His expression hardened. Not angry, but the first piece that maybe he wasn’t in control. “I didn’t decide anything.”
“Oh, really?” A sharp laugh burst free from me as the anxiety grew. It clawed at my chest as if I had gone mad. “It sure feels like you’re trying to trap me in Alaska with you.”
I waved my hand again, my shirt falling to the floor. Knox kept his gaze latched on to my eyes.
“That’s not fair, Emerson.” He pointed to the window. “We’re not in Alaska now.”
“We might as well be.” I hurried to put on my pants. Being naked around him made me too vulnerable. “You want me there.”
“I never said you had to come, but fuck yeah, I want you there.”
His honestly knocked the wind out of me as I pulled my shirt over my shoulders.
“But I’m not going to kidnap you and take you to Alaska. Everything is and always has been your choice.” He paused for just a second and then continued. “I want you to come because you’re ready for an adventure. With me.”
“You don’t even know me. I might be crazy.”
He laughed. “I know enough, and I’m willing to risk it.”
“That’s not how this works.” Fully dressed, I threw out both hands, needing something to do with my nervous energy. “You don’t wake up one day and decide to take a woman to Alaska and build some perfect future in the woods.”
His face shifted. Into… pain. Hurt. Ache.
“You think that’s what this is? I just saw a hot woman and decided she’d do?” he asked quietly.
I tilted my head, one word getting in more than the others. “You think I’m hot? No, wait. That’s not important.”
Knox shook his head, his smile still not forming. “I’ve never even given a woman a real chance. My last long-term girlfriend was five years ago. There are very few people I’m willing to give up my solitude to spend time with.”
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t date, and I don’t let women into my cabin. Not unless they’re a mountain mate.”
What?“A mountain what?”
That made him laugh. “It’s a long story. The important part is that with you I’m not worried about any of the things I normallyam. I want you in my space. Talking all the time. Hell, you can even bring the cat.”
My chest tightened. “Well, duh. I’m definitely bringing the cat.”
“I’m not trying to trap you,” Knox said. “I’m offering you something I’ve never tried with anyone else. Something amazing. I can’t name what you and I have, Emerson, but I feel it. Deep in my chest. Right here.” He placed his hand in the middle of his chest.
I felt it there too. But it was new. Not something I’d felt before. What did it mean?
“I’m scared,” I finally admitted. “This feels too real. I don’t know what to do with that.”
He exhaled, the tension leaving his shoulders, and got out of bed. “Okay.”
Okay? What did that mean?
My anxiety rose sky-high again. Did that mean he was leaving me here? Why wasn’t I happy about that?
Shit.
Did that mean I wanted to go to Alaska with a man I had just met?
Yes.
My mother was going to kill me.
