He blinked, focusing intently on her face, as his brain tripped over those words. Hope flared but he smothered it. She’d made her position perfectly clear the last time they saw one another. And he wasn’t a man who begged or cajoled.

So why was she here?

Needing to see her better, he moved toward the window. “What have you come for, then?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not to me.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes, her cheeks tinged with color. He wished he knew why. “Are you embarrassed?”

“I shouldn’t be,” she said with a small laugh. “It’s not as if I’m . . .” She sighed and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. “This is so much easier for men.”

“Not true. At the moment I’m confused and twisted inside out with possibility. You know how I feel about ambiguity.”

She dropped her chin and stared right into his eyes. “I’m here to sleep with you.”

Heat rushed through his veins and centered in his groin at the unexpected and entirely arousing declaration. She’d changed her mind about screwing him. Why?

Don’t question your good fortune, man. Go on and kiss her before she reconsiders.

No, he had to be certain. Clay did nothing without careful and methodical evaluation. He deserved an explanation, even if his body was suddenly as eager as a young teen. “What changed your mind about trusting me?”

“I realized I do trust you. I’ve trusted you to teach me, to take me seriously. I’ve trusted you to keep me safe and protect my anonymity here. I’ve trusted you enough to kiss you and pleasure myself while you’re in the same room. I do trust you.”

A crack opened in the stone that used to be his heart, and a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time welled up to warm him. Tenderness.

He fought to shove it back down. Buttoned it up. This was not about feelings and emotion. She was here for danger and excitement, a colorful break from the monotony of her beige uptown existence. Not for a grand love affair with a criminal. He was not a long-term choice, merely a short-term diversion.

So . . . danger and excitement. That he could do.

“You want me to fuck you?”

Her lips parted on a sharp inhale. Then her gaze darkened, almost glowing in the dim light. “Yes.”

Ah, the power in that single word. He stepped toward her, closing the distance between them, his body alert and ready. A thief stalking his mark. Anticipation crawled through him as she watched, unmoving, color still high on her cheeks. When he was within reach, he cupped her face and bent his head. He dragged his nose alongside hers, breathing her in. Everything blurred, his vision filled with this gorgeous creature.