Page 57 of In This Moment

“Why did you two call it quits?” He’d been itching to ask more personal questions, and she’d left the opening for him to eek past.

“Eh.” She rolled to her back, arms crossed over her face in clear avoidance. “We didn’t really have a lot in common. I think he was expecting me to advance in my career, getting irritated when I didn’t. He also wanted kids, and I don’t.”

Hmm. They were in the beginning stages of a relationship, but they probably should’ve brought up that topic before tonight. “I don’t, either.”

She turned her head. “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m more indifferent to the concept than outright against it. I just…” He frowned, attempting to formulate the right words. “I don’t know. Never had the urge to start a family.”

“What about marriage?”

He wondered if she was fishing or just that good at communication. “I’m all for wedded bliss, so long as it’s actual bliss. Relationships take work. I get that, but I don’t think I’d leap unless I found the right woman.”

She nodded. “Ditto, except with a man.” She winked.

Utterly adorable. “Your ex had unrealistic expectations of your career and your womb, thus the split. Were there other factors? What’d he do for a living?”

“He was a bigwig at a marketing firm. As for the breakup, I also don’t think I…”

They’d circle back to her job, but for now, he wanted the last half of her sentence. “Don’t think you what?”

“This is embarrassing.” She scrubbed her hands over her face and moaned. After a heinous pause, her arms dropped to the mattress. “I don’t think I satisfied him.”

Um, no. That couldn’t be the case. Granted, they hadn’t gotten more physical than kissing or heavy petting, but she was warm and affectionate. No way would she be unsatisfying to any living, breathing male.

She must’ve taken his silence for agreement because she made a motion to rise.

He grabbed her hand and tugged until she was facing him again. He slid her closer and trapped her with his arm. If she showed signs of distress, he’d let her go. For now, they needed to hash out a couple things.

Staring at her pretty face, the way she bit her lower lip was enough to turn him on. Just her presence, her scent, or the whimsical sound of her laugh. Her body. Her wit. The feisty way she liked to put him in place…

“If he was sexually unsatisfied, he should’ve discussed it with you to find ways to fix the issue. In saying that, I highly doubt you were the problem.”

She stared at him so long, the earth rotated, and four seasons came and went. Dramatic music from the movie drifted in the room, but he ignored it.

He raised his brows. “You don’t believe me?”

“Forgive me, but no. I don’t believe you. I was in the relationship. A woman can tell when a guy is bored.”

Nodding, he silently agreed. “If things go stale, there are a number of factors. Lack of chemistry can’t be laid solely at your feet. That’s nature. Some people are compatible, others aren’t.” And since he had the sinking suspicion she blamed her feminine wiles for the disconnect, he decided on brutal frankness. “You turn me on sixteen out of twenty-four hours a day.”

She blinked, yet said nothing.

“I know what you’re thinking.” He very much didn’t. “Why only sixteen hours? Because for the other eight, I sleep. You can’t be responsible for those.”

Blink, blink.

“Your scent has managed to turn something sweet and innocent in nature to an X-rated fantasy that belongs behind closed doors.”

Blink, blink, blinking.

“I find you attractive as hell, including your mind. Not accounting for your temper.” Uhn, her temper. “I want to taunt you just to hear that sexy little southern drawl that emerges when you’re angry.”

Blink. Silence.

“When we kiss, my head explodes.” What he wouldn’t give to have her do just that. Right this second. Kiss his damn brains straight out of his head.

Still, she said zilch.

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