“Why?”
She wrinkled her nose. “You know me. I don’t do serious. I told him that upfront, but he started getting all clingy. I wasn’t having it.” She pointed at the counter where she had bread dough rising for the second time. “Ohhhh, that should be ready to go in now. Just give me a sec.”
I watched her bend over to slide the baking sheet in the oven, telling myself to quit being a perv and checking out her ass. But her faded, torn jeans, hugged her curves in all the right places and sharing her bed last night, cuddling with her without the main event, had been a special kind of torture.
She whirled around, pointing at me. “Ah ha! I knew you were checking out my ass! You’re such a pig!”
I grinned, raising my hands, palms up. “You can’t blame a guy for looking, Briar. At least I’m not touching.”
She leaned over the island, exposing her lacy bra beneath a low-cut black t-shirt. “I’ve been wondering about that. I think this may be the most time we’ve ever spent together without tearing each other’s clothes off. What’s that about, Lennox? You’re not into me anymore, or what?”
If only she knew how desperate I was to rectify that. I inched my computer aside, so I could get close enough to practically taste the rich merlot on her lips. “I’ve decided I’m going to let you take the lead.”
She laughed. “Since when?”
I’d always been the aggressor in our relationship, except the one time she told me she was ready to lose her virginity and wanted me to be the lucky guy.
“Since the last time you ghosted me.” I’d never had a problem with my self-esteem, but having this woman bail on me over and over again, had made me doubt myself. And it pissed me off.
“Still not over that, huh?” she asked, looking amused. “I didn’t realize you were so sensitive.”
Only when it came to her. “I’m not.” I topped up her glass before pouring more wine into mine. “I’m just tired of chasing tail, beautiful. You want me. Prove it.”
“Is that a challenge?”
I didn’t know how far she was willing to go to prove it, but I’d enjoy finding out. “Maybe it is.” I touched my glass to hers before bringing it to my lips. “You’re the only girl who’s ever made me work for it.” I smirked when she raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, but it’s true.”
“You love that I don’t make it too easy for you.” She regarded me over the rim of her glass before taking a deep swallow. “If I did, I’d just be like all the rest.”
Was that the reason she made it so hard for me to get close to her? Because she believed playing hard to get set her apart from all the other women I’d been with?Hmm, interesting.
“You’re unique in every way, beautiful. Believe me.”
“Tell me what you’ve been up to since Drew’s wedding.” She half-turned to stir the sauce, leaning her hip against the counter. “And don’t tell me about your work. I want to hear the good stuff.” She winked. “The personal stuff.”
I crossed my arms and leaned back. “You mean you want to hear about the women I’ve slept with?” I was testing her, trying to get a reaction. It worked.
Color flooded her cheeks and she diverted her gaze before shrugging. “Sure, let’s start there.”
“I’ve dated a couple of women, nothing serious.” Like her, I wasn’t big on commitment. I was married to my business, which made it hard to balance that and a relationship.
“Hmm.” She snagged a shrimp from the deep skillet, and took a bite before turning to face me. “What were they like?”
Baiting her might be fun. I grabbed my phone and started scrolling through pictures. “Um, I might have some pics.” I chuckled. “That one’s R-rated, you probably don’t want to see that.”
She scowled. “You’re such an ass.”
The only glimpse I’d seen of territorial Briar had been at the bar the previous night. I liked it. It proved she cared, even if she wasn’t willing to admit it.
“Here’s one I can show you.” I flashed the screen at her. “Her name’s Amber.”
She rolled her eyes. “A lingerie model?”
I rolled my tongue in my cheek. “A corporate lawyer.”
Her eyes fired daggers at me before she tossed the tea towel she’d used to dry her hands at me. “I need to use the restroom. Make yourself useful and stir the sauce.”
I chuckled as she left the room, making her shoot a filthy look over her shoulder while muttering obscenities that would have made her brother blush.
