Page 19 of Tempting Tessa

“It’s okay,” she said with a teasing note. “I know how the male body works, and I know that happy little guy has nothing to do with me.”

He whirled back around. “Little?”

She grinned and unfolded her legs. Long, beautiful legs. Standing before him, she put her hands on her hips, lifting her chin and challenge. “Morning erections are nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I’mnot embarrassed. I thought you were. I was trying to be respectful.”

The grin widened. His gaze dropped to her mouth. He wanted to kiss her. Hecouldkiss her. If that smile meant anything, it seemed she might welcome it.

Just as he was about to, the smile fell from her face, and her eyes darkened. She took a step back, stopping him cold.

She was scared.

Not of him, but of whatever was stirring between them. It was her turn to shift away, suddenly avoiding his gaze.

He reached for her. “Tessa…”

She skirted by him and his erection, avoiding his fingers. “I’m going to make coffee,” she said, her tone clipped now.

Letting his hand fall to his side, he released an exasperated sigh. His erection deflated, and he ran a hand through his hair. He’d blown it. Whatever chance he might’ve had to break through the wall she kept around herself had vanished.

After cleaning up and getting dressed, he found the smell of coffee filling the small kitchen as he stepped inside. Tessa was at the counter, pouring it into two mismatched mugs. “Breakfast of champions,” she said, sliding a mug across the counter to him.

He didn’t know what to say about what had happened in the bedroom. Would his feeble attempts at an apology only make things worse? “Thanks,” he muttered. He sipped, and the bitterness of the strong coffee matched the acid in his stomach.

They ate in silence, sharing a can of fruit and a sleeve of crackers scavenged from the pantry. He watched her from the corner of his eye, noting the way her fingers fidgeted with her napkin, her focus on everything but him.

“Didn’t peg you for someone who runs from her feelings,” he said, breaking the silence.

Her fingers stilled, and she arched a brow. “Excuse me?”

“Seems like you’ve been pushing everyone away since Jessie’s death. Maybe before that, too. I’m curious why.”

She gave a nonchalant shrug, but her thin lips told him it was forced. “There’s nothing to tell.”

“Sure, there is.” He eased back in the chair, going for nonchalant himself. He sipped his coffee and didn’t push for a minute as he used his fork to fish out another piece of the awful fruit. He chewed slowly, giving her time. “We all have a story.”

Her eyes challenged him. “What’s yours, then? You don’t seem like the relationship type.”

Ah. Was that why she didn’t want to get involved with him? Not only was she afraid to let someone in, she feared he wasn’t the type to stick around. If she did fall for him…

At least he had something to work with now.

He smiled faintly, letting her know he recognized the deflection for what it was. “All right. I’ll go first.”

He refilled their cups and grabbed another cracker. It wasn’t easy to talk about any of this, and he waited for the old resistance to fill his chest and make his throat tight. When he looked at her, sitting there, totally open and ready to listen, however, neither happened.

“Our parents were killed in an accident. That’s how Jessie and I ended up in the system.” He gave her a few details, not sugarcoating it, but didn’t downplay the chaos or the fear, either. “She was twelve. I was ten.”

“You had your world completely upended.”

He resumed his seat, setting the coffee pot on the cracked linoleum table between them. “I was lucky. Jessie was tough. She did everything she could to keep us together. Even when they stuck her in a foster home halfway across town, she snuck out every night and ran sixteen blocks to check on me. I was with a different family. Eventually, she got caught climbing through my window and got sent to a home even farther away.” He chuckled to himself, the memories coming back in full force. “That didn’t stop her.”

Tessa’s features softened enough to make him think he’d struck a chord. “I’m not surprised.”

“She was amazing,” he said. “She made sure I always knew I wasn’t alone.”

For a moment, the only sound was the faint hum of the refrigerator. Tessa ate the final piece of fruit from the can and sipped her coffee. Tommy glanced out the window, wondering if his confession made any difference in gaining her trust.

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