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He’d backed her up against the wall, taking up all the space, and she could barely breathe.
She’d thought the idea of him sending her away and not wanting to continue their friendship had scared her. This scared her even more.
What was he saying? Could she believe a word of it?
He put a hand behind her head, palm to the wall, and his eyes narrowed as he stared down at her.
“You just don’t want to lose your friends with...”
“Don’t you even say it. I understand that you’ve come out of a bad relationship and you don’t want to trust me. I can wait, but don’t tell me how I feel. Don’t make this less than it is. For me, this is it, Jayna. I don’t think this feeling goes away. I don’t think I’ll ever get over you, so don’t lump me in with Todd, and don’t you dare say it’s your fault because you should have known. I’m telling you straight how I feel about you. I’m in love with you, Jayna Cardet, but I’m afraid you’re going to realize how hard my family can be to deal with and you’re going to walk away.”
“Quaid,” she started, her heart threatening to seize.
He shook his head. “Don’t. Don’t say a thing because I know you’re not ready. That’s all right. I need you to understand that I am. But I’m willing to be patient and I’m willingto be braver than I was this afternoon. You want to represent my brother? All right, but I’m your co-counsel. Not because I don’t think you’re smart enough. We both know you’re twice the lawyer I am. It’s because my brother gets into dangerous situations, and I won’t have you hurt.”
He was right. She wasn’t ready to believe him. He wanted to keep his convenient lover for a little while longer. If he helped her, she did the same for him.
Did she want to leave? She’d started to enjoy the town, seeing it through a different filter than she had when she was younger. There was a lot to like about Papillon.
Quaid was here.
“Do we have a deal?” He stared down at her, the question another challenge. He seemed to be doing that a lot today—challenging her.
It was dangerous. He was dangerous. No matter what he said, she knew a man could change his mind. Right now, she was new and shiny and he didn’t mind her annoying habits. She wasn’t ever going to be the “stand by her man and make him look good” type. It was fun right now and it seemed to make sense to him, but he would figure out that she wasn’t easy. In the end, he would want some twentysomething who could spit out a couple of kids while he built his career.
Women didn’t get to have it all. She’d known that from the time she’d been able to understand how hard her mother had to work.
“Jayna.” His voice had turned soft. “Don’t get scared on me. You tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll be able to walk out of here. You tell me you can’t love me, and I’ll likely stay with you and try to change your mind. But don’t make me leave because you think I’m going to turn into Todd. I’ve been waiting all my life for you. You aren’t a piece of the puzzle that will get me the next rung up the ladder. Youaren’t some tool that will help me win a prize. You are the prize.”
Tears pierced her eyes at the sweetness of his words. Quaid knew exactly what to say to get her into bed.
Or he meant every word and she’d finally found the right man.
She shoved that thought out of her head because she couldn’t deal with it right now. Later she would pull it out and examine it, searching for the truth, but for now she needed to live in the moment.
She went on her toes and wrapped her arms around him and thanked the universe that Quaid was a man who came prepared.
“That’s my girl,” he whispered, his hands finding her hair. “You won’t regret taking the chance. I promise.”
She was going to argue with him, tell him she wasn’t taking any chances and hadn’t decided anything, but his mouth covered hers and she couldn’t think at all when he kissed her.
He wasn’t playing around this evening. His tongue surged in and stroked against hers as he pressed her against the wall. She was caught between the hard wall and Quaid’s big body.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself up to the kiss. Nothing mattered except this moment and this man. Yesterday couldn’t be fixed and tomorrow was a problem for another day.
Tonight she could be his.
Tonight he could be hers.
•••
Quaid picked her up and carried her, though they didn’t have far to go. The room was small but it had a bed, and that was all he needed. Not that the lack of a bed would have changedhis course. He would have done what it took to make her comfortable, but he had a point to make.
He’d known the minute she’d said it was her fault that he was being stubborn. She had real reasons to be worried, real recent trauma, and he was being petty. He’d been wrong. It was up to him to make it right, to show her he wasn’t going anywhere.
For the first time in his life, he genuinely considered leaving Papillon. If she needed a city to feel complete, he would do whatever he could to find someone to take over his practice, but he would follow her.
He held her close, pressing her body to his and reveling in her softness. “When I realized where you’d gone this afternoon, I should have marched right into your sister’s house, picked you up, and brought you home.”
