The Closer You Come

“You’re definitely not changing the path of your future. You’ve allowed your sister to become a chain around your neck.”

“I have not! And she certainly isn’t a chain.”

He shrugged, all whatever you say.

Frustrating man! “Enough about her. I want to talk about your attraction to me.”

He went still. “And yours to me.”

“I never said I was.” She’d only thought it, again and again.

“You didn’t have to say anything, honey. Sucking on my tongue and sinking your claws in my back told me all I needed to know.”

The sudden heat in her cheeks could have warmed the entire building every day of the upcoming winter. “Be that as it may, I’m not interested in a fling.”

“Like I told you, I figured you for a long-term girl. But I wouldn’t give you a one-nighter even if you begged me.”

“But...but...why?” He’d kissed her with such passion, and now he couldn’t stand the thought of being with her even once?

He massaged the back of his neck, somehow looking both fatigued and virile. “I seriously think I feel one of those hemorrhoids coming on.”

The unexpected comment drained the affront right out of her, and she laughed. He laughed, too, and she wished she could hear it. Whether it was rusty or hearty. The way his face lit, as if he were peering directly into the sun, gave him a boyish innocence she’d seen only once before on him. She...liked it.

He quieted abruptly, acting as though the laughter were his enemy. He scowled and pulled at the collar of his shirt. “Well,” he said, and his throat moved with a cough. “I should be going. Like you mentioned, your doctor will arrive soon with your discharge papers.” But he made no effort to stand.

Even though she was annoyed with him, and realized he’d avoided her question, she wasn’t ready for this stolen moment to end. Here and now, they weren’t boss and employee—they were moth and flame. Her lips still hungered for him, tingling, aching. Her hands itched to return to his hair. No kiss had ever affected her so strongly, and he hadn’t even put his hands on her!

“Stay,” she finally rasped. “Just a little while more.”

A wave of relief washed over his features.

“What’s this?” he asked, plucking the list from the bed.

Oh, crap. The list! She’d been tweaking some of the finer details while she’d waited for the nurse. When she tried to grab it, Jase leaned back, moving out of reach.

“That is none of your business,” she said. “That’s what it is.”

He smiled, saying, “A fun list?” He scanned it and smiled again—only to look up at her with a glower. “These are things you’ve never done before, I’m assuming.”

She squirmed on the gurney. When his stare remained steady, she crossed her arms over her middle and said, “No, I haven’t done them.”

He relaxed. “Honey, if you flash someone in public, you’re likely to start a riot.”

Was that a compliment or an insult? “I’ll make sure it’s private.”

“Good.” A diabolical gleam entered his eyes. “We’re private right now.”

Oh, no. The ice around him had begun to melt again. A warning sign appeared in her mind, reading Danger! Danger! You’ll end up right back where you started. Craving him, but unable to have him.

“I’m here for you,” he continued, gripping the notebook with so much force, the center bowed. “I will allow you to flash me.”

“Oh, you’ll allow me?” Her stomach twisted even while desire pooled deep inside her. “Thanks, but I’m going to decline.”

“It’s not like you have to worry about being groped.”

“You think you can resist me?” Jerk!

“You think I’ll pounce on you the moment I see your breasts?” he countered.

She glared at him. “Maybe I think you’ll be disappointed.” Maybe? Ha!

“That isn’t even a possibility,” he said, confident. “But challenge accepted. Now you have to flash me.”

“I don’t have to do anything.”

“Oh, I get it.” His smile was all about projecting sympathy. “You’re scared.”

“I am not!”

He held up his hands, palms out. “If you say so, angel. But I believe you’re the one who told me actions mean more than words.”

Using her own statement against her? She was going to make him so sorry he’d gone there. She grabbed the hem of her T-shirt, her hands trembling. “I’m going to do it. You can’t stop me.”

“Do you see me trying?”

“Once I do it, it can never be undone. You can never go back to wondering.” Not that he’d wondered.

Had he wondered?

“I think I can handle it,” he said drily and waved his hand impatiently.

Could he? Could she?

What if he hated what he saw?

What if he liked it?

What if indecision was the path to insanity?

Either nut up or shut up. I’m not the girl I’ve always been: reserved, maybe even timid. I’m fun. And now it’s time to prove it.

With a deep breath, she flipped up the shirt. Between one blink and the next, Jase had a full-frontal view of her chest. Cold air stroked her skin, making her shiver. Definitely the cold and not his gaze...which was laser-beamed on her...staring so openly, so hungrily, as if he’d been starved for years and she’d just offered him a feast.