AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The silence stretched on. Finally, Mick took a mental step back, then a physical one. Lifting his shoulders in a helpless shrug, he said, “But I can’t do it. I can’t be casual about you. About this.” Turning slightly away, he put his spoon in the sink, and the ice-cream container back in the freezer. “Hell, maybe I’m finally growing up.”
She lifted her hand, as if reaching out to touch him, but Mick wasn’t in the mood for a comforting word or a tender touch. He hadn’t liked what he’d said, hadn’t enjoyed admitting that he was still vulnerable to her. What man would? With some women, the weapon he’d just handed over could be deadly.
“You’d better go upstairs,” he said, his words almost a growl as he fought an inner battle with a sudden, unexpected anger.
She didn’t move, merely looked at him, waiting for him to continue. But he had nothing else to say. They’d reached no agreement because there was none that could be reached.
She wanted him to be something he couldn’t. And he wasn’t willing toproveto her that he was right about the constant nature of their relationship. That they were lovers, not just simple sex partners. There was too much between them, too much of the past, too much of the present, for them to be anythingsimple. It was taking every bit of control he had to stick to the decision he knew was the right one. To stay away from her, emotionally, physically, in every way possible. Even though she lived under his roof, he didn’t have to put himself under her thumb.
But damn, it was hard. Those brief touches of her lips, the look in her eyes, the way her soft shirt brushed against those sweet curves of hers, the spicy, womanly smell of her body. He wanted her more now than he’d ever wanted a woman in his life. And he’d wanted a lot of women in his life.
Never like this.
Which was why he had to be strong. If she stepped one bit closer, raised those perfect lips of hers or studied him too intently with those beautiful eyes, he’d be a lost cause. Right here in the kitchen, he’d show her what they were to each other, in deed as well as word.Lovers.
“Good night,” he said, turning away and walking toward the media room. In his mind he screamed,Go, go, go now.
He heard her drop her spoon to the counter. Then heard her sweep it to the floor.
“Goddammit,” she snarled, “if I have a lover why the hell haven’t I had a real orgasm in two years?”
He froze and turned around, not sure if she meant what he thought she meant. That she’d had no one—no sexual involvement—in that long. Cursing himself for pausing, he couldn’t help but state, “You must have had some lousy partners.”
He silently urged her to admit the truth. He should have known she’d never do it.
“Yeah. A whoooooole lot of them.” Without another word, she swung around and stalked out of the kitchen.
A whole lot. He felt like he’d taken a punch to the gut. He had absolutely no reason to question whatever choices she’d made. Just because he’d been herfirstdidn’t mean he was entitled to be heronly. Though, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t cheerfully consign any man she’d been with to the pits of hell in a heartbeat. He knew he was being a damned hypocrite but he didn’t even care.
A whole lot.Jesus, he flinched just thinking about it.
Unable to help it, he turned and followed her. “How many is a whole lot?”
She never broke stride. “None of your business.”
“Caroline—”
“Leave me alone.”
He couldn’t. Anger and attraction and emotion and curiosity and, damn it, lust, were clouding his head, making him react from his gut instead of his brain. “Tell me.”
She stopped in the hall. Her expression was both angry and challenging. “Too many to count,” she said with a flick of her hand, dismissing the subject. Then she walked away again. “Maybe I’ll just pull one of your tricks to solve my little problem. Don’t have sex with mylover,” she said, emphasizing the word with derision, “but find somebody else todistractme while I’m in town.”
That image flooded his brain, made his blood get hot and his pulse pound wildly. He’d meant to keep them from making a mistake with each other, not to push her into making one with someone else.
“Like hell you will,” he yelled, stalking after her. He reached the foyer just as she’d started up the stairs. “I’m not finished with you.”
She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Apparently you are.”
“You’re not falling into bed with anyone else while you’re living in my house. In my town.”
“You know what? It’s none of your business what I do, Mr. Landlord. You’re not my friend. You’re not my colleague. You’re not mylover, or whatever you think you are to me.”
“I’m serious, Caroline.” He started up the stairs after her, slowly, one deliberate step at a time. “You get involved with someone else while you’re here and you’re going to have a fact-based reality murder show.”
She turned around to look down at him, her eyes widening in apprehension. Then she moved one foot up and back, climbing one step higher. “Was that a threat?”
He stepped up, following her, until his eyes were level with her chin. “More like a promise. Any man you set eyes on is going to have to go through me first.”
