Read Online Janet by E. L. Todd - Free Book Online

them.”
    The waiter brought our plates then walked away.
    “Do you like your job?” I asked.
    “I love it,” he said. “I get a few death threats and bribes, but other than that, it’s the best.”
    “You probably work all the time.”
    “Is that a bad thing?” he asked.
    “No.”
    “I know you’re the same way,” he said. “And I know we would have a lot to discuss during pillow talk.”
    “Pillow talk?” I asked.
    “What you talk about after sex and before bed.”
    “Well, that’s forward.”
    He picked up his fork and leaned forward. “I get what I want, Janet. You’re too good to pass up.”
    “You’re creepy.”
    “I know you don’t think that.” He ate his salad gracefully, his elbows off the table and his back straight.
    “You’d be wrong.”
    “Then you like kissing creepy people.”
    I sighed, knowing he caught me.
    “Did you always want to be a human resources director?”
    I shrugged. “It wasn’t always my dream, but I enjoy doing it. It pays well, has good hours, and comes with benefits.”
    “What’s your dream?”
    “To be a teacher.”
    “Then why aren’t you?”
    “They don’t make enough money,” I said.
    “You don’t seem like someone who cares about that.”
    “I don’t,” I said. “But I need to support myself on a single woman’s salary.”
    “You won’t be single forever.”
    I avoided his gaze and took a bite of my fried artichoke.
    “What’s the story?” he asked.
    “There is no story.”
    “I hate liars.”
    I sighed. “I just have a hard time finding guys.”
    “I find that hard to believe.”
    “I’m just picky,” I said. “It’s hard for me to feel something for men. I usually feel hollow and empty. There are no emotions there, no butterflies, no excitement. I feel out of place and awkward. There’s just nothing there.”
    “It sounds like you’re going out with the wrong guys.”
    “Or maybe there’s something wrong with me.”
    “No,” he said quickly. “You have high standards. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
    “Ryan is a really nice guy, but there’s nothing there.”
    “Even from across the room, I could tell,” he said.
    I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
    “You broke it off with him, right?”
    “There’s nothing to break off.”
    “When he asks you out again, you’ll say no, right?”
    “I guess,” I said.
    “You guess?” he snapped. “Don’t date someone you don’t like.”
    “Maybe I’ll feel something if I give him another chance.”
    He glared at me. “If you’re going to feel something for him, it would have happened already. It should n’t be forced. If anything, it should be fought. It’s uncontrollable to the point of frustration.”
    That immediately reminded me of him. I tried not to think about Scott but he usually popped into my mind. I’d lusted after his body a few times. And I was eager to look up his picture when I got home later tonight. But I didn’t like his cocky and controlling nature. Well, I did, but only to a certain extent.
    “You feel something for me, Janet. You’re dating me—exclusively. That’s the end of the story.”
    “No, I don’t.”
    “Your kiss said otherwise.”
    “I was just surprised.”
    “Do you always moan like that?”
    “I moaned?” My cheeks turned red.
    He nodded.
    Damn.
    “You aren’t dating him. I’ll talk to him if I have to.”
    I glared at him. “It’s shit like this that makes me not want to date you.”
    “What?” he asked innocently.
    “You won’t tell me what to do.”
    “I’m not,” he said. “I’m just giving you a nudge out the door. If I don’t, you’ll just waste your time with him. And you’re dating me. It’s not fair to me.”
    “Okay, I never said I was dating you.”
    “Well we are.”
    “I hate you.”
    “Too bad,” he said.
    “You’re so annoying.”
    He grabbed my face and kissed me across the table.
    Just like before, I melted. The taste of the vinaigrette was on my tongue. His mouth was