His breath hitched. Those words did something to him, something primal, something that had him shutting his eyes and savagely gripping her thighs. She lightly kissed the corner of his mouth and he turned his head the other way, refusing to give in. He didn’t know what he wanted anymore. He was supposed to be thinking of a way to get Trisha back and yet Jordan was the woman who seemed to occupy his thoughts every damn second of the day. Just a few minutes alone with this woman and his hands were all over her. He wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready to pull her into this emotional mess he’d created for himself.
She leaned back to look at him. “What’s happening between us, Tyler? Are we friends? Are we work colleagues? Or are we just two people who rub against each other from time to time? One minute you’re awkward and distant and the next you’re back to being charismatic. You say you don’t want to lead me on, but you can’t keep your eyes off me. You tell me you want me and then you back away. Your hands are up my skirt and yet you won’t even kiss me. So how about you stop messing withmyhead and tell me what the hell is going on?”
Frustration caused his jaw to clench. “I don’t know, Jordan! And you’re not giving me a chance to figure it out.” He lifted his hand to her face, brushing his thumb against her lips. “We’re on the verge of something. On one side it’s safe and the other side could be something great or something catastrophic. Strength or weakness will determine which way we tilt, but I want you to know something. If I decide to give into this…you…us…it wouldn’t be a sign of weakness. Just give me some time to figure out where my head’s at.”
She dropped her legs and he stepped back. “Okay,” she agreed softly.
“Okay. So now that we’ve both said what we needed to say,” he said, tugging her skirt back down, “let’s get some sleep.”
She hopped off the counter as he walked out of the kitchen. “You still wanna sleep on the couch?” she taunted behind him.
He spun around and saw her biting her lower lip to stop a smile, naughtiness flickering in her blue-gray eyes. It shattered every ounce of tension in the room. She looked so cute that a snicker escaped him before he could stop it and that was all it took to release her giggles.
“You’re gonna drive me crazy, Jordan.” He’d probably regret doing this. It was probably a huge mistake, but he held out his hand and nodded his head to the staircase. “C’mon.”
The staircase still seemed to scare her a bit because she clutched his hand as he led her up to his bedroom. Rummaging through his cupboard, he gave her a T-shirt and pair of boxers.
“This isn’t going to fit me,” she said, handing him back the shorts. She took the T-shirt and made her way to the bathroom.
He was really going to do this, share a bed with Jordan. Innocent yet intimate. It felt wrong and right at the same time. One part of him wanted to distance himself from her, yet the other part of him wanted to get closer…any way he could. He wanted more than what they had, but he felt trapped between an unresolved past with Trisha and an uncertain future with Jordan. Confusion was too mild a word to describe what he was feeling.
“Tyler?” she whispered from the doorway of the bathroom.
“Yeah.”
“In business, you’re not afraid to take risks, but in your personal life, you’re reluctant to try anything new. I understand the predicament you’re in and maybe at this moment you’re not ready to see it, but we are on the verge of something great.”
She was right. He knew she was right. But her being right only complicated the situation even more. Jordan was just supposed to be a means to an end and yet somehow she’d ended up meaning so much more.
*****
Jordan awoke the next morning with Tyler’s face pressed up against her shoulder. They had fallen asleep on opposite sides of the bed with a very large gap between them and now he was almost on top of her, one arm strewn across her midriff. The fact that she was in his bed was slightly surreal. Last night was weird. Hot and weird. Every time they spent any time alone together, their relationship evolved into something different.
Yesterday she’d pushed too hard for an evolution. He’d made it clear that he wasn’t ready for anything more, that he didn’t want to lead her on, but flirty smiles and lustful looks would lead any woman on. She’d caught him checking her out a few times when he thought she wasn’t looking and there was actually a part of her that liked seeing him try to actprofessionalwhen she knew he was hot under the collar.
Last night, however, she had taken it too far. She didn’t really regret doing it, though. Because, hot damn, if that’s how Tyler lashed out, it was only more incentive for her to keep doing it. But she needed to back off a bit, give him the time he asked for to decide if this was something he wanted to pursue. Pictures of Trisha were lined up on the dresser and that was a sign that he wasn’t completely over her. If she pushed for something he wasn’t ready for, physically or emotionally, she would end up being the rebound girl.
She still didn’t know exactly where she stood with him. Last night they’d touched each other inappropriately, fought in away she didn’t consider normal and then they went to bed like nothing happened.
Weird. Tyler Evans, flat-out weird. So she was just waiting for him to wake up so she could see what their relationship had evolved into now. Reaching over, she grabbed her cell phone from the night stand and sent Gemma a text to tell her to feed Roscoe and Princess, because Gemma, Miss Unreliable, needed to be reminded to do simple things like that. She immediately received a string of responses.
Gemma:Where R U?
Gemma:If you’re not in your bed
Gemma:Then whose bed are you waking up in this morning?
Gemma:OMG! You did the nasty with your boss!!!
Jordan:Nothing happened
Jordan:A little happened:)
Gemma:It’s like I’ve taught you nothing
Gemma:There was a moment where I was almost proud of you
Gemma:Oh! I forgot to tell you.
