Free Wrong Room (Accidental Pleasures) by Geri Foster Page B

exit. “Listen. Sit down and let’s talk.”
    She stared into his dark eyes, and a seam ripped open in her heart like a cheap dress. “I don’t want to talk. I just want to leave.”
    “I’ll take you home.” He stepped back. “Maybe coming here wasn’t a good idea. Could be the only thing we have in common is sex. In the dark, in an unfamiliar place, as strangers.”
    “It’s not about that.”
    He jammed his hands on his hips. “Oh, I get it. I said something about more.” He pointed at her. “You don’t want more. Do you, Lexi?”
    She couldn’t answer him and looked away. No one was allowed in her head, around her thoughts, unlimited access to her feelings.
    “I don’t know you well, but I never took you for a coward.”
    Anger boiled in her veins as hot as lava. “You don’t know me at all.”
    “I don’t think anyone does. Am I right?”
    To have known her for such a short time, he had her all figured out. Her vulnerability stood out like white lint on a navy blue jacket. She put her bag down and forced herself to remain calm when she felt stripped naked and alone.
    She fought back tears. Her ruse was useless and ineffective. She looked at him. Intelligent eyes returned her stare. His black hair slicked back from his face. A face of stark angles, smooth yet stoic, calm but in those dark eyes a wild storm brewed. A dangerous and foreboding tempest. A mouth soft in a landscape of male roughness.
    “I just got out of a relationship. I’m not ready for another failure.”
    He stood silent for so long, she dropped her gaze to the floor. Bare and unsheltered, tears dripped from her eyes. “I’m sorry, Jack. We both know I’m not the person for you.”
    “Care to tell me how we know so much.” He put his finger beneath her chin and lifted her face to his. Eyes closed, he leaned closer and kissed her gently and quickly on the mouth. “You speaking for both us now?”
    “I don’t do well in relationships.”
    He pulled her against his chest, and she took comfort in the steady beat of his heart. “Maybe you’ve been in the wrong relationships.” With his chin on the top of her head, he continued, “Maybe you haven’t found the right guy yet.”
    “Are you the right guy, Jack?”
    He took her by the shoulders and leaned back, his eyes intense and meaningful. “I want to be that guy, Lexi. I want more from you. But only you can decide if I’m the man you want.”
    Fresh tears crept from her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his chest. “I don’t want to be hurt anymore.”
    He kissed her forehead. “I’d never hurt you. But I think you need to decide if you’re going to be completely open or continue to play the imposter. Are you a woman who can love or a State Representative who knows how to behave and follow the rules?”
    He released her, picked up her bag, and took her hand. They walked to the car, and he opened the door for her. After putting her bag in the backseat, he glided behind the wheel and started the engine.
    Lexi felt she’d just abandoned her only hope.
    * * *
    Jack walked Lexi to her door and kissed her good-bye. “Call me anytime.”
    He got back in his Audi and drove toward home, disappointed and saddened. He’d hoped he and Lexi would prove they had more going on between them than sex. Instead, the whole thing blew up in his face like a poorly timed bomb.
    He hadn’t meant to lay out his soul and confess he felt more for her than sex. Not his intention, his plan, or his only option. He should have kept his mouth shut and given her more time.
    Now, after listening to her soft sniffles all the way to her house, he wanted to pull out his own hair. Crying women frightened him and made his stomach ache, and every woman in his family knew that. Often, they used tears as their first line of defense.
    But Lexi’s tears had been different. They were hurtful and raw. And of course, like all men, he felt completely helpless. She’d