Page 31 of Dangerously Tempting

Amelia: Had a long day, just going to head home. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

I stare at the screen, brows furrowed. She hasn’t stonewalled me like this before, so I feel like I’ve been thrown through a loop. I’m sure she did have a long day, but why would that make her not want to meet up like we have for the last week?

If she wants space, that’s completely fine, all she has to do is say, but I don’t think that’s what this is. After last night, I’m worried that she’s seeing all the issues we’ve run into thus far as a sign that we shouldn’t be together. Maybe I’m thinking into things too much, but the situation with Tori has me constantly waiting for the worst to happen.

I’m determined not to let her close herself off, and feel comfortable talking to me regardless of what’s going on, so I grab my keys and head downstairs. If she’s just going home, I’ll meet her there, but I’m not going to show up empty handed. I make a pickup order from one of my favorite places for food, and stop at a store to grab several different types of chocolate, not knowing for sure what she likes. I also snag the tea she’s always drinking and then head to her building.

When I get there I swing my truck into a guest spot and climb out with my bags in tow. I pull my phone out and click her name to call her. For a second I think she’s not going to answer as the ringing persists.

“Hello?” she answers, the word comes out on a sigh, like she’s frustrated, but I don’t let it deter me.

“What’s your apartment number?”

“What? Why—“

“You can tell me, or I can knock on every door until I find yours. Up to you.”

“You’re here? Jameson, I said—“

“I know what you said, but I’m gonna need more of an explanation than that, and you need someone to improve your day… so let me.”

I make it to the elevator, jabbing the button, and she sighs again. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Not at all,” I respond as the door opens with a ding, and I step inside. “Floor?”

“Ninth. 903.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in just a few.”

When I reach her floor, I don’t even have to knock. She’s waiting for me, and pulls open the door as I approach. I raise my hands, showing her the goods, and she steps back to let me come inside.

It’s my first time in her space, but I’m not even worried about that right now. It smells of her, and has a feeling of home. That’s as far as I look though, choosing to focus on her instead. She’s still got her work on clothes but her shirt is untucked, and she’s already pulled her hair back into her signature messy bun. Her shoulders are tense as she turns and leads me to the kitchen, and when she turns to pull down plates, I can tell that her jaw is clenched. She pulls two cups out.

“What would you like to drink?” she asks, not even really looking at me as she moves to the fridge.

I’ve already seen enough to know she’s still carrying the frustrations of the day with her, so I round the island after depositing the bags there, and come up behind her. She tries to swing the refrigerator door open, but I press my palm against it, keeping her from being able to do so, as I step closer and tug her back against me with an arm looped around her waist.

“Right now, you have two choices.”

“Only two?” she sasses back, and I chuckle.

“Two. You can start talking, and tell me about what has you so tense and irritable…”

“I’m not,” she begins, but I cut her off.

“Or, we can skip the talking and I can help you forget about it.”

She scoffs, trying to step away but I tighten my grip. “You’re awfully full of yourself tonight, aren’t you?”

I move the hand not around her waist up to her throat and use it to tilt her head back until it pushes against my shoulder, giving it a little squeeze and she softens in my hold for a second. “A little high strung, aren’t you?”

“Jameson, I’m really not in the mood,” she begins, and I press my hand firmly against her stomach as I move it downwards, stopping just over the waistband of her pants.

“One or two Amelia?”

She’s silent, but I feel her breathing quicken. I lean down and take a deep inhale against her neck, breathing in her scent, before nipping at the flesh there. She gasps, pressing back against me. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“So we’re going with option two, then?”

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