Free The Laws of Attraction by Sherryl Woods Page A

she saw herself in his comment just the same.
    Josh wondered if a woman who obviously thrived on challenges would ever be content with a slower, lessstressful pace, or if she would always need to be in the thick of some battle. It was something he needed to decide about himself, as well.
    He’d come down here to simplify his life, to cut through the clutter of being on the fast track and see if he wanted to get off entirely. He suspected Ashley wasn’t in the same place at all. If anything, she was probably champing at the bit to get back on that fast track. It might be the kind of complication that meant they were doomed, but it was hardly something that needed to be resolved tonight.
    Tonight it was enough to be with a woman who stirred his blood and kept him on his toes mentally. At some point during the evening, he’d gotten past the triumph of being invited to Rose Cottage by one of the unattainable D’Angelo sisters. Now it was all about being with a woman who intrigued him, a woman with strengths and vulnerabilities he wanted to understand, a woman whose bed he wanted to share.
    When that thought cavorted through his head, he immediately slammed on the brakes. He was getting ahead of himself, way ahead of himself.
    He glanced across the table and saw Ashley studying him intently. There was an unmistakable and totally unexpected hunger in her eyes. He told himself it had to be for the chocolate.
    “Ready for dessert?” he asked, his voice thick and unsteady.
    She nodded, her gaze never leaving his.
    “Cake?”
    She shook her head.
    “A brownie?”
    Again, that subtle shake.
    Josh swallowed hard. “Eclair?”
    “Not right now.”
    “What do you want?”
    “You,” she said quietly.
    Amazement flooded through him. “But—”
    “No questions, no doubts, unless you don’t want me,” she said.
    “That is definitely not the issue,” he admitted.
    Her lips curved slightly. “Then why are you still sitting there?”
    “Because I’m an idiot,” he said, trying to ignore the way his pulse was racing with anticipation. He was a nice guy, dammit, and she was vulnerable. He would not take advantage of her.
    She stared at him for an eternity. “You’re saying no?”
    He nodded. “I don’t know what brought you down here, but having sex with me isn’t the answer.”
    “It could be the answer tonight,” she said lightly.
    He smiled at that. “Indeed, it could be spectacular, but when you and I get together for the first time—and we will, Ashley—then I want it to be because it’s inevitable, not because it’s convenient.”
    Patches of red flared in her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m the idiot,” she said, instantly stiff and unapproachable again.
    “Don’t you dare say that,” he chided. “You have no idea how flattered I am that you suggested this or how hard it was for me to say no. We’ll get around to making love, make no mistake about that.”
    “I’m only here for three weeks,” she reminded him, as if to define the urgency.
    He grinned. “Which means we still have twenty daysleft. Since we barely got through one without tumbling straight into your bed, I suspect we won’t waste too many.”
    She stared at him quizzically, as if she were trying to discover if he was making fun of her. Apparently she recognized just how serious he was, because she laughed. The tension evaporated.
    But Josh knew that thanks to his noble gesture, sleep was going to be a very long time coming.

Chapter Five
    A shley still felt like a first-class idiot in the morning. Josh had been amazingly gracious when she’d hit on him, but she’d clearly misread all the signals. She’d thought all those sparks were going to lead to something that would help her to forget her problems. Fishing, pleasant as it had been, sure as hell wasn’t going to do that. A steamy, meaningless affair might have.
    Oh, well, no one died of acute humiliation. She simply wouldn’t make that mistake again. For all she knew, Josh