“What do you call that skirt?” he replied, raising an eyebrow.
The girl actually scoffed. “You think showing a little leg is my best effort to inspire lust in a man? I think you underestimate me.”
“Well…and the boots. Back at the restaurant—you weren’t trying to get a rise out of me?”
Shrugging unapologetically, she said, “I was curious if I could. I wasn’t exactly worried about you pouncing on me in the middle of a public restaurant either.”
“I would never willingly pounce on you if you didn’t want me to. I mean—you know what I mean. Obviously… circumstances being what they are… But if circumstances were different and… Regardless of the provocation, I would never ignore your right to refuse me.”
“No matter what?”
“Of course not.”
“If I stripped naked right in front of you and did the most erotic things you could possibly think of and you were turned on to the point of physical pain, but I was reluctant…?”
“I would remain in physical pain and not lay a single finger on you.”
Smiling a bit wickedly, she said, “What if I let you put a finger on me? But only a finger.”
The mental image she was creating for him was actually starting to rouse his fantasies, and he did his best to lock them down before he did become aroused like an asshole. “Same thing,” he murmured. “If a man is worth your time, he will respect your boundaries and not move faster than you want to—no matter what.”
“Maybe you should be my guinea pig,” she suggested half-jokingly. “You don’t expect me to fuck you, but you find me attractive enough that you want to.”
Just hearing her say that caused his cock to stir.
In a sense, he agreed with her logic. If she felt the need to be provocative, at least he could be sure no harm would come to her at his hands.
On the other hand, that absolutely was not an option.
“At least, I think you do,” she added when he didn’t respond, her face turning pink.
“I do,” he said brusquely. “I mean… I shouldn’t say that to you, but it also wouldn’t be a very convincing lie, all things considered.”
Willow nodded her head, absently tracing shapes on top of the food container. “I’m making you uncomfortable. Sorry.”
“No, I’m not…” Sighing, he thought about the ‘discomfort’ he had caused her, and how somehow she was still considerate of his feelings. “I suppose in a sense… it would be no different than going to a strip club, right? I mean, sex isn’t on the table, so…”
Her eyes widened a little—clearly even she didn’t expect him to even entertain the possibility. “I… right, yeah, I guess you could say that. I mean, I was just…honestly, it’s just a theory, I can’t even say for sure it would work.”
Ethan was quiet for a moment, then he said, “It’s your call. If you want to push the limits with someone in a safe environment…there’s no risk with me. I can prove what you need proven.”
Eyeing him up, Willow seemed to consider. “You wouldn’t think less of me?”
“Of course not.”
“Could we still be friends after, or do you think it would ruin it?”
Smiling a little at her naiveté, he assured her, “Yes, we could still be friends.”
For just a few seconds, his mind filled up with all of the things he could teach her about her sexuality, about the uncomplicated pleasure of sex… but of course he couldn’t, and even as a single man in his predicament, he wasn’t sure sex could ever be uncomplicated between them given the horror of her first experience and his role in it.
Emerging from the stirrings of those less than platonic daydreams, Ethan frowned slightly as she put her food in the floor.
Then she said, “Shall we move to the back seat?”
“I’m going to need a drink.”
Willow’s smile faded just a little. “Um, won’t that… I don’t know, lessen your control?”