Page 73 of Love Bomb

“I think you’ve gotten bigger since the last time I saw you,” she mused.

“What the hell, Rona?” Bain froze, condom in hand. “When did you see me naked?”

“Well, there was that time you jumped in the loch on a dare,” she said. “Then the time you went skinny dipping in the river with Stephanie Morrison.” She frowned. “I never liked that girl. But the time I saw you like this,” she gestured to his aroused state, “was when you had to climb out of Linda Anderson’s bedroom window when her dad came home early from work.”

Oh, he remembered that night well. Mr. Anderson should have been on the late shift at the farm, but instead he’d returned home barely an hour after he’d left for work—and almost walked right in on Bain seducing his daughter.

Wait a minute.

Rona’s words registered and the penny dropped. “You phoned Mr. Anderson, didn’t you?” He’d always wondered what had tipped the old guy off.

“Everybody said Linda had an STD,” Rona said haughtily. “I was saving you from yourself.”

“You and your weird obsession with sexually transmitted diseases. Linda didn’t have anything.”

“She didn’t have you either,” Rona said smugly.

The little demon.

“Old man Anderson had a shotgun,” Bain said. “And an obsession with saving his daughter from boys who were up to no good. Everybody knew he lit a candle in church for Linda every morning and prayed for help protecting her from Invertary’s bad element. You almost got me killed.”

“Not sure his prayers worked anyway. Didn’t Linda get knocked up by Colin McMoron?”

“Colin McMahon,” Bain corrected. “And yeah. They have three kids now, and are still married.” Although, to be fair, Colin was also still a moron.

It seemed to Bain that he was losing control of the situation. Rona should have been lust-dazed and panting for more, not casually having a conversation about him trying to bed other women. He already knew his reputation was a problem for her. That’s why he was stealthily trying to woo her past it and into a relationship.

“Forget about that,” he said, with every ounce of charm he could muster. “All that matters is you and me and what’s happening between us right now.”

But he knew as soon as her wide green eyes met his that it was too late.

“I’m sorry, Bain,” Rona said earnestly.

And just like that, his hopes, as well as his dick, crumpled.

CHAPTER THIRTY

“I’m so sorry, Bain,” Rona said again, her stomach in knots. “I didn’t mean to lead you on. It’s just that you touch me and…well…my brain gets fried. All I can think about is what we’re doing, then when we stop…I think about everything else and doubts return.”

“I’m aware what happens,” he said ruefully, standing there in all his glory. “I lose my mind around you too.”

If only she could believe him, but surely a guy with his experience would never really lose himself in the act. He was old-hat at this, going through the motions to get what he wanted. She’d been a witness to his routine enough times when she was a kid to know that the girl never meant anything to him.

And she couldn’t mean nothing to him.

“I can’t be another notch on your bedpost,” she said softly. “I just can’t. I keep thinking that maybe I can. And when you touch me I’m sure I can. But then, reality…”

“Yeah, it’s a bitch,” Bain said, sitting on the edge of the bed, completely unconcerned about his nudity. “I don’t have notches.” He gestured to the headboard. “You can check for yourself.”

“You know what I mean,” Rona said, curling a hand over his on the bed beside her. “I’m not cut out for casual sex.”

He turned his hand to hold hers. “I swear to you, Rona. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a one-night stand. It’s been more than a year since I slept with anyone, and before that, there were months between partners.”

She wished she could believe him. “I heard tales that you slept with a bachelorette party in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago.”

He huffed out a breath. “I made that up because I was too embarrassed to tell everybody that I’d spent my nights reading the new Jack Reacher book.” Regretful eyes met hers. “I live with my two brothers, but really it’s three because Conall is always here too, and sometimes I want a bit of peace. So when I go away for work, or just take off for a weekend, I tend to spend it alone.”

It all sounded perfectly reasonable. But then, he’d sounded exactly the same way when she’d listened to him talk girls into bed when he was a teen.