Free Bidding War by Cher Carson Page B

I deserved that, but…”
    “No, there are no buts. Don’t you get it? I don’t want you or your apologies or your flowers…”
    He took a step closer, crowding her against the wall at her back. “I don’t believe you,” he whispered.
    She set the flowers down on a small table in the foyer to avoid crushing them between their bodies.
    Pressing his palms into the wall on either side of her head, he said, “You’re pissed at me. I get that, but I don’t believe you don’t want me.” He dragged a finger down the side of her face and watched with satisfaction as her eyes drifted closed. “You still want me...”
    She shook her head. “No, you’re wrong. I’m over you.”
    He tipped her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Really? Prove it.” His hand glided down the curve of her breast, settling on her hip. Her breath hitched at the same time her pupils dilated and he knew he was wearing her down. “Kiss me,” he whispered, his gaze traveling from her eyes to her lips and back again.
    Flattening her palms against his chest as though she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to push him away or pull him closer, she said, “I don’t have anything to prove to you.”
    He shrugged. “So don’t prove it to me. Prove it yourself. If you can kiss me and not feel anything, I won’t bother you again.”
    She chewed her lip, fixing her eyes on the opening at the collar of his shirt. “What if I don’t want to kiss you?”
    He knew she could feel his heart pounding under her palm, belying the fact that he wasn’t as calm as he pretended, but he didn’t care. He was willing to lay it all on the line for one more chance with this woman. “You and I both know you want to.”
    She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. “I’ve tried hating you. I should hate you…”
    For the first time, he felt like she was throwing him a life-line and he grabbed on to it with both hands. “But you can’t?”
    She shook her head as a tear slipped down her cheek. “Don’t get me wrong. I hate what you did, but I can’t get past the fact that you were always so good to me. I think about all the times you brought me coffee or lunch…”
    In truth, the coffee and deli sandwiches were an excuse to see her. He thought about her when he should have been viewing houses, dealing with errant contractors, and negotiating offers.
    “Not to mention the generous bonuses and gifts you gave me.”
    Their eyes locked as they both remembered the holiday gift he’d delivered before she went home on Christmas Eve. His gift was a new laptop because she complained her old one died, and she was so surprised and overwhelmed by his generosity that she kissed him.
    Trying to respect her wishes, he let her go without a fight, but he never forgot the way that kiss made him feel. “I did those things because I wanted to, not because I was trying to score points with you.”
    She nodded. “I know that. These past few weeks I’ve tried to figure out who you are: the guy who made love to me that night or the one who bet his brother $1,000 he could get me in to bed.”
    He held breath. “And? Did you figure it out?”
    She reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I want to believe you’re the guy I was starting to fall in love with, Shane.”
    He wrapped his arms around her waist, reveling in the sound of those words on her lips as he brushed his mouth across her cheek. “Honey, I am that guy.” He closed his eyes and nuzzled her neck, drinking in the fresh citrus scent of her shampoo. “That night with Jay, I’d had a few beers. We were talking trash. I never gave that goddamn bet another thought, I swear to you. I sure as hell didn’t intend to collect on it. What happened between us that night was none of his business.”
    Framing his face with her hands, she leaned in to kiss his lips. “I believe you,” she whispered. “I didn’t at first, but then I started thinking about the months I spent getting to