Page 47 of Ravaged With You

“Oh.”

He frowned, confused by the hard tone of her voice.

“Are you guys dating? Because you should explain to her why you’re coming to stay with me if—”

“I told you. I don’t date.”

“She has a key. Is she one of the ones you—”

“Christ, Jo. She’s my neighbor. She’s eighty-two, and although I think she’s one of the best people I’ve ever met, I can’t quite see her in that role.”

“Right.” She drew in a breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just on my mind.”

He blinked at her. “What is?”

“Well, duh. You. Me. Sex.”

He stumbled backwards, then sat on the edge of the bed.

She kept talking, not seeming to care at all that she’d just tossed him a curve ball. “You said no, and I respect that. But dammit, Red, it’s on my mind.”

“Sex?” What the hell was happening?

“Hello? Yes. And God knows I shouldn’t be thinking along those lines, at all. Not with Mel gone like that and people attacking us. But I am.” She’d been pacing, but now she paused in front of him.

“I’d say it’s that I want comfort,” she continued. “You know, after Mel. After everything. And I think that’s part of it. Mostly, though, I want a taste of what we never had. What we should have had that night you pushed me away.”

“How can you do that?” he asked, utterly fascinated by her. “How can you lay it all out there like that? I’ve never known anyone that comfortable with honesty.”

Her cheeks turned pink, and he watched as her throat moved. “Yeah, well, maybe this is the new me. I wasn’t honest enough with Mel. About wanting to try harder when it started to go downhill, or about wanting a clean break when I was certain it wasn’t working anymore. You’re meeting the new Jo, I guess.”

“No. Same Jo. Just a new perspective.”

“At any rate, I hope you like Jo-two-point-oh.”

He reached for her hand as he stood up. “You know I do. Just like you know this thing between us isn’t going anywhere.”

She bit her lower lip and moved closer. “So you admit there’s a thing.”

“I never denied the thing.”

“But you really won’t tell me what’s holding you back?” She moved closer still, then slid her hands around his waist, her body pressed to his. “Even if I beg?”

He stifled a groan, trying to halt his body’s reaction, his traitorous cock that wanted to join in these games she was playing. And she knew exactly what she was doing, too. Of that he was certain. There was no way she could miss the erection straining against his jeans, not when her body was pressed flat against his.

He drew in a breath, caught that scent of strawberries from her hair, and just about lost control. Instead, he used the rising need as a lever, giving him the will to spin them around so that he could push her back, tumbling her onto the bed.

She gasped, a soft, startled sound, and he was on her in an instant, straddling her, his hands on her shoulders, holding her down.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“No,” he said. “I know you’re just playing. I know you don’t understand. But you have to believe me. This is a door you don’t want to open.”

“I’m not playing.”

He managed a derisive snort. “There really are monsters in the dark, Jo. And I promise, if you push too hard, you’ll meet the ones that live in me.”

She licked her lips, but she didn’t look scared. On the contrary, when she parted those moist lips, all she said was, “Let me.”