“That’s not an answer.”
He leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth. “Because you’re one hell of a woman.”
My breathing was slow, but it became deeper, unsteadier, painful on my lungs. There was something about him that made me go weak, that defused my anger like he had a magic button.
“Tell me why you feel that way.”
I couldn’t say it out loud, not to anyone. It would make it real, would make me actually believe it, take away all my hope that it was just nonsense. “What does it matter?”
“It matters to me.”
I bowed my head, my gaze dropping.
He grabbed my chin and forced me up again. “My eyes are up here.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, alright?”
“Why?” His hand moved through my hair and cupped the back of my head. “You can tell me anything. Literally anything.”
“I just don’t want to…”
Disappointment filled his gaze when he realized he couldn’t convince me. “Will you reconsider at a later time? Because I’m not going to let this go.”
“Why is it so important to you?” I whispered.
“In case it’s not obvious to you, I’m not just sleeping with you because you’re sexy.” He moved his other hand to my chest, right over my heart, and then placed it over his. “Because there’s a connection between us. Why else is the sex so good? And you can’t have a connection like this unless you care about each other. Unless you’re friends. Unless you’re more than just two naked people in a bed.”
I knew he was right.
“I’m your friend, baby. Whether you like it or not. And I’m a pretty good friend to have.” He pulled his hand from my hair and cupped my neck, his thumb resting in the corner of my mouth. “Tell me you’ll reconsider someday.”
I dropped my gaze again, cornered into an invisible wall.
He forced my face up. “What did I say about looking at me?”
I breathed a deep sigh of irritation. “Yes…I’ll reconsider.”
When he got what he wanted, his grip on my neck loosened, and the hardness in his expression began to soften. He stared at me for a while, like a conversation was still taking place between us even though neither one of us said anything. “I’m sorry I made you cry. That’s not the kind of man I want to be.”
“I’m not a crier… I’m not sure why that happened.”
“Because I touched a nerve. And that means whatever this is really bothers you.”
God, he had no idea.
“I lost my temper because of the way you acted backstage. It doesn’t justify my behavior, but I’m just like you…my emotions can get out of control easily. It’s like a rampage. Once it starts, it’s impossible to slow down.”
“I get it.”
He placed his forehead against mine and held me there, on his knees in front of me, like an ice pack that cooled my heatstroke. “You still want me to go?”
I wanted to say yes just to be stubborn, but I couldn’t. “No…”
“Good.” He pulled away so he could look me in the eye. “Because I wasn’t going to leave anyway.” He gave a slight smile, his playfulness moving into his expression.
“Then I guess you aren’t gonna give me my key either.”
He scooped his hands under my ass and lifted me from the couch, not struggling at all because he was so damn strong. He carried me in front of him, his face pressed into my chest, my shirt riding up as I locked my ankles around his waist. He carried me to the bed and laid me down on the bed. “No.” He pulled my panties over my hips and down my legs until they came free from my ankles.
I propped myself up on my elbows, watching him stand at the edge of my bed and undress. “You’re an asshole.” Piece by piece, I watched him shed his articles of clothing, watched his perfectly hard body come into view. First, his inked chest was visible, hard lines of muscle mixed with hard lines of ink. A small patch of hair was there, but it was masked by the artwork that covered his canvas. When his bottoms dropped, his strong eight-pack gave way to tight skin with a single vein that led to his big dick, groomed hair around his balls trimmed back so it wouldn’t get in the way of a blow job.
“I know. But that’s how you like me.” He moved onto the bed, his knees dipping into the mattress before the rest of his frame followed. When he was on top of me, he slid his hand under my shirt and pulled it up, getting it off my body because he didn’t want anything covering me at all. Then he leaned down and kissed me, his lips starting between my tits.
I closed my eyes and immediately sighed.