Page 139 of Simon Says

To her relief, he accepted that. “I’ll grab my stuff and meet you up here in five minutes.”

By the time they got on the road, Dakota was fading fast. She drank the last of the coffee in her thermos, but there wasn’t enough there to give her a much-needed caffeine kick.

“If you really want to get in prime shape,” Simon told her, “give up that artificial adrenaline.”

“And drink what?”

“Water is best.”

She wrinkled her nose. “There are some things a woman can’t live without.” Knowing it was sure to cause conflict, she broached a new topic. “I need to go by the motel.”

“We can run back over there later.”

“Just drop me off on the way. I’ll shower, change, and drive over to your place. We can do dinner or something if you want.”

Simon’s hands flexed on the steering wheel. “I don’t want you to be alone.”

“It’s still light out. The motel is busy. The road is busy. Other than when I shower, I won’t be alone.” She tried ribbing him a little. “But I assume you don’t want me to shower in a crowd.”

His jaw worked. “Why don’t you just grab some things and bring them to my house? We can shower there together.” His dark gaze touched on her for a brief moment before returning to the road. “You liked showering with me.”

“Ha, are you kidding? Ilovedshowering with you. But that’s not the point and you know it.”

“You’re going to be stubborn about this?”

“’Fraid so.”

Making the turns that’d take him to the motel instead of his house, Simon stewed in silence. Dakota couldn’t take it.

“Come on, Simon. Stop acting like a dog left out in the rain.”

“The stuff you say…” He shook his head. “I’m not acting any way at all.”

“Yeah, you are. It’s not like I want to run through a mine-field or something.” She reached over for his thigh. “Tell you what. I’ll shower with you again tonight if you want.”

He parked in the lot and turned off his car. There was no smile to soften his mood. “Does that mean you’ll be spending the night with me?”

Because he didn’t look too enthusiastic about that notion, Dakota winced. “I’m a little rusty here, Simon. Give me a clue so I know if you want me there or not.”

“I want you there, damn it.”

The unexpected confrontation took her off guard. “Well, such a sweet invitation.” Frustration put an edge in her tone. “Look, I’ve been thinking, maybe we’re moving kind of fast here.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I mean, I’m not dodging out on you or anything. God, no. And I do want to stay over sometimes. I definitely want more sex.”

Something shifted in his expression. Dakota feared it might be humor.

“The thing is, I don’t want to be dependent on you and that’s where you’re pushing it. I get it that Marvin could be trouble, believe me. Hell, I’ve lived with that reality for a while now. But you have to trust me to use good judgment.”

Simon reached across the seat and lifted a lock of her hair. “What is it you want?”

“Are we going to be blunt here? Because I’m not good at sugarcoating things, but I don’t want to scare you off.”

The corners of his mouth tilted. “You won’t scare me.”

“Well…good.” Simon could be so hard to read sometimes that he left her floundering. “I want to get closer to you. I want to keep on seeing you.”

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