Susan Mallery: Tempting

"Thank God," she said before she could stop herself. "It's just you."

Alex raised his eyebrows. "Just me? So I wasn't intimidating enough at our last meeting? None of the threats worked?"

Oops. "No, no. Of course not. You were terrifying. I won't sleep for weeks. Dragons. I'm going to have nightmares about them. Seriously. It's just compared with meeting your mother… no offense, but you're a snap."

He didn't even crack a smile. Was it that the man didn't have a sense of humor or was it her specifically that he didn't find funny? She thought about pointing out this was actually pretty good material, but decided not to. There was a better than even chance she would be barfing from nerves shortly. Why push her luck now?

He stared at her for several seconds. She smiled tightly. "It's the whole visitor, front door thing. You're supposed to invite me in."

"I don't want to."

"You'll warm up to me."

"I doubt it."

"I'm a very nice person."

He looked unconvinced but still he took a step back and allowed her to ease past him into the foyer.

The interior of the house was large, but homey. It was the kind of place designed to make someone feel at ease-too bad it wasn't having that effect on her at the moment.

She turned to Alex, but before she could speak a teenage boy rolled into the room. He was pale and thin, with dark hair and eyes. His right hand worked a control on his motorized wheelchair while his left hand lay bent and curled in his lap.

"Are you the stripper I ordered?" he asked as he eyed her. "I've been waiting over an hour. I was expecting better service from your company."

Dani tilted her head slightly as she tried to figure out how to handle the outrageous question. Finally she settled on the truth.

"I'm not exactly stripper material," she said with a grin. "I'm too short. I always picture them really tall and with those big headpieces like the Las Vegas showgirls wear."

"They couldn't drive in one of those feather things," he told her.

"They could if they had a sunroof and kept it open."

"Don't encourage him," Alex muttered. "Dani Buchanan, Ian Canfield. My brother. He can be obnoxious."

"An ugly accusation and totally untrue."

"Nice to meet you." Dani said and held out her hand to Ian.

He moved his wheelchair close and shook her hand. "You could be stripper material if you wanted," he said.

"What a lovely thing to say. It's a compliment I’ll treasure always. My mother would be so proud."

Ian laughed. "Okay, I like you. That doesn't happen often. You should treasure the moment."

Dani laughed. "I will. You'll be prominently mentioned in my diary tonight."

He sighed. "It's a problem I have all the time. Chicks dig me. It's the supersized battery. They go crazy for power."

With that, he spun his chair and wheeled away.

When he was gone, she turned to Alex. "See. People like me."

"He's young and he doesn't know who you are."

"Meaning he won't like me when he finds out I'm inherently evil?"

Alex stared at her. His dark eyes gave nothing away. "Ian doesn't usually warm up to people."

"He's a perceptive young man. I like him, too."

"You think I'm going to be swayed by some pity banter with my crippled brother?"

Her brief good mood faded and she suddenly wished she were big and muscular so she could hit him and do some damage.

"Don't insult me and don't you dare insult him." She moved closer and poked him in the chest. "I'll accept that I'm a complication no one expected. You can be protective of your family all you want, you can even think the worst of me. But don't you dare take what was a charming moment in an otherwise insane day and make it something disgusting."

"Are you going to take me on?" he asked, obviously unimpressed by her temper.

"In a heartbeat."

"Think you'll win?"

"Absolutely."

One corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "We'll see."

Great. She was furious and he found the situation, or possibly her, amusing. Good-looking or not, she was thinking she could seriously grow to hate this man.

He motioned for her to walk into the large living room. As she passed him, she waved her purse in front of him. "I brought a small bag so there won't be that awkward moment of you asking to search it before I leave. This will make it so much harder for me to steal the family silver, though."

"It wouldn't have been awkward."

"You really are a lawyer."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"You're not afraid to say what you think, you don't worry about insulting me and you're determined to see me as nothing more significant than lint. That takes a lot of training."

"Or the right motivation."

The room was done in earth tones. The comfortable furnishings had an air of grace. The paintings looked original, the carpets thick enough to sleep on, yet there were a few toys scattered around. This was not a room for show. People lived here and she liked that.

Dani turned to take it all in, then noticed a woman in a white coat perched on the edge of a sofa. She rose and walked over to them.

"Whenever you're ready," the woman said.

Ready for what?

Oh, right. "DNA test?" Dani asked. "You're not wasting any time."

"Do you want me to?" Alex asked.

Instead of answering, Dani turned to the woman. "Swab away."

She opened her mouth and the lab tech stroked the inside of her cheek with a cotton swab. Seconds later she was done and on her way. Dani stared after her.

"Let me guess. You're paying extra for a speedy result?"

"It seemed the smart thing to do."

She felt exhausted by the roller coaster of emotion she'd been through that day. There was enough stress in the situation without fighting with Alex, too.

"I want to know the truth," she told him. "Nothing more. If Mark Canfield isn't my father, then I'll disappear and we can all pretend this didn't happen."

Alex didn't look convinced. "You could have stayed away in the first place."

"I want to know my father. Even you must be human enough to understand that."

"I've already told you, I find your timing a little too convenient."

"I just got the information recently. All I want is to figure out where I belong."

He didn't actually say "not here," but the words echoed in the quiet room.

Despite them, Alex motioned for her to sit on the sofa. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No, thanks." Her stomach was too unsettled from nerves.

"They aren't telling the children. Not until the test results are back. You're going to have to go another few days before you can claim your glory."

She'd been about to sit. Now she straightened. "Dammit, Alex, that's enough. You're pushing me for no reason. I've committed no crime. I've been totally honest and up-front. The fact that you choose not to believe me doesn't change the truth. You're going to have to back off or we're going to have a problem."

He folded his arms across his chest. "We already do. I don't trust you. There's nothing you can say to make me want to try."

She narrowed her gaze. Part of her respected his stubborn determination to protect what was his. Part of her wanted to back the car over him.

"Then let's try this another way. How about you let me get close to screwing up before you bite my head off?"

She had no idea if he would accept her offer. She found herself hoping he would and not just because she might be related to his father. Something inside of her wanted Alex to like her. A dangerous possibility, she thought, given her history in the romance department and her potential, non-biological family link with Alex.

"How close?" he asked finally.

"Within sight of, but not actually touching."

"I'll think about it."

Considering how he'd been acting, it was a major concession. Maybe he wasn't the Terminator. Maybe he could be bargained with or reasoned with. Although she had a feeling if she got in his way, he would rip out her heart without a second thought. Verbally, if not physically.