She reached in, got a bottle of water out, and set it on the island while she walked over to put water on for tea.
“Why did you really come downstairs dressed like that?” I asked, stepping closer to her.
A look of pure fear covered her face the closer I got. I was positive she saw the look of hunger in my eyes. She clearly wasn’t feeling as bold as she was this morning when she had walked into my kitchen with nothing on but my damn T-shirt. I liked having the tables turned.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a shaky voice. This didn’t sound like the same woman who had put the asshole on the phone in his place. This sounded like the scared girl I had fallen in love with back in college. The same girl who had ripped my heart out and walked away from me without so much as a second glance because her career was more important than giving a relationship with me a try.
“I’m picking up where we left off this morning.”
Her lip twitched; I knew she was hiding a smile.
“The moment is long over.”
My brow lifted. “Is it? Doesn’t look like it based on the hardness of your nipples.”
Charlie glanced down and then folded her arms over her chest.
“We’re not in your house,” she stated.
“So?” I moved closer to her.
“And I’m not sitting on a kitchen island with my legs wrapped around you.”
Smirking, I added, “Minor details.”
“I’m not naked.”
“I can fix that.”
Charlie finally let a grin move over her face. “What are we doing, Tucker?”
The brave woman who tried to seduce me this morning was long gone. It was up to me to turn the tables on her and see how far I could get her to go.
“We’re about to fuck, Charlie.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, so romantic.”
When I finally made it to her, I lifted my hand and placed it on the side of her face. Her eyes widened at the touch, and I tried like hell to ignore the rip of energy that raced through my body.
“Do you want me to be romantic, Charlie? Do you want me to seduce you? I’ll romance the shit out of you if that’s what you want.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. “You’re confusing me.”
“What’s so confusing about what we are about to do?”
Sucking her lip between her teeth, her eyes met mine.
Finally, her chin lifted and a spark filled her baby blues. “Romance is for pussies.”
That was the Charlie I knew and loved.
Loved.
Jesus, could I do this? Closing my eyes, I thought about that morning I woke up to her note. How she had acted like nothing had happened between us.
The anger rushed into my heart.
Opening my eyes, I smirked. “Then fucking it is.”