“What promise?”
She asked questions as though she knew him. As though they’d known each other their whole lives. As though she wasn’t prying into private shit that was none of her business. Normally, he didn’t go for that and would tell the person to fuck off. But not her. She could ask any damn thing she wanted, and he’d tell her. “To my father. Told him I wouldn’t mess with girls from his Bible thumpin’ school.”
“I see. Well, I’m not one of those anymore, so you’re not breaking a promise. Technically speaking.”
Well, shit. Now what? If she wasn’t going to take his hints or his flat out telling her to go, how was he supposed to fight her? Was he supposed to fight her and the lust clawing through him? Oh, he knew that he should still walk away, that he should try harder to convince her he was bad news, but he wasn’t going to. The woman said she wanted him and he was naughty enough that he was going to let her have him. “Okay.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I won’t tell you what you need. And I do want you, but I don’t want you to have any regrets after, either. That’s how a lot of these things turn out. I’m a self-admitted bastard and I don’t play by the same rules as other guys. I don’t want you hurt when I don’t turn out all sweet and tender with you. I don’t want you crying when who I am between the sheets isn’t the green grass you thought looked good from the other side of the street.”
“Oh. I’m glad. That you want me too, I mean.”
She was looking everywhere but at him now, and he had to bite back a laugh. She was going to be more fun than he’d first imagined.
He took the beer from in front of her and poured it down the sink.
“Why are you doing that?”
“I want you sober and neither of us know how much you can handle without getting tipsy.”
“Okay.”
He eased around the end of the bar and over to the door. “Now or never, Carrie. This is your last chance to go.” She watched him and shook her head, a slow left to right movement. She didn’t make any other moves or sounds. “Are you nervous?” he asked.
“N-no.”
Another little lie from her pretty lips. She would need confession before they finished. He flipped the lock into place, the sound of the metal sliding into its chamber echoing loud in the empty room. The lights were next, but he only turned off the ones in the main room. Behind the bar was still lit. That one would go out soon, too. Much as he wanted to see her naked and spread on the dark wood, he wanted her in his bed this first time.
“I want this. No sense being nervous or uncertain after putting myself in this position.”
Her words didn’t match her actions, though she’d put him in his place for telling her what she did and didn’t want or need. She would be a hellcat once out of the shell that cloaked her.
Measured steps took Dallon back toward her until he stood in front of her. He reached out and brushed at the hair that curled around her face. “You said your father went to school here. You didn’t?” He asked the question as he wedged himself between her knees. If his bent a little, and if he pushed forward …
Instead, he continued to touch her, watching the soft waves of her hair wrap themselves around his fingers.
He might have said he wouldn’t be tender, but damn, she had conflicting effects on him.
“No. I … I attended one in Tennessee. My father secured the position and the apartment for me. I’ve only been here a couple of days and got myself turned around.”
Her breathing trembled. Her eyes dilated. Her cheeks turned a pretty pink.
Too many people tried to rule over others’ lives. Dallon knew exactly what that was like. “Tell me more of what made you quit.”
“You. I t-told you. And f-freedom to be my own p-person.”
The pulse in her throat throbbed a bit harder and he pressed his thumb against it. It was only a light touch. He liked knowing he affected her so much. “And I told you to tell me more, about either, I don’t care.”
“I want you. I’ve never wanted a man like this before. I’m not even sure I’ve ever wanted a man.”
“Explain.”
“I mean … I mean no man has ever … I mean … This is hard. I don’t know what you want me to say.” She pressed her lips together then let out a breath. He waited. “I haven’t dated much. I’ve been with guys, back in college, but it was only to experiment with s-sex. They were nice enough and I liked them, I guess, but … It wasn’t like this.”
“Keep going. You’re doing good.” She’d become bolder as she talked. She’d warm up to the frankness and the honesty. If she didn’t, she’d bolt. Dallon wasn’t going to push her either way.
She wanted freedom. With him, she had it.
Sure, he’d said she couldn’t leave after he locked the doors. But that was his own little white lie. She could leave anytime. Then, or now.
“I didn’t have much free time. But I wanted the experience. I wanted to know what it felt like, to feel something with someone else.”
“I understand what you’re saying. Why me?” His fingers drifted to her collarbone, tracing the delicate skin, before moving down her arms, to her hands. Lifting them, he placed them on his hips. She was hesitant for a second, but then she tugged and pulled at his belt loops. Heat wormed its way from his chest down to his crotch.
“Why not you?”
