I let that statement charge the air between us, too afraid to ask what it meant. Did he want to get a little freaky in the bedroom, try things I’d never done before? Or was he implying he wanted… more than sex? Either way, I was a little scared… and excited at the prospect. Experimenting with a guy like Joel would be every girl’s fantasy.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, gorgeous.”
I hadn’t even finished my first glass of wine yet. Did I really have the guts to tell him what I was thinking? “I was thinking,” I said, pressing my palm into his broad chest. “That being your roomie could be fun. I might leave here with a little moreexperience.”
He quirked an eyebrow as his eyes darkened. “Experience, huh?”
“Well, you’ve never been afraid to be straight with me. If there’s something wrong with my technique, who better to tell me than you, right?”
“Your technique?”
The fact that he was parroting me was probably a bad sign. I could tell he was clenching his teeth as his grip on my waist tightened. But instead of being alarmed, I was getting aroused by his shift in mood.
“Yeah, you know pleasing a man is an art, so I’m told—”
His kiss was sudden, hot and explosive. His tongue was tangling with mine as his hands cradled my ass, pressing my stomach into his arousal.Histechnique? Defied words. He didn’t just kiss. He explored. Imprinted. Branded. Made me forget every other man who’d ever kissed me before him.
“Wow,” I said, touching my swollen lips when we finally broke apart. “That was, uh… hot.” There was no other word to describe it. Other men kissed as a prelude to the main attraction. But a single kiss from Joel could finish me off.
He tipped my chin, looking into my eyes. “Just like I knew it would be. You and I could be so good together, girl.”
I had to assume he was referring to the pleasure we could bring each other in bed, because Joel had never been big on long-term relationships and I had no reason to believe he’d want to break that rule for me.
I summoned the last few brain cells he hadn’t scattered with that kiss to ask, “You think so?”
Brushing his lips across mine, he whispered, “I know so. You just have to give me a chance to prove it.”
Would it be forward to suggest proving it now? Why wait? Why not capitalize on every last second of pleasure he promised while we tried to sell our fake marriage to the world? It might seem more believable if we lived together before tying the knot, right?
His fingertip trailed down my neck, to the swell of my breasts before he said, “Words, beautiful. I need words.”
I could barely form a coherent thought, much less words, when he touched me like that. There were a million promises in the light stroke of his finger. And suddenly every fantasy I’d ever had was wrapped up in a man I’d known forever, yet never expected to know intimately.
“Why wait?” I’d never propositioned a man before in my life, which might explain my ridiculously long dry spells, but Joel made it impossible to bite my tongue. After a long, awkward pause, I rushed to do damage control. “Um, I mean, should I wait to move in or do you think it might be easier to sell our fake marriage if we lived together for a bit first?”
His grin spread slowly before he took a step back, dousing ice water on all the intimate places he’d set on fire. “Sorry, don’t want these steaks well done.”
He was thinking about food right now? For real? “Right, of course. We wouldn’t want that.” I downed my wine in three mouthfuls before reaching for the bottle to re-fill my glass. I was pretty sure he hadn’t intended to reject me, but it sure as hell felt like that.
Setting the steaks to rest on the top rack, he turned the baked potatoes once before closing the lid. “So, you want to move in here sooner rather than later, huh?”
This was so humiliating. He made me sound desperate and needy, two looks I didn’t wear well. “You know what? Let’s just forget it. This was a really bad idea.” I slipped the rock off my finger and set it on the barbeque before relinquishing my wine glass.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, scowling at the ring.
“I’m preventing both of us from making a huge mistake.” I grabbed my purse, which I’d left on a lawn chair on his patio. “No hard feelings though. Seriously, this doesn’t have to affect our friendship at all.” I was fishing around in my oversized purse for my keys, trying to hold back the tears of shame and embarrassment. I’d practically thrown myself at the man. What the hell had I been thinking?
“Where do you think you’re going?” He grabbed my arm. “G, you’re not leaving. You’ve been drinking and—”
“Let me go.” Always the gentleman. Screw him and his chivalry. Why couldn’t he just be an asshole like every other guy I’d dated, and make it easy to walk out on him? “I’ve had one lousy glass of wine. I’m fine to drive. Besides, I live five miles away, remember?”
“I can’t believe you. What the hell are we? Sixteen years old? You can’t stay and talk this out with me like a rational adult?”
“You’re calling me immature? You wouldn’t know how to have a meaningful relationship if your life depended on it. All you’re good for is sex!” Ugh. I hadn’t meant to say that. Joel was a good guy, with a lot of amazing qualities. And I knew women pursued him because I wasn’t the only one who could see that.
“Is that right?” He turned the barbeque off and stalked into the house, forcing me to follow him.
“Joel, I didn’t mean—”
