Chasing Mr. Wrong (Chasing Love 4)

“I’m not sorry or ashamed, either.” He leaned in. “You’re here for the summer now. I’m going to be seeing you, and I need to establish boundaries. Perhaps we can even be friends.”

Her eyebrows peaked. He wasn’t looking to get into her pants again. He was looking to maintain a platonic distance.

“Boundaries, huh?”

He nodded.

“Well if that’s what you want…” She sighed, then took another step toward him.

His eyes snatched up her movements so acutely, it felt like he’d touched her. And that idea made her shiver with happiness. Just like the other night when he looked at her with that same lusty expression.

“One question,” she said.

“Shoot.”

“You want to be friends, have boundaries. That means you’re not looking to see me naked again, correct?”

He dropped his chin and took a deep breath but kept those steely gray eyes on her. “Correct,” he ground out.

“Uh-huh.” She took another slow, slow step, swaying her hips just a tad. “So you want my clothes to stay on, correct?”

Another long inhale. “Correct.”

She nodded and made a slight downward turn of her mouth, pretending to ponder.

“All right. All of this would add up, except for the way you’re looking at me.”

He frowned. “How is that?”

She dished out her own sinful look, with all the heat she felt behind it, and said, “Like you want to eat me up right now.”

His jaw clenched, as if he were thinking just that. Whitney wasn’t in the business of chasing things that weren’t meant to be caught. She was in the business of experiencing the best life had to offer. Right now, she was in Diamond, with Mr. Diamond. And she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that experiencing him was one of the best things Diamond had offered her so far.

But he wanted boundaries. Why? Did he think she would get attached? Turn into some swoony girl that would latch onto him now that she was in his way? She needed to find out. Normally she wouldn’t care about getting to know a guy, but it was so much fun pushing Ryder’s buttons and seeing him give up his secrets.

For example, take what he was doing right now. Pursing his lips, doing his damnedest to stay closed off.

“While you sit there and keep telling yourself that you’re not interested in me, I’ll be right over here, minding my own business, and calling bullshit on you,” she said with a happy smile.

Ryder wanted to play a game of avoidance? She could play, too. And she’d call his bluff. He wanted her. She could see it in his eyes, and damn her stupid body, she wanted him in return. But she wasn’t about to let him get the impression that she wanted more or needed some kind of polite conversation about rules and distance. He could have his distance. She’d just be doing her thing from afar. If that happened to test his control…so be it. It was all fun in the end.

“So, are we going out for coffee?” he asked. “Just a friendly cup between two neighbors.”

“No, thanks,” she said. “But let me know if you want another night.”

“Whitney…” he rasped as she started to strut away. “What kind of game are you playing?”

“I’m not the one playing games. Unlike you, I’m being honest.”

“So am I.”

“Great! Then we understand each other.”

“Not really,” he said.

She turned back to him, leaned over the bar, and absently ran two fingers along the neck of his beer. “I’m onto you, Mr. Diamond. You have impulse issues.”

Wow, he smelled good. All man, and an outdoorsy, woodsy scent that had her hormones jumping for a taste.