Page 43 of The Need to Know

Oh. “Your wish is to have sex at a park?”

“Public place.”

“Ah.”

He stared down at me as I stared up at him, the heat stifling. In that moment, I didn’t care if anyone was watching.

“So, if we weren’t at a park…?” he asked.

“Then I wouldn’t put up much of a fight,” I answered honestly.

Ezekiel shook his head, backing off. “I don’t want you to fight. I want you to want me.”

I do.

As much as I wanted to jump into bed with him—or his truck, a part of me wanted to take it slow.

“Maybe we should be friends and see where it takes us,” I let out.

“One problem.”

“What?”

“If you’re my friend, you’re my friend and nothing more. If I put you in the friend category that’s how I’ll always see you,” he said. “I don’t cross lines with friends.”

I already knew the answer to my next question before I asked it. I sat up. “And you don’t do relationships either, do you?”

Ezekiel didn’t try to deny this. “Not really my thing.”

Those were my options. Sex. Or strictly platonic.

One look at him and I knew I wanted to sleep with him. I was wet just thinking about it. But could I do it without emotion?

“I definitely want to,” I said. “But I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.”

I liked talking to him, I liked that he put effort into this non-date, and I kinda liked him so far. We could be friends with benefits without it becoming messy, couldn’t we?

“I mean… Maybe…maybe we could just hook up one time to get it out of the way,” Ezekiel suggested.

“Yeah, one and gone, and just stick to a friendship.”

“Right, who’s to say we’ll even like it?”

I pretended to size him up. “I’ve seen taller men.”

He didn’t break eye contact. “I’ve seen bigger asses.”

I bit back a smile. “I’ve never had a man take me on a picnic before.”

Ezekiel settled down, losing his humor. “I’ve never wanted to take the time to pack a picnic and get to know someone.”

We were playing with fire, namely me.

“What if we do?” I pressed. “Like it, I mean.”

He leaned close. “What if we don’t?”

Deep in my belly, my feminine instinct reared its ugly head, telling me I would like it. And so would he. The connection between us was magnetic. I could see little electric currents buzzing in the tiny space. Heat like this, energy like this, couldn’t lead to a dud. I wanted to mount him, dominate him. I wanted him to lay me out and overpower me and empower me just the same. I wanted his sex, but I wasn’t strong enough for his heartbreak.