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“You heard me. You know, like self-respect? Self-worth? Pride?—”
“I know what the fucking word means.”
“Well, good,” I said, maintaining my composure. “Then we won’t need a vocabulary lesson, and we can resume our hike.”
“I won’t hurt you,” he said, paralyzing me immediately.
The sincerity in his voice shut down my brain, diffusing all the retaliation bombs I had lined up to stop any further advances from him. I was truly frozen.
“John,” I stammered.
“Mick,” he said, mirroring my soft tone.
He pulled his sunglasses off, hung them on the collar of his shirt, and brought his hands up to cradle my face gently.
“I know I’m probably the last man on the planet you would trust with your heart, but I swear to God, I won’t hurt it.”
My adrenaline spiked, and I was scared shitless. I’d never found myself in a position like this. What if these were the words of a man who only wanted one thing? What if this was how John turned up the charm just to get laid and then move on the next day? What if I wanted this no matter how bad it all sounded, and then he switched gears and changed his mind after he got to know me better?
“How did we find ourselves in this position?” I softly asked.
“I have no fucking idea,” he said humorously.
“We can’t do this, John.”
“Yes, we can,” he answered, his thumbs caressing my cheeks.
I stepped back from him; this was too overwhelming.
“Jesus, Mick,” he said, frustrated. “Just give me a chance to prove that I’m just as blown away as you must be about this.”
I shook my head, “Honestly, I think you’re high on this fresh mountain air. I don’t understand where any of this is coming from, if I’m being honest.”
“Well, since you used the word honest twice now, I can trust you are. However, I’m not high on anything. I want to give us a try.”
I didn’t know how to respond.
“Why don’t we just finish our hike and go?—”
“No,” he said, standing there and practically staring into my soul. “I’m not asking for anything more than for you and me to be exclusive.”
I laughed, “Exclusive? As in, I better not date anyone or else?”
“Precisely,” he chuckled.
“Well, there’s nothing to worry about there,” I said, needing to get out of this somehow. “My only dates these days are due dates.”
“You know what?” he said, lifting his chin like he’d conjured another plan. “I’ll back off. For now, at least. But I will make you mine. In fact,” he reached for my face and cocked his head to the side, “I’ll make you beg for me. Crave me.”
I sucked in a breath at the way he said those words. It was mysteriously beautiful, and my desire for more of him was already terrifying.
“That’s right, gorgeous,” he said, most likely reading me like a book. “I get what I want. And I want you.”
I didn’t know if I should take that as a challenge to be on guard and protect my heart or if I should’ve been flattered. So, instead of getting swept away in the fantasy of a gorgeous player suddenly wanting me as his one and only, I kept a level head.
John and I were here to hike and get to know each other better as friends, and so far, I loved the chemistry between us. He was so fun and easy to get along with; however, the man had women practically begging to have their hearts ripped out by him, just for a night of passion, with or without regrets.
I wasn’t that girl.
