Page 95 of Peace Under Fire

She uncurled her legs and dropped them to the floor, then leaned forward to deposit her plate on the coffee table. “I can eat after we talk.”

He scowled down at her practically untouched plate. “Your pasta will get cold.”

“There’s this marvelous new invention called the microwave that will heat food with the touch of a button, and I happen to know there’s one right over there.” She tilted her head toward the kitchen. She waited a few seconds, her gaze fixed on his face. She looked stoic, like she was bracing herself for bad news. “You’ve spent the past four days, heck—the past year—pretending I don’t exist. Grunting or growling when I asked you a question. Proving, repeatedly, with every look you gave me and every scowl you sent me, and every two word reply you tossed at me, that you didn’t like me—not in the slightest. So why are you suddenly being so nice? What’s changed?”

Fine. He set his plate next to hers. She wanted to get into this now? Good by him. Maybe he wouldn’t be spending the night alone.

“What changed?” He scrubbed a tense hand through his hair. “How about Pipe?”

Confusion crossed her face. “Pipe? What about Pipe?”

“I don’t like the way he looks at you.” Squish bit the admission out, his muscles locking as the memory of Pipe leaning over her, his blue eyes amused, and intrigued as he checked out the bruise on her temple.

“The way he looks at me?” Mandy’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean with exasperation and annoyance? Geez, I’m already planning on apologizing to him.”

“Mandy, for Christ’s sake.” He took a tight circle around the living room and stopped in front of her to glare. “For someone with as much experience as you claim to have with men, you’re pretty clueless.” His muscles tightened even more at the thought of all the guys she’d experimented with. Best not to think about that now. Not if he wanted to use his words instead of grunts and growls like she’d complained about. “The guy wants you.”

Her mouth fell open. Her eyebrows rose even higher. “Wants me? For what?”

Was she fucking with him? He stared at her. Nope, from the confusion on her face and the surprise in her eyes, she was not messing with him. He shook his head in absolute stupefaction. How could anyone who’d spent any time around adult men not recognize the signs of attraction?

“For sex, for Christ’s sakes.” He shoved his fingers so hard through his hair, he ripped a couple of strands loose.

She froze for a moment, her mouth open, and then her eyes narrowed. Her mouth slowly closed, and suspicion replaced the confusion on her face. “Don’t be silly. You’re imagining things.”

This time his mouth fell open. “The dude was about to kiss you. Fuck, he would have had his lips all over you if I hadn’t grabbed his shoulder and shoved him out the door.”

Pipe was damn lucky he hadn’t lost a couple of teeth during that scuffle. Christ, he’d wanted to plant a fist in the guy’s face and silence that damn English accent for a while.

“Wait, back up.” Mandy lifted her palms in the universal stop gesture. “The only reason he was going to kiss me was because Alaska asked him to.”

Squish pounced. “So, you admit he was about to kiss you?”

She rolled her eyes. “Well yeah, because Alaska told him to.” When Squish started to challenge that assumption, she raised her voice, drowning him out. “But none of this explains why you’re being nice to me. What does Pipe have to do with that?”

“Because if you’re going to take someone to bed, it’s going to be me. Not Pipe.” Which didn’t quite explain why he’d complimented her, but it would have to do. He sure as hell didn’t want her thinking he’d been buttering her up to get into her pants.

As it turned out, she apparently didn’t believe he was trying to get into her pants at all. Her eyebrows lowered, her forehead furrowed, and suspicion crept over her face.

“You want to sleep with me?” She scoffed, rising to her feet. “Right.” She rolled her eyes and leaned down to pick up her plate. “You’ve made it perfectly clear you’re not attracted to me. I believe your exact words were ‘you’re a minus ten on my ‘want to fuck’ scale.’ When you’re ready to tell me what’s really going on, let me know.”

He flinched, his gut squirming. The amount of damage he’d done during those awful moments in the hall were indescribable and something he’d regret for the rest of his life. But he wasn’t going to convince her that he’d been a lying sack of shit by using his words. Action was needed.

As soon as she straightened, he crowded in, caught her hand, and pressed it against his crotch. The bulge he’d been fighting all day rose to the occasion, filling the loose denim of his jeans, along with her palm.

“Just so you know, a guy doesn’t get hard when a woman is a minus ten on his want to fuck scale. The reason I was so rough on you is because I wanted you more than I’ve ever wanted a woman in my life. I was trying to drive you away, before things got out of hand.” He paused, waiting. If she showed any distaste, or uneasiness, he’d step away and apologize. But she didn’t show signs of either. She just looked sort of…shellshocked. He waited for her to pull away. She didn’t.

“I’ve always wanted you, Mandy. From day one. That’s the Goddamn truth.”

CHAPTER 24

It was a good thing Mandy had a death grip on her prize plate of shrimp alfredo and cheesy garlic bread. Without that death grip, she would have dropped her dinner with the bomb Jacob had just detonated under her feet. Or at least it felt like a bomb. An explosion that lifted and shook the daylights out of her and then flung her back down again. One moment, her world was familiar and unremarkable, and the next it was upside down and inside out. The floor felt wobbly beneath her feet, the air…strange…against her skin.

Nothing was what she’d assumed.

Her head spinning, she realized her palm was still pressed against his crotch. Warmth climbing her cheeks, she jerked her hand away and stumbled backward, bumping into the coffee table. His heat and hardness followed her, imprinted on her palm. She bobbled the ceramic plate, but caught it just in time.

Did he actually say that he wanted me? That he’s always wanted me?

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