“Actually, yes.”
Laughing, he stood and pulled her out of the car. “Poor baby. Well, let’s make it even, then. I’m glad you came. I don’t know why, but there it is.”
She stared at him as if he was crazy. “You’re the strangest man I’ve ever met.”
“But you want me.”
They stood facing each other in the middle of the street, Rafe holding on to her wrist just in case she decided to try bolting again.
“Yes,” she admitted, not sounding very happy about it. “I want you. We’re too different and we would probably kill each other in the long term, but I’m not talking long term when I say I want you.”
“What are you talking?”
“Short term. Very short term.”
He nodded. “As far as honesty goes, you’re pretty good at it.”
“So what now, Rafe?”
“Have you ever wanted a man before?”
“Of course I have.”
“No, I mean
She stared at him, pride warring with honesty, but honesty won. “No. Not like this.”
He softened both his hold on her and his voice. “Have you ever made the first move?”
Now she looked away. “No. But I didn’t think it would be this hard.”
“It’s not.”
“Maybe
In all his life, he’d never felt so absolutely tender toward a woman. He wanted to do everything she’d said, but he shook his head regretfully. “I think you should do this. I think you need to do this.”
“Fine. Here goes.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. “Do you want to go inside? Maybe get a drink and sit outside and talk or something? And not about the calendar or my work, but something else?”
“Like…what?”
She blinked. “Like what? What do you mean ‘like what’? I just want to go inside.”
“And do what, Emma?”
“You’re not making this easy.”
“And do what, Emma?” he repeated gently.
She let out a long sigh and fixed her gaze at a spot somewhere over his shoulder. “And finish what we’ve started too many times.”
“Do you mean-”
“Yes.” She put her hands on her hips. “So, do you want to or not?”
“So romantic,” he said dryly, then laughed when she bared her teeth. He slipped both his hands in hers, then slowly drew them behind her back, snagging her body up to his. Holding her gaze, he leaned in, so that her breasts pressed up against his chest. Nice.
So was the way her breath caught.
“Rafe?”
“I’m sorry, what was the question again?”
“Are we going to…?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.” Though it killed him, he gave her a light kiss on the lips and lifted his head just a little. “So you want to go inside, make love for…how did you put it? The short term.”
“Y-yes.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Does this include you spending the night? Breakfast? What?”
Her mouth opened, then closed. She tried glaring at him, but he didn’t back down.
“What are you doing?” she asked in disbelief. “Any other guy would have had me in his bed by now, naked, and you’re out here clarifying the terms?”
“Yep.”
“But…why?”
“Emma, when we first met, you didn’t even think you could have an orgasm with a man. We proved that theory wrong. Now, the way I see it, the only hurdle left is proving you can trust one.” He slid his jaw along hers. “Trust me,” he whispered. “Start this, instead of being led into it. Start it-show me what you want, without any of the fantasies from the photo shoot. It’s just you and me now. Just tell me what you want. Tell me and then trust me to give it to you.”
“All right,” she said.
She snaked her arms around his neck and put her mouth to his ear. She let out a slow breath, as if garnering her courage, and it had him hard in two seconds flat.
Then she pulled back, looked him right in the eyes and said, “I want you. I want you naked. I want you naked inside of me. I want to come with you like that. As for after that…I’d like to try something new-I’d like to wing it.”
She gave a smile that was just a tad unsure, and also the most arousing, sensual thing he’d ever seen.
“How am I doing?” she whispered when he’d just stared at her for several moments.
“Good,” he said, and still didn’t move. “Really good.”
Finally, she let out a laugh. “So? Can we? Now? Right now?”
“Yes,” he said. “Right now.”
16
TOGETHER THEY TURNED toward Rafe’s house, just as a motorcycle came down the street. Emma could barely breathe with all the thoughts of what Rafe was about to do to her whirling in her head. But then he stopped, swore roughly, and took her hand and tugged her back toward her car.
“What’s the matter?” He’d changed his mind. He didn’t want her. He was going to send her home, where she’d spend yet another night tossing and turning, unfulfilled, aching…
“See that bike over there? That’s Stone.” He opened the passenger door. “Do you want to drive or should I?”
“Where?”
“Anywhere, quick. Unless you want to stay here and forget about-”
“No,” she said. She wasn’t forgetting about anything, thank you very much. She’d come for some sort of end to this terrible yearning and anticipation and she wasn’t letting him out of her sight until she got it. “You can drive.”
She watched as he came around and got in swearing when his knees bumped the steering wheel. Sliding the seat back, he started the car and drove off.
On the bike, Stone craned his neck to watch them go, waving when they passed.
Rafe didn’t wave back. Jaw tight, working the temperamental gear shift as if he’d been driving this vehicle all his life, he sped away.
Emma stared at his hand on the gear stick. It was big, tanned and, she had good reason to know, calloused on his fingertips and palm. Just thinking about how that warm hand felt gliding over her breast, catching a little on her nipple, made her shiver.
“Which way?” he asked.
Feeling suddenly dry-mouthed, she just pointed.
While his long legs worked the clutch and the gas, his face was taut with concentration…and something else, something making his big, hard body tight with tension.
He glanced over at her with so much hunger and heat in his eyes, it took her breath.
