My laugh was sincere because he was being funny. Right?
“What?” he asked. “Why is that funny?”
I waved my hands to settle myself. “So, let me get this straight. I marry you. I can take care of my medical needs in a way my current situation doesn’t allow. You make sure my kids and I have all our food, clothing, housing needs met. In turn, I’m a positive example for your kids, make sure their needs are met, and let me check my notes because this is where it takes a turn, have sex with you.”
“And your kids get a dad?—”
“Second parent,” I clarified. “Parents aren’t gender-dependent.”
“Right. Yes.” Jack let out a ragged breath. “And we make sure our kids have a good example of romantic love by being in love in front of them. Sleep in the same bed and stuff. We can’t have them getting a complex.”
“And we have sex,” I said, “but you’ll never love me.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I’ll make sure you never have to load or unload a dishwasher again.”
Our eyes locked. My lips fell open. “You are insane, Jack Leroy.”
“Really thought I was getting somewhere,” he mumbled. “I mean I can give you truly anything but romantic love, Mara. And you know, I’m pretty good at sex.”
My eyes widened. “Wow! What a selling point!”
“Try me,” he said, relaxing back in his chair.
“Come again?”
He put his tongue in his cheek and chuckled. “Oh, you would come again.”
“It’s usually the ones who are the worst at sex that talk the biggest game.”
“That’s why I’m saying try me!” he said, like I was proving his point. “Don’t act like we didn’t almost . . .”
Silence rippled between us, the crackling fire the only sound. I couldn’t quite figure out how the fire was burning, because it felt like there was no oxygen left in the air.
And yet, Jack’s eyes didn’t leave mine.
“We did,” I said. “Almost.”
He held up two fingers in a pinch. “This close.”
I didn’t know how to move on from that. Was I supposed to run across the space between us, jump in his lap, and start making out with him? It seemed like a viable option, but he wasn’t moving either. It was a stand-off.
I did what any sane person does when things are tense and you don’t know what to do: I deflected with humor.
I sat back in my seat, crossing my legs. “Okay then. How would you blow my mind? Take me to another plane of existence?” I challenged him.
Jack’s eyes shifted from the longing we’d just expressed to a glittering mischief. He was following me into humorous deflection. He smiled as well as he could with the busted lip. “You really wanna know? This involves some dirty talk.”
I smirked at him. “Oh, it’s been advertised and now I definitely need to know.” I sipped some of my fizzy water. Now that we’d settled into it, this was easily the most entertaining conversation I’d had in months.
He raised a leg over the arm of his chair, manspreading to set the mood, I suppose.
“I would,” he said slowly, drawing it out, “eat your pussy first, and then I’d fuck you.”
I was stunned to silence. I blinked fast. “Wow, Jack.”
“Right?” he said, truly impressed with himself.
“I mean, you should be one of those dirty-talking audio erotica guys. You could really get the ladies going with that one.”
