After that, Magnus would change Westerly’s mind in a less pleasant way. He’d already isolated two of Westerly’s weak points—Rachelle, and an obsession with privacy. People didn’t hide unless they had something they didn’t want the public to see. Magnus would discover what it was, and he’d use the connection to the woman next to him as leverage to get that information if he needed to. He’d told her as much, and she was free to walk away.
She wouldn’t, though. Even before he’d heard her describe him to her friend, he’d known she wanted him. Part of her beauty was how expressive her eyes were. Everything she felt was right there for the world to see—innocently unprotected.
If he were in London to kill her brother, he might have felt some remorse about involving her. However, shaking the shit out of Westerly’s life until he agreed to meet with a sick child might actually be considered one of the nicest things Magnus had ever done. In the end, Rachelle would likely thank him. It was obvious she cared more for her brother than he cared for her. When Magnus finally did go head-to-head with Westerly, he’d address that issue as well. Family and duty defined a man. Prancing around in a cape and pretending to have the powers of a microscopic bug was pathetic, even if it was financially lucrative. That man needed to be woken up to what mattered in life.
He glanced at Rachelle and was taken once again by her soft beauty. “I intend to speak to your brother once more before I leave tonight. It’s your choice whether you are at my side as I do so.”
She expelled a harsh breath. “Of course it’s my choice. Do you know how impossibly full of yourself you sound?”
He smiled. He liked her spirit. “Do you know what I love about Americans?”
She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Your arrogance.”
“I’m arro—I’m arrogant? Really?”
Her outrage was so adorable he almost kissed her, but they were still very much in the public eye. “You barely know who I am or my thoughts on retaliation, and yet you’ve already swung at me out of anger.”
“Are you saying you’re planning to hit me back?”
He laughed at the horror in her eyes. “I don’t hit women.”
She looked suddenly irritated with him. “I wouldn’t be surprised to hear you did.”
He leaned over and tucked her long hair behind her ear, then whispered, “I’d rather have them beg me than fear me.”
Even in the darkness of the movie theater, he could see the blush darken her cheeks. “I’m sure that line works with some women, but I’m not impressed.”
“There it is—the arrogance that makes me wish we were alone right now. You are deliciously irreverent. I will enjoy teaching you how to speak more respectfully.”
“Respect isn’t something you teach—it’s something you earn.”
He leaned closer and whispered, “Then I will earn it one mind-blowing orgasm at a time. Just as I will allow you to do with me.”
She licked her bottom lip before saying, “Listen, I don’t care what you heard me say to my friend. I’m not interested. Call it arrogant or simply call it intelligent, but I’m not going to have sex with you.”
“Then why are you still beside me?” he growled in challenge.
She turned to look him in the eye. “Because I don’t trust you. I will be there tonight when you talk to Eric, but I won’t be on your side. I’ll be on his. If you were honest about—”
“I don’t lie—”
“I don’t know that. I don’t know you. But if there really is a little boy named Finn who is hoping to meet Eric . . .”
“There is.”
“I’ll help you explain the situation to Eric.” She gave Magnus a long look. “He’ll say yes once he hears the whole story. You don’t have to threaten me or pretend you’re interested to get me to help you. Eric would have already agreed if it had been presented to him differently.”
“I have no doubt about that,” Magus said, dismissing her brother before addressing something else she said. “I would normally wait, but for the sake of clarification—” He cupped her chin and guided her forward, claiming her mouth with his.
He’d intended the kiss to be brief and reassuring, but her lips parted for his in an invitation he couldn’t refuse. The heat that shot through him nearly made him forget where they were. The taste of her, the feel of her tongue tentatively dancing with his, was driving him wild. He wanted more. Needed more.
He broke off the kiss while he still had the fortitude to keep his hands from sliding beneath the thin material of her dress and exploring those pert breasts of hers, those tight little buds that had been teasing him all night. When he raised his head, her ragged breath matched his. “There is nothing fake about that.”
She sat back and turned her face toward the screen again. He could practically see the wheels spinning in her head.
“If you want me to help you, don’t kiss me again.”
“I don’t require your help,” he said, more because he wanted to get a rise out of her than because it was true.
She gasped again and glared at him. “You are impossible. Sleep with you? I don’t even like you.”
“Liar. I’m the man you wish had been your first and every fuck since.”
Her chest puffed so much her breasts practically burst out of her dress. He’d have to remember that dress. She would wear it for him again. Her mouth opened and closed a few times—as if she almost said something, then decided against it, chose something else to say, then decided against that as well.
“A man who brags about himself knows that no one else will,” she said with authority.
“‘It’s not bragging if you can back it up’—Muhammad Ali,” he answered without missing a step.
She huffed again, but not before he saw her almost smile. She turned away and fumbled with her phone before turning back and saying, “‘Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful’—Ann Landers.”
Ah, the culture of shared, uploaded searchable knowledge. How would it fare against an impeccable education? “‘Be not afraid of greatness’—Shakespeare.”
“How appropriate. I do see some Malvolio in you,” she snapped back.
“Touché, my little American.” Magnus laughed, to the consternation of those around them. Her reference to the man who had been the brunt of a joke that had included the greatness quote revealed she was also well schooled. Yes, here was a woman who would not bore him.
“Stop. We’re being rude.”
Magnus shrugged. “No, whoever decided your seat was not beside your brother tonight was rude. We are merely not entertained by an insect superhero.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m enjoying the movie immensely.”
“Really? Then tell me where the alien creature went who was attacking the city a moment ago. Was he killed? Did he flee? Do you know what his rationale was for attacking? Amid the gratuitous explosions, I doubt there is a plot to be followed at all.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Now you’re just being a jerk.”
When several moments passed without her speaking, he relented. It was not his intention to offend her. “Are you honestly enjoying the movie?”
“I’m trying to,” she said.
“Which part, outside of that your brother is in it, pleases you?”
“No. I’m not having this conversation. You don’t get to mock something I care about and then ask me what I think of it. You want to please me? Stop talking.”
Magnus felt like a young child holding in mischief during a ceremony. Part of him acknowledged that he should allow her to view the film without interruption. However, it was not as if a film were a once-in-a-lifetime event. Ridiculous as the plot was, Westerly’s movies would have a global tour at the theaters and then likely dominate on television after that. This electricity might have a significantly shorter shelf life and was therefore of more importance. “I don’t believe anyone has ever told me to be silent.”
“Well, then I’m honored to be the first, and I’ll gladly be the next.”
He laughed again, and she swatted his arm.
“I’m serious. Stop.”
He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips for a kiss. “I like you, Rachelle Westerly. For that reason, and that reason alone, I will be silent.” He placed her hand beneath his on his thigh and laced his fingers through hers.