Page 84 of Steamy Ever After

“I know I can be…” she begins. “A little demanding.”

“Demanding? I would have used a different word, but go on.” I lean against the dryer.

She cocks her head, biting her lip before continuing. “I’m sorry for making you feel like I didn’t like you, or making you uncomfortable living here.”

“You haven’t made me uncomfortable, Jane. I just can’t understand why you keep acting like this around me.”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs a shoulder. The little flower on her nape catches my eye. “I guess, maybe…”

Her cheeks darken and her bare foot traces an invisible line on the floor. She keeps clenching her fists at her sides—open, close—as if she’s fighting to hold something back. And fuck if I’m not incredibly curious to know what that something is.

“Does this have to do with what I said the other night?” I ask.

Another shrug, but her eyes stay down, telling me I’ve nailed it on the head.

“Jane, enough with the silent treatment. You’re going to need to say something here.”

Slowly, her gaze slides up from the ground, painting my body with a scorching heat that shocks me. “You’re right. This—our problem—it’s tension.”

Well, I’ll be.

I roll my shoulders back. “Sexual tension?”

She shakes her head, narrowing her eyes, but then nods and takes a cautious step closer.

“Yes… sexual.” She struggles with the word, forcing it through her lips and it’s so damn adorable.

“And what are we going to do about it?”

She takes a long, steady breath. “The way I see it,” she starts, all business-like. “We have two choices. Either you move out.”

I frown. “Or…?”

She shuts her eyes and licks her lips, taking another deep breath. This seems incredibly difficult for her and I’m impressed with how hard she’s working through it.

Speaking of hard, I cross one foot over the other, trying to hide the effect she’s having on me.

“Or…We give in.”

The air rushes from my lungs. The room suddenly feels ten times smaller. “What do you mean by ‘give in’?”

Her lips shift to one side and her forehead creases. “You know what? Forget it.”

She steps away, but I reach out, taking her by the arm and gently tug her back. Her eyes lock on my hand with a severe glare. “Jane, you can’t say that and then walk away.”

“Yes, I can. I didn’t mean it.”

I free her, releasing my hold. “You so did.”

“Joe, please don’t be a dick about this.”

Refusing to let this opportunity slip through my hands, I move enough to block her way out. “How am I being a dick?”

“You’re going to make fun of me.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You will.”

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