“Yeah?” She bites her lip. “That did it, huh? I overstepped.”
“No, but I’m confused as hell as to why you’re rambling, and the things you’re saying are?—”
“Things we never talk about, I know. I’m sorry.”
She closes her eyes and waves a hand in front of her face. “It won’t happen again.”
I step closer and reach up to cup her cheek.
“Open your eyes, Natalie.”
They snap open, and the glaze coating them feels like a punch to the heart.
“There is nothing, and I mean nothing, you can’t talk to me about.”
“Okay,” she says in a breath.
Her lips part as she inhales, and her gaze flicks to my mouth.
The thought of kissing her consumes me. My palms start to sweat, and my heart pounds like I’m about to jump out of an airplane.
I want to do more than just kiss her. I want to run my hands through her hair and discover the sounds she makes when I pull her toward me and press my body to hers.
Damn it, Beck. Why did you have to put this in my mind right before I came home to her? She just broke off an engagement for crying out loud.
“And for the record, I won’t be bringing anyone back to the house. That’s not really my style.”
“Oh.”
I hold her gaze a moment longer before she says, “So, if you come home late one night, don't worry because you’re out having fun and?—”
“I won’t be bringing anyone back, and I won't be staying out late. Is that clear?”
She nods.
“Is it?” I ask, trying not to let myself get too worked up at the way she’s biting her lower lip.
How can one simple action spark so much inside of me?
I step back and sit on the edge of the desk to rein myself in. My eyes slowly take her in again. They start at her face, taking in her doe eyes, tiny nose, luscious pink lips, and move down to her thighs, her bare feet, and back to her face.
She swallows and then steps one leg over the other as she adjusts her stance.
“To be clearer,” I say, “I’m not a player or bachelor or whatever you’ve been viewing me as. I’m a one-woman kind of guy.”
“But for as long as I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you date anyone for more than a single night.”
I nod. “So?”
“So, were you dating while I was with Griffin, and I never noticed?”
God, I hate the sound of his name. I’d die a happy man if she never repeated it.
“No, I wasn’t. I’ve been waiting for the right woman.”
The doorbell rings and jump-starts her into action.
“That must be the pizza. I’ll get it.”
