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“Each?”
“Each.”
“No problem.”
“Roland is…”
She pretended to adjust the bandage covering her stitches, which was now a little damp, thanks to her shower. “One of my ex-boyfriends.”
“How long ago were you together?”
“Sorry. My turn.” She bestowed the sweetest smile she could muster on him. “When were you married?”
“Before I ever met you.”
This came as a total shock. “But we were only twenty-three when we met! How could you have already been married? And why didn’t you ever tell me?”
He cocked his head to one side. “Wait a second—are we trading more questions?”
She pursed her lips as she considered whether or not to continue.
“Well?” he prompted. But before she could answer, he went back to the desk. “Never mind. This is pointless.”
She followed him as far as the aisle between the two beds. “That was a quick reversal. What’s the matter? Got a few secrets to hide? Like the fact that you were married when we were dating?”
He rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t married when we were dating. That one’s for free. But Twenty Questions is now officially over.” Pivoting, he stalked toward her. “Unless…”
As he advanced, she backed up until her spine touched the wall, but the subtle lift in his tone had caught her like a baited hook. “Unless what?”
“Unless you’re willing to trade something else.”
She couldn’t believe he’d been married and never told her. She had a million questions. But what would he demand in exchange? “Like what?”
His gaze fell to her lips. “A kiss.”
Again wishing she’d gotten her clothes and dressed before starting this conversation, she hugged the towel to her body. “No,” she said with a shake of her head.
Lowering his voice to a seductive whisper, he leaned in until his lips were only a fraction of an inch from hers. “Is this the same woman who was willing to get into the back of the van with me last night for a hit-and-run? The same woman who said making love wouldn’t mean anything?”
Her throat was suddenly so dry she had difficulty swallowing. They were treading on dangerous ground again. “I said it doesn’t have to mean anything.”
“Neither does a kiss.”
She couldn’t argue with his logic. But the butterflies rioting in her stomach made her feel too vulnerable to take that kind of intimacy in stride. “Maybe not. But…” But what? She already knew she wouldn’t refuse. His proximity jammed all the frequencies in her brain. “If I agree, you have to satisfy my curiosity about your marriage. Even if that means three or four questions.”
She noticed a brooding quality in his expression, which surprised her. He’d asked for this and yet he didn’t act as if he was getting what he wanted—he acted as if she was leading him to the hangman’s noose.
“Lori isn’t a subject I like talking about,” he said. “One kiss per question. Take it or leave it.”
CHAPTER 21
He was a fool to whet his own appetite. No question about it. For some reason, he’d rather torture himself with what used to be—what could’ve been—than steer clear of physical contact. Kissing Francesca would be a poignant, perhaps painful, reminder of all he’d lost. But Jonah couldn’t persuade his worthless heart to accept the no-touch policy he’d tried so hard to follow.
He’d always had to learn his lessons the hard way. Apparently, this one would be no different….
“Who’s going first?” she breathed, her amber eyes filled with an unsettling mixture of doubt and desire.
“I am.” Maybe he’d pay for this later, but God, what a way to go. It’d been so long….
