Page 47 of Without Judgment

“You’re the only one I’ve ever called princess.”

I could feel her gaze on me. “But you said—”

“I know what I said. The truth is I was half asleep, but I’d been dreaming about you.”

She didn’t speak.

I kept glancing over and finally demanded, “Say something.”

“This entire time, I felt completely rejected. As if you were horrified by what happened because you weren’t attracted to me at all. Like I’d taken advantage of you being asleep.”

“I’m sorry. The entire thing took me off guard. Had I known how it made you feel, I would’ve come clean sooner. I panicked. And since we’re being honest, I’d say you’re only tempted by me because you’re trying to rebel and punish your father.”

She looked at me before cracking up. “Oh, yeah. I mean, it can’t be the fact you’ve got glacier-blue eyes with long, dark-soot lashes which make my stomach do flips when they focus on me. Or your gorgeous body. Jesus. As if the muscles aren’t enough, you go and have tattoos which I want to lick. And your piercings—they’re beyond sexy. But don’t get me started on your talented fingers, which left me high and dry the other night. I dream about them. How pathetic is that? Dreaming of your fingers. God, even when you—”

“What?” I wanted her to finish her train of thought. I was already getting hard from the unfiltered version of how she viewed me.

“It’s stupid. But when you call me princess, it turns me on. Even though I hated it at first. Guess it’s why it felt like a slap in the face when you told me you called other girls that.”

“It’s not stupid.” It was me who was stupid. Stupid for putting the idea she wasn’t unique in her head. Stupid for affecting her self-confidence simply because I hadn’t wanted to admit the truth.

“I’m sorry for ever saying that, Avery.”

“I’m glad you finally told me the truth. It’s weird that I enjoy both pushing your buttons and getting to know you. But all of the physical stuff aside, do you know what draws me to you the most?”

It probably wasn’t fair to ask while she was drunk, but hell, curiosity was way too powerful. I wasn’t about to cut short this truth-serum-inspired ride home.

“My winning personality?” I asked sarcastically.

She shook her head. “Nope. It’s your smiles. They’re rare, but genuine. Same with your laughter.”

I was stunned by her words, and a bit uneasy. “I’m not a relationship guy. As attracted to you as I am, it wouldn’t be fair to start something.”

She appeared to be absorbing my confession. Hopefully, it would sink in that I wasn’t a man with whom she could plan a future. A week from now, I was leaving with no intention of looking back. I didn’t want to hurt her. And I wouldn’t miss her. While the other Marines I was with in Iraq worried about their families, or wives, or hell, even their kids back home, I was never distracted by any of that. No one to miss made life a hell of a lot simpler. Not to mention safer.

Safer for whom was a question I didn’t dare explore, however.

We pulled in through the gate of the house and parked in the driveway. Fortunately, she needed very little assistance in getting to the house, making me think she might be sobering up. “You need water.”

“Probably. Where’s my father?”

“Said he had to fly to Dallas to meet with some PR expert.”

She frowned and followed me into the kitchen, where I grabbed her a bottle of water.

“So much for being naughty tonight.”

My laughter came unexpectedly, making her frown further. “For you, tonight was plenty naughty. You drank too much. Danced and wore no panties. Not exactly boring.”

She grinned. “I lied about the last part to get a reaction.”

Her gaze tracked down to see my obvious bulge. The one that hadn’t gone away since she’d told me all the ways she found me attractive.

“Yeah, well.” I cleared my throat, not even bothering to make an excuse.

She stepped closer, licking her sexy lips and causing my cock to grow even larger.

I had to think fast and went with the obvious. “You’re drunk, Avery.”

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