The Spanish Love Deception

“I’m sure you do, but I want to.”

“But what if I don’t want you to?” I argued.

Sally’s gaze jumped from me to the man beside me.

I turned too, finding Aaron’s calm expression.

“And is there any particular reason why you don’t want me to, Catalina? Something tells me, if this were anyone else, you wouldn’t even bat an eyelash at getting a free coffee and brownie.” He eyed the counter. “Brownies.”

“Well, yes. There is a reason, smart-ass.” I took a step toward him. A small one. I lowered my voice. “I owe you enough as it is, and I am not talking just about the fish tacos from yesterday, okay?” Our gazes met. “I don’t need you to put me into further debt.”

If the way his face changed was something to go by, that last part of my statement seemed to really bother him.

“You don’t owe me a single thing,” he said with a scowl. “Me buying you a coffee, tacos, or anything for that matter doesn’t put you in my debt.” His head shook, a few of the usually perfectly-in-place locks of dark hair bouncing and grabbing my attention. The scowl fell off, replaced by a somewhat-distant look. “Will you ever accept anything from me without putting up this big of a fight?”

“That’s …” I trailed off, not knowing what to tell him. “That’s not an easy question to answer, Blackford.”

He tilted his head. “I see.”

Then, he angled his large body toward me, eating a big chunk of the distance that had been separating us. The motion had been unexpected, and my breath hitched with surprise. Hyperaware of how close he had come, I stuttered. Suddenly not knowing what to say or if I was expected to say anything at all.

Aaron’s arm reached out, the backs of his fingers gracing my temple. My lips parted, tingles spreading down my skin.

It was him who lowered his voice then. “Always fighting me.”

I looked up at his handsome and stern face, his assessing blue eyes surveying my reaction.

“Resisting me.”

My heart tripped, making my chest feel like I had just sprinted a mile or two.

Aaron’s head dipped, his mouth coming close to where his fingers had been a few seconds ago. Almost as close as it had been when we danced. “It’s like you want me to beg. Is that something you’d enjoy? Me begging?” His voice sounded so … intimate. Hushed. But it was his next words that scattered my thoughts all over the place. “Is that what this is? You like bringing me to my knees?”

Whoa.

An extremely familiar heat climbed up my neck, spreading to my cheeks. Heating my skin. Then, it rushed back all the way down, making me way too warm in a matter of seconds.

Aaron’s gaze held mine as something dipped in my belly. “Let me treat you, okay? I want to.”

My lips dried and then pressed together as I tried to get ahold of the chaos rushing through

my mind and body.

“Okay,” I breathed out, sounding all shaky and wrong. I cleared my throat. Twice. “Pay for my coffee. I’m not interested in you begging or putting on any kind of show in the middle of the coffee shop.” I cleared my throat a third time, my voice still not sounding right. “So, please, pay away.” I paused, trying to get my body back on track. “And thanks.”

Aaron nodded, the start of a satisfied smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “See? It wasn’t all that hard, was it?” he pointed out. His lips inched further up, looking all smug and—

Oh wait.

Realization dawned. “You were …” I couldn’t believe this. Any of this. My reaction to him. The fact that he had just made me … hot, just for fun and giggles. “You were just making a point.”

His lips twitched. “Maybe I was,” Aaron said, finally stepping out of my personal space and turning away. He looked over at me, that tug of his lips still up. “Are you disappointed, Catalina?”

I can’t believe this.

And what was worse, this only meant that he was aware of the effect he had on me. He knew what his proximity did to my senses. To my body. And he had just used it to win this stupid discussion.

I gaped at his profile as he brought his mug to his lips, looking all pleased.