His lips pressed together. “You’ve got one minute.”
“That right there is your problem. Your need to control every situation. You can’t control me, Jack, and I’ll take however long I damn well need. I’ve had time to think about our situation, and I’ve got some rules you need to hear. You abide by them and we j
ust may come out of this without killing each other.”
“Rules.”
“Yep,” she said, nodding. “Rules. You remember those don’t you? Or are you gonna pull the politician card and play by your own?”
Something sparked inside him. Something hot and electric. He hated to admit it, but he was enjoying himself. “I always play by my own rules, or is that something you’ve forgotten?”
“You’re so full of yourself,” she snapped, her control slipping a bit. He saw the tick near the corner of her mouth. Bingo.
“I’ve heard that a few times.”
Donovan took a few steps forward, and he noted the gloss on her lips. They looked all shiny and wet and soft just the way he liked them to be, though he wasn’t going to think about that right now. Nope. He needed to push that stuff back and think about something else.
Like the pulse at the base of her neck. It was erratic, and her breath hitched at the back of her throat telling him that she was more than a little worked up. Good. He just hoped he was doing a better job of hiding his reaction from her.
“Rule number one,” she said, tongue darting out to moisten that already shiny mouth. She was probably doing that on purpose, because he was finding it hard to concentrate on pretty much anything besides that mouth.
Donovan James was a witch.
“Do not talk to me like I’m one of your underlings. I don’t answer to you, and I certainly don’t take orders from you. When you start that, I just shut down. Thought you’d at least remember that.”
“Got it.”
If she was surprised at his fast reply, she didn’t show it.
“Rule number two. Don’t expect me to play the girlfriend on this trip. I’m not your girlfriend. I’m not your anything. Heck, I’m pretty sure that I’m not even your baby-mama.”
“Not yet,” he said softly. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and those cheeks of hers were now a rosy red.
“Rule number three.”
“Christ, how many are there?”
“Two weeks is all you get from me.”
“What if I want three?”
“Rule number four,” she continued, ignoring him as she plunged forward. “I won’t have sex with you.”
Jack grinned, though he felt anything but glee. He took the last few steps until he was so close to Donovan he could count the freckles that dusted her nose, and the eyelashes that shadowed her cheek.
He bent low and felt her tremble even though he didn’t touch her. His body was hot and tight and damned if that didn’t piss him off more than a little bit.
What. The. Fuck.
Jack reminded himself that she was no good for him. That the only person she loved was herself. He thought of five years ago and felt a spark of anger join the boatload of crap inside him. Good. Anger was good. That’s what he would focus on.
“Let me make myself clear, Donnie. If you were the last woman on this fucking planet, I wouldn’t go there. Not with you. Not again. You’re not worth the bother. This here is all about what might be inside you. The fact that you could be carrying my child is something I take seriously, but don’t flatter yourself into thinking this is anything other than that. Once we know, we’ll decide what to do.”
He took a step back, done for now. “And as for number three? You’ll leave here when I’m good and ready to let you.”
“You’re a bastard.”
“Call me whatever you want,” he replied, pointing toward the door. “Now let’s go. Sabrina and Brett are expecting us.”