not make love, ' he corrected. 'Have sex. Do you understand the
difference? If we had sex, tomorrow morning you would realize the
mistake you'd made and you'd live with that regret for the rest of your
life.' She could feel the anger building inside her. 'And you?
Would you realize it was a mistake? ' 'Yeah, I would.'
'Would you also live with regret the rest of your life? ' 'I'd regret
all right, but not for long. Now do you get it? It wouldn't mean all
that much to me.' She spotted the empty gun on the ground, picked it
up, and marched past Cole.
'Of all the arrogant . . . ' 'I'm being honest, Jessie. Most men
would lie to get a woman like you in bed.'
'A woman like me? ' He followed her to the campfire. 'Yeah, ' he
said. 'Like you . . .
innocent and pure and sexy as hell. With your fine body, you can't
afford to be naive. It's dangerous and stupid.'
'So now I'm stupid?
Being inexperienced doesn't mean I'm stupid.' She dropped the gun in
the bedroll and stood there glaring at him.
'Answer one question for me, and then we'll never discuss this topic
again.'
'What? ' 'What makes you so certain that I would live with the regret
the rest of my life? Is it because I'm a woman, or is it because I'm
stupid? ' 'Are you telling me you wouldn't regret it? ' She didn't
answer him. 'Sure you would, ' he decided. 'Women want strings.'
'Strings? ' 'Commitment, ' he explained. 'Men don't.'
'Then all those married men were hog-tied and dragged to the altar? '
He thought the image fit perfectly. 'Yeah, they probably were.'
'Was your brother-in-law forced into marrying your sister? ' He'd
forgotten he'd told her about his family. 'Mary Rose and Harrison? '
Before she could say another word, he shook his head. 'Harrison wanted
to marry her.' She sat down and began to untie her shoelaces. He
stood there watching her while he tried to figure out how they had
gotten into such an intense discussion.
'Look, Jessie, all I'm saying is that . . . ' 'You don't want
strings.
' 'Exactly.' He almost shouted the word.
