Faith grinned and chuckled lightly. “Nathan didn’t get around to telling you?”

“Nah, not yet.”

She shook her head. “Those two, I swear. Ever since Micah came to work with us, he and Nathan have been pulling prank after prank on one another. Micah moved here from out of state, so he had no idea who the governor’s daughter was. Pop had the job of providing security for the governor’s ball he held here in Houston. Only his daughter needed a date after hers stood her up. It came down to Connor, Micah or Nathan. Connor, of course, was over the entire security so he couldn’t, not that he would have anyway. Nathan immediately started in on how gorgeous the governor’s daughter was and how the only fair thing was for them to flip a coin, but he sure hoped he’d win because he’d heard that in addition to being drop-dead gorgeous, she was also a complete nymphomaniac. Now knowing what you know about Micah, you can imagine he was chomping at the bit. He wheedled and cajoled until finally Nathan gave in graciously and allowed Micah the honor of escorting the daughter for the evening.”

“Ah shit,” Gray said as he dissolved into laughter. “I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall.”

“It was pretty funny,” Faith admitted. “She was velcroed to Micah the entire evening. They spent most of it on the dance floor with her hands glued to his ass and her lips wherever she could plant them. I thought Micah was going to kill Nathan the next morning.”

Gray chuckled and shook his head. “Those two are pretty funny.”

“Yeah, they’re great.”

“So you think bald is sexy, huh.”

She raised her head in surprise. “Uh, well, on him it looks good.”

His eyes twinkled. “Do I need to shave my head so you’ll drool over me that way?”

To her never-ending irritation, she blushed again. “So uh…” She scrambled to direct the focus from her bemusement. “We’ve talked enough about me. What about you?”

“What about me?” he asked.

“Got a girlfriend? Someone back in Dallas you see?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

She frowned. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“You’re too damn good-looking not to have at least one woman in the wings,” she muttered.

He grinned. “Well, I’m glad you think so, but there’s no woman. Scout’s honor. Truth is, I haven’t really gotten around to looking for a woman yet.”

“And what are you going to be looking for when you do?” Faith asked softly.

He looked surprised by her forward approach. He shifted forward in his chair and rested his elbow on the bar. Then he turned to look at her, his expression pensive, as if deciding whether or not he wanted to tell her.

“Soft and feminine. Not too soft, but not harsh.” His lips curled upward in a rueful smile. “Someone who doesn’t feel her femininity is a strike against her.”

She cupped her cheek in her palm and leaned her elbow on the bar as she stared at him. “Given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?”

He shrugged. “Not really. I just know what I want.”

That makes two of us. She wanted someone strong, unyielding, someone who could take care of her, someone not afraid to make decisions. Could he be that person?

She looked down at the napkin under her drink and played with the ends. Natural power radiated from Gray. Like a second skin he was comfortable wearing.

“Want to hear my other deep, dark secret?” he asked.

She grinned. “Of course.”

“I want a woman willing to let me call the shots.”

She stared at him in shock, unable to formulate a response. The seconds ticked by as silence settled between them.

Gray cleared his throat. “I’ve shocked you. It’s hard to make a statement like that and not come across as a knuckles-dragging-the-ground Neanderthal.” He shrugged again. “I don’t see a lot of women lining up for a guy like me.”

“That depends.” Her fingers gripped her drink, pressing into the damp glass until her fingertips were white.

“On what?”

“On what you’re willing to give a woman in return.”

Their gazes locked. She could see the flickers of interest in his eyes. If she gave him any sort of encouragement, they’d no doubt go back to her apartment and have sex. She licked her lips again.

“And what do you think a woman would want in return?” he asked silkily.

“More women wouldn’t mind a man being the proverbial man of the house if he didn’t abdicate his responsibility. If he took that responsibility seriously,” she said and immediately cringed at how preachy she sounded.

He nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”

Unable to stop herself, she continued on. “When a man isn’t willing to accept responsibility, a woman has no choice but to step up to the plate. Many times she has children to think about. Herself. Her family. As a result, women have figured out that they are not only capable, but oftentimes more adept at running the household than a man.”

“You make it sound like men as a species have dropped the ball entirely,” Gray said dryly.

“Women have done their fair share of fucking up,” Faith muttered.

God, she needed to just shut up before Gray tucked tail and ran as fast and as far away as he could. She sounded like a starchy man hater. Nothing could be further from the truth. But she was only just now sorting out her feelings when it came to relationships. She was on the cusp of a strange new world where she was trying to reach out and grab what she wanted. She felt edgy and impatient, and worse, she felt doomed to failure.

“I’m making a mess of this,” she muttered. “I should have just kept my mouth shut. I sound like a preachy, man-hating piranha, when in fact what I really want—” She broke off, mortified that she’d almost blurted out just what it was she did want.

He gave her a probing look. “What do you want, Faith?”

“Hey, you two!”

Both Faith and Gray whirled around to see Micah heading across the bar toward them. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard Gray utter a curse under his breath.

Micah dropped a kiss on Faith’s cheek then stood between her and Gray as he motioned to the bartender for a drink.

“What are you doing here?” Faith asked. “I thought you had a hot date.”

Micah grinned. “I do. Later, though. We’re meeting somewhere.”

“Sounds positively mysterious,” Faith said.

Gray cleared his throat. “I was just about to ask Faith if she wanted something to eat. You want to join us, or are you eating later?”

Faith checked her watch and grimaced. “Sorry, but I have a hair appointment I have to get to.” She’d leave off the fact that she was getting waxed and pampered for her Friday appointment. “I should be going if I want to to make it on time.”

Gray caught her hand as she stood. She looked over at him and was surprised to see something that looked like regret simmering in his eyes.

“I’d like a rain check on this conversation,” he said.

She blushed and caught Micah’s curious stare out of the corner of her eye.

“Sure. Some other time maybe.”

She reluctantly pulled her hand from his then flashed a smile in Micah’s direction before shoving past him to walk out of the bar.

CHAPTER 11

“Got those surveillance cameras set up?” Pop asked from behind Gray.

Gray stood from his crouched position and turned to face the other man. “Yeah, just got the last one operational. I’ll give Connor a call right quick and make sure they’re all online.”

Pop nodded and put his own cell phone to his ear to make a call.

Gray punched in Connor’s number. “Everything’s set up on my end,” he said when Connor answered. “See if you get a visual from each one.”

Connor was upstairs in the surveillance room where the computerized system for monitoring all the cameras had been installed. He was the computer expert. A real geek when it came to technology. Gray was more of a grunt worker. He understood enough to install cameras and bugs, but the more sophisticated measures he left to those who understood all that shit.