Page 83 of Loathe at First Sight

“Because I realize that maybe accosting you about it wasn’t fair. I’m sure it caught you off guard, and I shouldn’t have come on as strong as I did.”

He looks down at me, and I wonder what he’s thinking. He came back, so that means he’s not mad anymore, right? With his stoic face, it’s hard to tell if he’s upset or not.

I let out a loud squeal when he picks me off of my feet and twirls me around in a circle. Instinctively, I wrap my arms around his neck as I tilt my head back and laugh.

When he stops, he still doesn’t put me down. Just looks up into my eyes.

“What was that for?” I ask.

“Liz, I am so sorry. I should never have talked to you like that earlier. I was comparing you to women in my past, and that wasn’t fair.”

“So, what’s with the twirl?” I ask, still confused.

“Because the fact that you were going to come to apologize when you didn’t even do anything proves me wrong.”

When he sees the lost look on my face, he sets me back on my feet and takes my hand, leading me over to the bed.

He waits until we are both seated at the foot of it before he starts talking. “To answer your question that you asked yesterday, yes, it was me in the photos. I used to be a UFC fighter. And not to brag, but I was good. I was making a shit ton of money and notoriety, which brought me a whole lot of women. It was great…until it wasn’t.”

“Lots of women is a bad thing?” I ask.

“It is when most of them don’t have the best of intentions. Most of them were only after me for my money or to get their fifteen minutes of fame. When I’d break things off, they’d run straight to the tabloids and spin all sorts of shit that never happened. I had no idea who to trust.”

He sets his hand on my thigh, and I set mine on top of it to let him know I’m still listening.

“When you brought it up earlier, I wondered if you had figured it out before that moment, and it made me question your motives. And I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair to you.”

“It’s fine,” I tell him.

“No, it’s not. I don’t ever want to talk to you like that. I moved away from Miami for a fresh start. When I told you that I understood what it was like to be angry all the time, I meant it. Back then, I had so much rage. It was probably what made me such a good fighter. But it also made me a shitty human being. After I healed from all of my surgeries, I started driving and ended up here. I fell in love with the town and wanted to put down roots.”

“In Lilly Leaf Falls? Are you sure you didn’t get hit too many times while fighting?” I tease.

“I’m sure.” He smiles. “But to wrap up a long story, I am sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I try to assure him.

“When you said you wanted to talk tonight, I figured that it was you either running away or wanting to talk about what exactly this whole thing between us is.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that. But now that you bring it up, what do you think this thing between us is?”

“Honestly?”

I nod.

“I have no fucking clue. But I do know that even when you and I hated each other, we still couldn’t seem to quite stay away. And we seem to have the sex thing pretty down pat.”

I cut him off. “So, you don’t think we should do it again? Just for practice’s sake?”

“Oh, I think there’s always room to get better,” he says, grabbing the side of my face and pulling me in for a kiss.

It starts out slow as he pulls my bottom lip between his and his fingers push through my curls. His tongue sweeps against my entrance, and I immediately open for him.

When I moan against him, he deepens the kiss and pulls me onto his lap. As I straddle him, I can already feel his length bulging beneath me. Determined to drive him crazy, I use my hips to grind against it.

A moan rattles from deep within his chest as he struggles to hold onto his self-control.

He breaks the kiss and says, “You know, my plan was to come take you out to dinner.”

---