Naya sighed, feeling his hands on her waist. They felt so perfect there, she didn’t bother to pull them away even though she knew that it was dangerous.
“You know why,” she finally replied, staring at the middle of his chest.
“Because we’ll end up in bed?” he offered, hopefully. It was his destination and if she would accept what was going on between them, she’d know that they were heading there as well.
“No!” she gasped and playfully smacked his arm. But the reality was, it was too possible. “No. Because we won’t end up in bed and we’ll both be frustrated since we’ll never be in bed together.”
He shrugged. “That’s fine.”
Her startled eyes looked up at his. “It is?”
He smiled and bent his head, nuzzling the skin on her neck. “Of course. I can do a lot with a chair. Or a sofa. I don’t need a bed.” He kissed her ear. “Kitchen tables even work in a pinch.”
She blushed and pulled out of his arms. Or tried to. He was holding her tightly now. “Is that all you ever think about?”
“When you’re around? Pretty much. Why don’t we just make love and get it out of the way. Then I can think about anything you want me to.”
She shivered, but pulled back. “Luke, I thought we were going out?”
He sighed, thinking he would be perfectly happy to stay in and make love to her for the next several days. “Fine,” he said, resigned and knowing that leaving here would be a better idea. Knowledge, he reminded himself. He had to figure out why she was so opposed to sex with him.
“Get your shoes. We’ll see some of the places you’ve printed out.”
She shook her head. “I need to call the owners, find out if it is okay to walk on the properties.”
He lifted one eyebrow, thinking she was just making up an excuse to avoid him now. But her eyes told him that she was being honest with him so he relented. Slightly. “You can do that from my car. Get your shoes.”
“The owners might not be available!” she replied, grasping for any reason that might help her keep her distance from him.
“You and I both know that the land owners don’t care if we walk along their land, especially if we’re serious buyers. Now, grab your purse and your shoes. We’re leaving and you’re taking me around to all of these places today. Or as many of them as we can get to during the daylight hours.”
Naya bit her lip, trying to think of something, anything that would discourage him. His only response was a lifting of one black eyebrow.
In the end, she relented, knowing it was better to get him out of her house. “Give me five minutes,” she said and walked away from him. She grabbed her shoes and a different shirt, needing to look somewhat professional while conducting business. Pulling on a warm, cashmere sweater she’d found on sale at the end of last winter, she felt much better. A touch of lipstick, fingers through her hair to pull it up higher and she was ready.
At the last minute, she grabbed a pair of sturdy boots, not sure how these land sites might look. If they were rough terrain, she’d need something more than just a pair of pretty, black flats.
For the next several hours, they went from one place to the next, climbing over rocks and logs, touring each area to see what kinds of views would be best.
What was worse, or better, was that he made her laugh! Goodness, he was charming. Relentlessly charming! They talked about everything, he grabbed a late lunch and they sat on a blanket to have a picnic, looking out at the ocean, and he told her stories about growing up with his brothers and being a twin. He asked her questions about her childhood and she actually opened up more with him that sunny afternoon than she had in a long, long time.
Yes, he tried to convince her to go out to dinner with him. No, she refused, repeatedly. And yes, she felt very alone that night, sitting in her tiny house and wondering what he was doing, if she should have stayed with him and just enjoyed his company.
But, as she pulled the blankets up over her that night, she knew that it was better this way. Better to be safe and alone rather than with him and hurt down the road.
The same pattern happened over the next several days. Naya was with Luke too often and every day, she fell more under his spell. Every night, she struggled to keep her fingers from dialing his number, begging him to come back to her, to make love to her.