“He made you feel like Cinderella at the ball,” Jonas surmised in a soft, understanding voice.
He hadn’t phrased it as a question, but Deanna answered anyway. “Yeah. With his blond, wavy hair, blue eyes, and tall, muscled body, I let myself get carried away. Gary had a knack for making a woman feel special, cherished even.”
“When did things change?”
“When a friend told me that she’d seen Gary out with another woman.”
Jonas winced. “Ouch.”
“Oh, I still couldn’t bring myself to believe the truth. Gary seemed so sincere when he told me how much he cared about me. That he wanted to marry me after I finished nursing school. Everything came crashing down when a woman called to tell me she was pregnant with Gary’s baby.”
“Damn, seriously?”
“Yep. I still didn’t want to believe it, but I met with the woman.” Deanna thought back to the horrible day and cringed. “Girl, really. She was only eighteen, Jonas. It made me sick to my stomach. When I confronted Gary later, he came unglued. Turned the whole thing around on me. Told me I didn’t trust him. That I had no right to sneak around behind his back and check up on him. That if I loved him, I’d have more faith.”
Jonas shook his head. “Christ, what an ass.”
“Exactly. Gary didn’t know the meaning of commitment. His goal in life was to see just how much pleasure he could squeeze out of everything and everyone. He paid no attention to the people he hurt in his quest for fun. Unfortunately, Gary had a temper.”
“A temper?”
Deanna nodded. “When I told him I wanted nothing to do with him anymore, he hit me.”
Jonas cursed and shot to his feet, knocking the chair backward. “Bastard! I’ll kill him,” he gritted out, fists clenched at his sides.
Without thinking, Deanna stood and went to him. She didn’t like seeing him angry. She wanted the playful Jonas back. In a gesture meant to soothe, Deanna placed her palm on his chest and smiled up at him. “This was years ago. It’s over. But thank you for the offer.”
He frowned down at her. “Where were your brothers during all this?”
“Wade was in the army at the time. Dean was busy with his construction business. It was still pretty new then.” She smacked him on the arm before moving away. “Besides, I wasn’t going to go running to my big brothers just because a guy made me cry.”
She saw a muscle in his jaw jump. “You didn’t tell them he hit you, did you?”
Give the man a cigar. “Of course I didn’t. As far as they were concerned, Gary was a nice guy. When it ended, I told them we had different goals in life.” She bit her lip and put a few more feet of linoleum between them. “Not entirely untrue.”
Jonas didn’t move. He simply stood there watching her, anger seeping from his pores. “The son of a bitch hit you, Deanna. He deserved a beating.”
Deanna felt cool air against her chest again and tugged at the lapels of her robe. Darn thing seemed intent on giving Jonas a peep. As if her robe were on Jonas’s side. “The point of the story is that I’m not a good judge of character. At least not when it comes to men I’m attracted to.”
Before Deanna could blink, Jonas was in front of her with his hands wrapped around her upper arms. “Are you putting me in the same pot as that piece of shit?”
“No. Geez, Jonas.”
He relaxed his hold. “Then explain, damn it.”
“You go to my head, Jonas!” she shouted without thinking. “You’re asking me to go away with you, and I’m afraid I’m going to make all the wrong choices. Again.”
Jonas stilled, and Deanna knew she’d said too much. He had that look in his eyes. The one that made her think of a tiger about to have lunch—and she was lunch.
“You make me crazy, Deanna,” he murmured. “For now, all I want you to do is think about my offer. Please. Take the week if you want. You can give me your answer next Saturday.”
Jonas never begged. That he was doing so now cracked the wall she’d built around her heart. “I’ll think about it,” she hedged.
“Thank you. And maybe this will help a little.” Jonas’s head lowered, and Deanna sank against him, accepting the kiss. Hell, surrendered to it. When his lips touched hers, she tasted the sweet flavor of chocolate, but beneath that was the rich flavor of Jonas. And she was certain that last part was what kept her from pushing away and ending the kiss.
His lips were soft as they coasted back and forth, barely touching hers. As his tongue darted out, a shiver of excitement raced the length of her spine. He was doing it to her again. To be in his presence was to be a living, breathing flame of desire and need. When he pulled back and stared down at her, Deanna could see the wild hunger in those deep blue eyes of his. She well understood how he felt. Her entire body was screaming for more of his taste, his touch.
He slowly released her and growled, “No dating. For either of us. Not until you give me your answer. Agreed?”