Page 27 of I Am Lioness

“Listen to me very carefully because I don’t want you misunderstanding a single word of what I’m about to say you. I understand your reservations. They’re rational, logical, and deep down, I know you're right. And because of that, I’m willing to keep things light,for now.No labels, no pretenses, just us getting to know each other. By no means, however, does that cancel out the fact that I want you. Because I do, Hazel, I want you so fiercely, I feel like I'm going fucking insane.”

She bit down on her bottom lip and turned her head away but I brought two fingers under her chin and turned her back to me. Then I probably did something I should not have done. I leaned in and pressed my lips softly against hers. No tongue, no rabid hunger, just one tender kiss. When I pulled away, I said, “Compromise with me, please.”

She groaned and threw her head back on the couch. “You suck.”

I chuckled, feeling relieved that the wall she’d formed overnight was slowly crumbling right before my eyes. “And why is that?”

“Because you make itsohard to resist you.”

“As I told you last night, don’t resist me then.” I said against her neck, peppering a trail of kisses up to her ear.

She mewled beneath me and clasped her fingers around my tee, clenching her eyes tightly. I was going against everything I said I wouldn’t do but I couldn’t control myself. Her reaction was spurring me on and if the physical aspect of our relationship was swaying her towards agreeing with me then I'd kiss her until she couldn't refuse me.

“So, will you compromise with me?” I asked, kissing my way along her jaw.

Her eyes were still shut and I don’t think she realized she was pullingmetowardher. “I-I c-can’t think when you’re doing that.”

“There’s nothing to think about, sweets. Just say yes.”

“God, I hate you.” Her voice was suddenly breathy and a little strangled.

“Liar.”

“You’re frying my brain and all you’ve done is kiss me.”

“All part of my evil plan.” I admitted, chuckling. “Now stop avoiding the inevitable and answer me.”

“Yes…” She whispered, arching into me.

“What was that?”

“Yes…”

“Say it louder for me.” I pressed, feeling elated.

“Yes!”

Much fucking better.It's on now.

Phoenix wasa trip to the fiery depths of hell in July. The sweltering desert heat slapped me in the face and clung to my skin the very second we stepped foot outside the cool interior of Sky Harbor International. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, my chest constricting tightly with each lungful of dry, scalding air.

What started off as a light sheen of sweat quickly transformed into white-hot beads that dripped down my face, my neck, my back,everywhere.I was literally melting. An ice cold shower had never sounded so appealing. Thankfully, the valet service brought the SUV around in a speedy fashion, so we weren’t subjected to the infernal temperature for long.

The rest of the afternoon, along with the evening, was pretty low-key and uneventful. Drained from the tidal wave of emotions I’d trudged through my last two days in Vegas and a full day of travel, I was grateful for some much needed peace and quiet. I took a hot bath, spent a good hour on the phone with Knox, and passed out before midnight.

The following morning, however, was anythingbutpeaceful or quiet. Bernie was banging down my door at six a.m. on the dot, eager to kick off the new day with an early morning session. When he finally came to the conclusion that I was not getting up to answer the door, he called my cell. And when I let all five of his calls ring straight through to voicemail, I received a personal wake up call from the front desk courtesy of Mr. Gutierrez himself. If I didn’t love the man so much I would’ve considered murdering him upon wrenching open the door. Because life in prison was no biggie, right?

In the end, Bernie’s intentions had proven to be in the right place. The gym was a desolate ghost town of a few early birds and employees—likely due to the ungodly hour in which we’d arrived—and I as I stepped further into the relatively silent space of endless machines and sterile equipment, I was immediately thankful for the opportunity to focus on the task at hand, free of large crowds or casual interruptions.

Unfortunately for me though, my brain clearly did not get the memo on both cooperationandconcentration, and through every motion of my workout, I was a distracted hot mess of sorts. Thoughts of Knox popped unbidden in my mind, replaying each moment we’d spent together thus far in a constant loop.

Bernie was talking but the words failed to register as I thought about how I almost let Knox go. It was foolish of me to think I could escape him in the first place but keeping my distance was how I’d grown accustomed to living my life. It was reflex to shut someone out when they tried to get too close, not that anyone ever did, really. My perpetual resting bitch face and loner tendencies were enough to keep people away.

Everyone minus Knox, that is.

I was still wary that something could go terribly wrong at any moment until I thought about how I’d had Bernie in my life for nearly four years, Jason for three, and Manny for two without incident. Obviously I’d done something right that allowed me their presence in my life.

Perhaps I'd paid my dues? I hoped like hell that was the case, otherwise, agreeing to this temporary compromise with Knox could have been a big mistake, and I wasn't sure I could handle what that meant.

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