Page 44 of Love Bomb

“Passive-aggressive?” Bain uncurled from his crouching position and stood ominously in the shadow beside the wall.

“Yes. You’ve been moody and bitchy and annoying since I turned up at your door this afternoon. Is it the kiss? Because I told you, it wasn’t a big deal. So what’s got your knickers in a twist?”

“What’s got my knickers in a twist?” He took a step toward her.

“Stop repeating me and answer the question. I’ve had enough of your attitude. If you have a problem with me, spit it out.”

“Fine. I’ll spit it out.” He strode over to stand in front of her. “Yes, I have a problem with you. You’re messing with my head. Playing weird games I don’t understand. Making me feel things, and want things, I hadn’t even considered until you cast some sort of weird spell on me. What did you do to me? Was it drugs?”

Rona felt his words like a slap to the face. “What on earth are you talking about? I’ve done nothing to you except harass you into helping me. I would never drug you. I can’t believe you’d even suggest something like that.”

“Okay, maybe not drugs, but you’ve done something else to me.” He studied her intently. “A spell, or brainwashing, or something.”

“You think I’ve put a spell on you?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“You’re making me do things I would never normally do.”

“Like what?” she demanded.

“You made me kiss you,” he accused.

“Are you serious? I didn’t make you do anything, let alone force you to kiss me.” Angrily, Rona poked him in the chest. “Do you realize how insulting it is to hear that the only reason you kissed me was because I somehow messed with your free will? Thank you, Bain. That’s just delightful.”

“I didn’t mean it that way.” Obviously exasperated, he ran a hand through his hair.

“Is there any other way to take it? I was there, Bain MacGregor. All I did was press my lips to yours and boom! You were all over me. You wanted to kiss me. In fact, if I remember right, you wanted to do a helluva lot more than that.”

“Which is wrong.” He threw up his hands. “I never felt like that about you when you lived here!”

Every word out of his mouth was more insulting than the last.

“I know, I know,” she snapped. “I was too young, too strange, too much like a sister, or a stalker, or whatever else you told yourself. Don’t worry. I got the message. You were attracted to every other girl in Invertary, except me.” She hated that she couldn’t keep a small note of hurt from seeping into her voice.

Bain glared at her. “I wasn’t attracted to you because you weren’t a girl,” he barked.

And the blows kept coming. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You were Rona,” he roared, like that explained everything.

The man was incomprehensible.

“I’m still Rona.” You dumbass.

Bain took a couple of deep breaths, visibly working to get control of himself. About bloody time.

“I know you’re still Rona,” he said evenly. “Which is why I shouldn’t have reacted like that when you kissed me. This is your fault. You changed.” He made a gesture to indicate all of her, from head to toe.

Rona’s fingers tingled with the urge to smack some sense into him. “Can you hear how crazy you sound? Of course I changed. I grew up.”

“It’s too confusing.” He paced the circular room, like a lion trapped in a cage. “You went away Rona-the-kid and now you’re Rona-the-woman. How is a guy supposed to deal with that?”

“Well, duh. The same way most normal people deal with kids growing up. They accept it and move on.”

“How? I mean, look at you now.” He stalked back over to stand in front of her. “You have ringlets,” he said, like it was a capital offense. “And boobs!”

“Oh, the horror of it.” Rona rolled her eyes.

He closed the distance even further, until she could feel the heat emanating from him. “And you smell like wildflowers,” he accused.