Free What a Girl Wants by Selena Robins Page A

released her. “Not someone like you.” He wanted to rip his tongue out when she flinched at his words. He had to admit, they did reek of rejection, big time. At this point, it would be useless to rephrase the sentence.
    “Someone. Like. Me?”
    Shit, he’d seen that look on her face once before, and the journalist who’d claimed she was a wannabe writer still covered his rocks when he walked by her.
    “Well, Mr. Maddie Expert.” She jabbed two fingers into his chest. “Enlighten me. Tell me about myself.”
    He took in her reddened mouth, swollen from his kisses, and her mussed hair, the result of his hands roaming in the silky strands. “I don’t think you’re the kind of woman who can ¾ ”
    “ ¾ satisfy a globe-trotting, experienced stud like you?”
    “What I’m doing a lousy job of telling you is that you’re not like other women that I’ve ¾ Maddie, you’re special to me. You know, you’re my friend.”
    “Yeah, I got it. Me and Rover, man’s best friend. So, what’s next, the ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ speech?” She rolled her eyes. “And what the hell was up with the foreplay on the dance floor? A few minutes ago? Remember? Tonsil hockey and porn-worthy breathing?”
    “I was way out of line. I don’t blame you for being pissed. I knew when I stepped into this room that something might happen. I’m not proud of that. I’m not a saint, but I’m also not a bastard when it comes to my friends. That’s why I stopped. I’d rather have you as a friend than a short-term lover.”
    “Cripes, you sound like those White House spin doctors you say you can’t stand.”
    “Spin? Is that what you think this is?” He blew out a loud breath. “Wish you could hear the fuckin’ argument I’m having in my head.”
    “Then say what’s on your damn mind . ”
    “I’m not in any position…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t want any kind of relationship or commitment. I’m not boyfriend material. You know that.”
    “What a surprise. A guy who doesn’t want a relationship.” She rolled her eyes again. “And you think I want that? You’re such an idiot sometimes.”
    Regret mingled with desire as he blew out another hard sigh and cupped her small chin. Even though he’d persuaded himself he was doing the right thing, his body, especially the lower region, still wasn’t convinced. It would be so easy to take her in his arms, kiss her senseless and make love to her all night. “Listen to yourself,” he said. “You sound like you do this all the time, when you and I both know you don’t. You’re not the kind of woman who gives herself free and easy to any guy.”
    Her soft hands traveled down the side of his face and rested on his shoulders.
    He nearly bolted out of his skin.
    “Alex,” she whispered, “I’m not Crystal.”
    Her words extinguished his heat faster than ice water would have. He wrapped his fingers around her wrists and lowered them to her side. “Do not go there.”
    “I admit I don’t know the whole story, but ¾ ”
    “That topic,” he said through clenched teeth, “is not open for discussion.”
     “Whatever the hell happened, I wish you’d build a bridge and get over it already.”
    He threw his head back and tried to relax his jaw. “Look, I owe George a lot, and seducing his niece is not the way to pay him back.”
    “What is it with you and this loyalty to my uncle? Do you know where all the bodies are buried or something? Believe me, nothing you tell me about my family is going to shock me. And when did you stop taking risks? You lay your ass on the line in war zones all the time.”
     
    For crying out loud, Alex had more issues than Maddie had imagined. “What’s the problem, you’re not used to a woman who tells you what she wants and means it ? Not to mention, you practically invented the hump-and-dump philosophy.” She drew herself up, trying to tamp down the feelings of humiliation his rejection of her had sparked. “Now