping me safe, he was safe. I couldn’t argue with that.

Jared stood up, taking me with him. “Let’s get out of here. Get some fresh air,” he said.

I smiled. “We’d better.”

Jared chuckled and held the door open for me. He had the quilt his father had bought me when I received my acceptance letter from Brown. It had the school colors in different scraps of fabric that somehow formed the Brown University crest.

“What is that for?” I asked, stopping in the doorway.