“Great idea. Let’s do that.” His voice changed and his eyes were locked on hers. “You, me, king-size bed and room service. I know a wonderful hotel near Burlington. Lake view. Four-poster bed. Goose-down pillows. All-night sex, no strings attached.”
She was tempted, oh, so tempted.
And because she was tempted, she stood up. “You should try camping again. Sometimes it’s good to go back and do the things you did when you were young.”
“What, lie on hard, stony ground while Jackson snores next to me? I’m not sure the appeal was that great first time around, let alone going for a repeat.” He stood up, too. “So I guess that’s a ‘no’ to a night in a four-poster bed with goose-down pillows? Just for the record is it because you’re allergic to feathers? Because I can request hypoallergenic.”
Trying to resist that charm, she stacked the plates. “Thank you for dinner. It was delicious. Good night, Sean.” Without looking at him she walked into her kitchen, but he w
as right behind her.
“Dinner was on me. I should clear up.”
“You cooked, which means I clear up. It’s an equitable arrangement.”
“Here’s another equitable arrangement.” He waited for her to put the plates down and then pressed her back against the counter, blue eyes locked on hers. “I kiss you and you kiss me back.”
Their mouths collided. He had one hand in her hair, the other low on her back as he held her trapped between his thighs and kissed her until the world around her ceased to exist. His mouth was skilled and clever, driving thought from her head and replacing it with hunger and heat. She slid her hands over his shoulders, feeling strength and the swell of muscle under her seeking fingers.
She was the one who pulled away, even though it took all her willpower to do it.
Not because she didn’t want this, but because she needed to prove to herself she was still capable of using her brain to make decisions.
When he would have kissed her again she flattened her palm to his chest. “Good night, Sean.”
“I want you.” His voice was raw and honest. “And you want me. It’s simple.”
But she knew it wasn’t simple. Relationships had a way of becoming complicated really fast.
“Not everything we want is good for us.”
“I’ll make it good for you.” His mouth slid from her jaw to her neck and she closed her eyes and tried to resist temptation.
“That wasn’t what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” His mouth was close to hers, his tone intimate, and she kept her hand planted firmly in the center of his chest.
“I don’t want complications.”
“Neither do I. It’s yet another reason why we’re perfect together.”
“We had an agreement.”
“I don’t remember any agreement.” His eyes were on her mouth. “There wasn’t one.”
“It was unspoken.”
“Yeah,” he said, his voice a deep, sexy rasp. “I remember every moment of our not speaking session, but I don’t remember agreeing never to mention it again.”
She hadn’t factored this in. Hadn’t thought that he might push for something more. It had been a year.
“Good night, Sean.”
“You’re sending me away like this? You have no heart.”
She had a heart. Once she’d given it freely without question, but not any longer. Now she protected it with everything she had and that wasn’t going to change.
CHAPTER TEN