Free That Kind of Special by Abby Wood Page A

What about an hour ago when you ordered—yes, I said ordered—me to bend over and assume the position? Hm?” She planted her hands on her hips. “What about that damn dead bolt?”
    He stepped to the right and leaned against the wall, grinning. “Baby, you should know something. The huffier you get, the more you turn me on. I got the biggest hard-on for you right now.”
    She glanced down to the front of his jeans and swiftly inhaled. He laughed when she crossed her arms to cover her breasts. A pointless action, since he could read her response on her face. Her facial reactions showed every bit of pleasure she experienced, and he loved how innocent she seemed.
    “I’m letting you know where I stand if you want to be with me.” He lifted the corner of his mouth and shrugged. “I take the safety of the woman I care about seriously. It’s a hazard that comes with the kind of business I run.”
    “I get that.” She frowned and then whispered, “There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”
    He looked down at the floor. The guilt over his inability to protect those he loved most would always eat at him. It never lessened. “My sister was raped”—he cleared his throat—”when she walked out of a restaurant to the car while her boyfriend stayed behind to pay the bill. It happened fast. Nobody heard her screams in the alley. She thought she was safe to walk out alone, because her boyfriend was soon to be out after her.”
    “Oh, God.” She covered her throat with her hand. “Is she okay?”
    He nodded. “Now, mostly. After it happened, no.”
    “That’s awful,” she whispered.
    “Yes, it was.”
    She turned and walked away from him. She trailed her finger along the edge of the table. She straightened the lampshade, picked up a dirty shirt on the floor, and tossed it down the hallway.
    She stayed on the other side of the room, but turned around. “You confuse me. I feel like what we have is going to disappear at any moment, because that’s all I know. Every single man I’ve dated has disappointed me. It’s not their fault, it’s me, really. I set high standards. Impossibly high ideals. Everything you’ve shown me makes me think you’re the man who is going to prove that I need you. I don’t want it to go away. Yet you’re talking long-term…at least for the immediate future. I can’t wrap my head around it all, and I don’t know if I want to.”
    “You don’t like what we’re building?”
    She swallowed. “I like the sex. I like how I feel when I’m around you.”
    “Fair enough.” He nodded. “That’s a start.”
    “You’ll settle for that?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Don’t you feel like I’m cheating you out of some emotional need?”
    He studied her and realized he wasn’t getting inside her head, but receiving a firm take-a-hike message she probably delivered to all the men she dated. “More than I can express.”
    “Then do something, dammit!” She crossed her arms. “We’ve talked and talked, like two old women at tea time. I don’t get why you asked me out today or why you showed up at my apartment instead of calling. I take that back—I get the sex part. I want to know what’s there behind the sex. Why me?”
    “Not until you finally decide to stop lashing out at me. You’re overthinking things that haven’t even happened yet, and trying to find an excuse that we shouldn’t be together.” He pushed off the wall and walked toward her.
    “Because that’s what I do.” She stiffened. “I’m not bargaining with you.”
    He hooked her behind the neck and pulled her toward him. “Babe, I get it. You’re scared.”
    She challenged him with a stare.
    “So.” He kissed her, stepping back, so she’d have no trouble understanding what he was going to say next. “I’m going to prove to you that you can’t push me away just because you’re frightened of your feelings. And you’re scared because I’m not going to let you get away with this