She looked up at him over the rim of her cup, and he was caught by the emotion he saw brimming in her beautiful eyes.
"Why would you want to know?"
Her own words seemed to startle her and she straightened, lowering the cup she held in both hands.
"I didn't mean to sound harsh."
"You didn't."
He put his cup down on the island and took a step closer to her. "I doubt you could sound harsh if you tried."
"Oh, I could. I have." She lifted her chin, and he wondered if she was trying to look imperious or just give him some sass.
Either way, she was beautiful.
Her expression softened. "I just don't understand why you'd want to know. I'm happy to help with the tea for Katie. If she needs anything, she can come to me."
"And me?"
He took another step closer, looking for any indication that she wasn't comfortable with him.
Her eyes widened a hint, but she didn't look for an out or put up any barrier between them.
Still, she held the cup.
Nick looked down and saw that the stranglehold she had on the mug almost had her hands shaking.
He knew he needed to say more.
The only question was what words would come out of his mouth.
He knew his mouth wasn't always the smartest part of his body.
He'd been told many times that he could look like a brute if he wasn't careful.
The problem was that his brain wasn't the strongest part of his body when Ruth was on his mind.
She turned her head just a few inches, her gaze looking off into a darker part of the room, but it was enough for him to see the long column of her throat, and he watched her pulse throb against her skin. "What... what would you need from me?"
Finally his brain came online again, but the images in it weren't anything fit for a family audience.
What he needed from her would fill a thousand hot romance books and hundreds of reels of film.
He wanted to tell her in explicit detail the things that he needed from her, but he didn't want to scare her.
Damn, they hadn't even gone out on a date, and he wanted to take her to bed.
He was really out of practice with this relationship thing.
"What I need..."
He stepped closer, but not enough for their bodies to touch.
Close enough that he could smell her amazing scent of cinnamon and sugar.
"... is for you to agree to a date."
She turned her face toward his, her gaze lifting to meet his.
