Dan was turned away from her, but from the way the muscles in his neck were pulled tight and his jaw was clenched, it looked as if he was in pain.
She reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
He flinched away from her as if he couldn’t bear her touch. “I’m fine.”
She felt a prick in her chest; a tiny pin had just poked the bubble of euphoria. “Then why did you...?”
Stop.
Suddenly Annie realized what was happening. He didn’t want her. Didn’t want this. He was stopping it.
She’d been so caught up, so lost in his kiss, that she’d forgotten how it had started.She’dkissedhim.
Mortification mottled her cheeks with heat. She’d thought that was what he’d wanted, but obviously she’d been wrong.He’d gone along with it—more than gone along with it, he’d taken complete control—but he wouldn’t have started it.
He wouldn’t have started it.She could see it so humiliatingly clearly now. If a hole in the ground opened up and swallowed her, she would have welcomed it.
The universe wasn’t that kind.
She took a few deep breaths, trying to break through the tightness in her chest.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean... I’ve never done anything like that.” Her first move would be her last. “I don’t know what came over me.”
Yes, she did. Lust. Good old-fashioned, lose-your-senses-and-act-like-an-idiot lust.
He finally looked at her. All signs of pain—of any emotion—had been wiped from his expression. If she hadn’t seen his face a few minutes ago, she would have thought he’d been completely unaffected by the entire thing. Steely silvery blue eyes glinted back at her. Cool, emotionless, impenetrable.
God, had she actually thought she’d seen something in there when she came apart?
Humiliation twisted the knot in her stomach a little tighter.
“Forget about it,” he said. “It’s no big deal.”
Not a pin, there was a knife stabbing in her chest now. Wow. Way to put it into context. No sugarcoating, all right.
He wasn’t done. “You were upset—you don’t look as tense now.”
He hadn’t just said that. Was he honestly just claiming to have gotten her off so she wasn’t so tense? Could he be that much of a dick?
Her eyes narrowed. Taking in the tiny white lines around his mouth and the rigid set of his shoulders. Maybe he’d wanted it a little, after all. “You’re looking a little tense there yourself. I could offer to return the favor... unless you’d rather handle it yourself?”
Just in case he didn’t know what she was talking about, her gaze slid down to the still sizable but not-quite-as-prominent bulge in his jeans.
His jaw went slack before he caught himself. Clearly the captain wasn’t used to anyone firing back at him.
“No favors necessary.” His voice sounded a little ragged.
Annie was never provoking—especially about anything sexual. That was about to change. Her eyes flickered to his for only an instant before settling back down on his crotch. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip before catching it with her teeth. “Pity.”
The sharp tense of muscle told her that she’d won that round.
She glanced up just in time to see his mouth fall in a hard line before he grumbled something about fixing the fire that had apparently gone out while they were... occupied.
Annie continued where she’d left off with the mattresses, stewing and surreptitiously watching him the whole time.
She was glad he’d pulled back. Of course she was. Hadn’t she learned her lesson with Julien? Had she really been about to fall in bed with a man she barely knew who was clearly hiding something? Although with Julien at least she’d waited awhile. She wished she’d waited longer. Like never.
Dan bent over, putting his head in the stove to try to look into the flue. She caught herself staring at the tight, perfectly shaped backside that was made for football pants.
