Free Feeling the Heat by Brenda Jackson

like hell. Getting a call from Dillon to let him know their youngest brother, Bane, had gotten into trouble again had become a common occurrence.
    “We need to talk, Micah.”
    He glanced across the table at Kalina and saw the firm set of her jaw. He’d figured she would have a lot to say, so he’d asked that they be given a private room in the back. It was a nice room with a nice view, but nothing was nicer than looking at the woman he was with.
    He now knew he had played right into her father’s hands just as much as she had. The general had been certain that Micah would be so pissed that Kalina didn’t believe him that he wouldn’t waste his time trying to convince her of the truth. He hadn’t. He had allowed two years to pass while the lie she believed festered.
    But now he was back, seeking her forgiveness. Not for what he had done but for what he hadn’t done, which was to fight for her and to prove his innocence. Dillon had urged him to do that as soon as Kalina had confronted him, but Micah had been too stubborn, too hurt that she could so easily believe the worst about him. Now he wished he had fought for her.
    “Okay, you can talk and I’ll listen,” he said, pushing his plate aside and taking a sip of his wine.
    She frowned and blew out a breath. “I want you to stop with the game playing.”
    “And that’s what you think I’m doing?”
    “Yes.”
    He had news for her, what he was doing was fighting for his survival the only way he knew how. He intended to make her trust him. He would lower his guard and include her in his world, which is something he hadn’t done since Patrice. He would seduce her back into a relationship and then prove she was wrong. He would do things differently this time and show her he wasn’t the man she believed him to be.
    “What if I told you that you’re wrong?”
    “Then what do you call what you’re doing?” she asked in a frustrated tone.
    “Pursuing the woman I want,” he said simply.
    “To get me in your bed?”
    “Or any other way I can get you. It’s not all sexual.”
    She gave a ladylike snort. “And you expect me to believe that?”
    He chuckled. “No, not really. You’ve told me numerous times that you don’t believe a word I say.”
    “Then why are you doing this? Why would you want to run behind a woman who doesn’t want you?”
    “But you do want me.”
    She shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
    He smiled. “Yes, you do. Even though you dislike me for what you think I did, there’s a part of you that wants me as much as I want you. Should I prove it?”
    She narrowed her gaze. “You can’t prove anything.”
    He preferred to disagree but decided not to argue with her. “All right.”
    She lifted her brow. “So you agree with what I said?”
    “No, but I’m not going to sit here and argue with you about it.”
    She inclined her head. “We are not arguing about it, we are discussing it. Things can’t continue this way.”
    “So what do you suggest?”
    “That you cease the flirtation and sexual innuendoes. I don’t need them.”
    Micah was well acquainted with what she needed. It was the same thing he needed. A night together. But sharing one night would just be a start. Once he got her back in his bed he intended to keep her there. Forever. He drew in a deep breath. The thought of forever with any other woman was enough to send him into a panic. But not with her.
    He placed his napkin on the table as he glanced over at her. “Since you’ve brought them up, let’s take a moment to talk about needs, shall we?”
    She nodded. That meant she would at least listen, although he knew in the end she wouldn’t agree to what he was about to suggest. “Although our relationship two years ago got off on a good start, it ended on a bad note. I’m not going to sit here and rehash all that happened, everything you’ve falsely accused me of. At first I was pretty pissed off that you would think so low of me. Then I realized the same