friends. Because this isn’t going to end well. I’m not the girl for you, Luke. You’re not just a friend, you’re my best friend. I can’t imagine my life without you, but I look at my parents…” The words caught in her throat. “They hate each other. My sisters hate their husbands. I couldn’t bear for us to be like that.” What she really wanted was to tell him how much he meant to her, how every minute away from him seemed like an eternity.
“That is such bullshit,” he said. The quiet tone of his voice held a subtext of anger. “We are not your parents. I am not your dad. Things don’t have to go that way for us.”
“You say that now when everything is shiny and new, but what about later?” She waved a hand between them. “I mean, look at us. Look at me.” To press her point, she yanked her tank top over her head, exposing her breasts, the chain, and the colorful tattoos covering her torso and arms. “Are you going to take me to your corporate picnics or your family reunions? I’m the girl your mother warned you about. I’m not sweet or wholesome like your girlfriends. I’m dark and edgy, while you’re…” She paused, searching for the right words. “You’re vanilla.”
“If that’s what you think, then you don’t know me at all,” he said.
The blackness of his eyes frightened her a little. There was nothing fun or flirty about him now. The expanse of his chest rose and fell with a deep breath. Before she could draw her own, he crossed the floor and pressed her against the wall, pinning her hands above her head. A shudder ran through her as his free hand stole up her ribs to cup a breast and thumb the nipple. When his mouth came down over hers, it was with possession and heat. Their tongues mashed and teeth collided. Her body melted into his, and she met him with equal intensity, giving him everything.
All too soon, he pulled back and released her. He looked away, unable to meet her eyes. A painful lump formed in her throat. Why did he have to push things this far? Why couldn’t he leave things alone?
“I ache with wanting you,” he said in a raw whisper.
Her guts twisted in agony. The situation was racing away, out of control like a runaway train, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. All she’d wanted was to prevent this from happening. And now, she was living her own nightmare. His confession trapped her between reason and passion. Reason never failed her. Passion never lasted. The answer stared her down.
“Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t want this. Tell me you don’t have any feelings for me, and I’ll walk away.” The muscle ticking in his jaw said otherwise. “We’ll go back to being friends.”
“I don’t want this,” she said. Nothing could be further from the truth. Once the words came out of her mouth, reality settled down on her like an oppressive weight. This was huge. Her heart swelled until her ribs ached and tears stung behind her lids.
He recoiled like she’d struck him. Hurt flashed through his eyes, and it shredded her soul to see it.
“I want to be friends. Friends last forever.”
“Right.”
The distance between them increased as he backed away from her. He wasn’t even gone, and she already felt the loss of him. It took all of her self-control to keep from flinging herself at him and begging for forgiveness. Instead, she retrieved her courage and looked him straight in the eyes. His ego might be bruised tonight, but ten years from now, he’d thank her for being the sensible one.
“You’ll see I’m right,” she said, forcing a tight smile. “When you’re hanging out with your wife and kids in the suburbs someday and I’m the crazy old maid who comes to visit, we’ll both laugh about this.”
He snorted and shook his head, avoiding her eyes. She wanted desperately to see into them, to reassure herself the two of them were alright, but he turned and headed toward the front door. She
“That is such bullshit,” he said. The quiet tone of his voice held a subtext of anger. “We are not your parents. I am not your dad. Things don’t have to go that way for us.”
“You say that now when everything is shiny and new, but what about later?” She waved a hand between them. “I mean, look at us. Look at me.” To press her point, she yanked her tank top over her head, exposing her breasts, the chain, and the colorful tattoos covering her torso and arms. “Are you going to take me to your corporate picnics or your family reunions? I’m the girl your mother warned you about. I’m not sweet or wholesome like your girlfriends. I’m dark and edgy, while you’re…” She paused, searching for the right words. “You’re vanilla.”
“If that’s what you think, then you don’t know me at all,” he said.
The blackness of his eyes frightened her a little. There was nothing fun or flirty about him now. The expanse of his chest rose and fell with a deep breath. Before she could draw her own, he crossed the floor and pressed her against the wall, pinning her hands above her head. A shudder ran through her as his free hand stole up her ribs to cup a breast and thumb the nipple. When his mouth came down over hers, it was with possession and heat. Their tongues mashed and teeth collided. Her body melted into his, and she met him with equal intensity, giving him everything.
All too soon, he pulled back and released her. He looked away, unable to meet her eyes. A painful lump formed in her throat. Why did he have to push things this far? Why couldn’t he leave things alone?
“I ache with wanting you,” he said in a raw whisper.
Her guts twisted in agony. The situation was racing away, out of control like a runaway train, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. All she’d wanted was to prevent this from happening. And now, she was living her own nightmare. His confession trapped her between reason and passion. Reason never failed her. Passion never lasted. The answer stared her down.
“Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t want this. Tell me you don’t have any feelings for me, and I’ll walk away.” The muscle ticking in his jaw said otherwise. “We’ll go back to being friends.”
“I don’t want this,” she said. Nothing could be further from the truth. Once the words came out of her mouth, reality settled down on her like an oppressive weight. This was huge. Her heart swelled until her ribs ached and tears stung behind her lids.
He recoiled like she’d struck him. Hurt flashed through his eyes, and it shredded her soul to see it.
“I want to be friends. Friends last forever.”
“Right.”
The distance between them increased as he backed away from her. He wasn’t even gone, and she already felt the loss of him. It took all of her self-control to keep from flinging herself at him and begging for forgiveness. Instead, she retrieved her courage and looked him straight in the eyes. His ego might be bruised tonight, but ten years from now, he’d thank her for being the sensible one.
“You’ll see I’m right,” she said, forcing a tight smile. “When you’re hanging out with your wife and kids in the suburbs someday and I’m the crazy old maid who comes to visit, we’ll both laugh about this.”
He snorted and shook his head, avoiding her eyes. She wanted desperately to see into them, to reassure herself the two of them were alright, but he turned and headed toward the front door. She
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