Page 5 of Play With Me

“No harm done.”

I shifted in my seat, still hopeful that the wood in my pants would soon be taken care of.

“You know, that’s the biggest problem with having a family. They suck the life out of you.” She bit the tip off her Twizzler and chewed the candy.

“I gather your family gives you trouble?”

“No, they don’t, actually. I don’t have a family.”

“Like no one? What about your mom? No siblings?”

“Nope. Like I said, I’m a one-woman show.”

Though she caught me off guard with her comment, I kept a composed face. Working alone was one of my mottos as well. That way, I had fewer people to rely on, fewer people to trust, and fewer to argue with over small details. All that lowered the chances of making fatal mistakes. After all, my job as a bounty hunter didn’t forgive mistakes.

There was one exception to my job, though: my brothers. I’d work with them because our trust was unbreakable. In fact, I couldn’t imagine a life without them. They were the ones who pulled me through my darkest hours, and God only knew, there’d been too many of those for a man my age.

I couldn’t imagine my life without my family. Lola had no idea what she was missing.

“That’s… sad,” I said.

“Are you kidding me? Hey, listen. I don’t need pity. Single life is beautiful. I can do whatever I want, whomever I want, and whenever I want. There’s no one to clean up after, no one to feed, and no one to disappoint you.”

No one to laugh with or cry with. No one to love you.

“All I care about is doing my job well, and you know why? Because lives depend on it. If someone depends on me, I will not fail them the way life failed me.”

She was a walking contradiction. Technically sitting at the moment, but still a contradiction. Was it the hormones?

No, don’t ask her that.

She could have been on her period.

Definitely don’t say that.

Maybe someone spiked her drink and she didn’t know it? That couldn’t have been it either, because she’d been guarding that water-filled-glass like a pro. What else did I expect from a Cross Enterprises employee?

Was it me?

Nah. I haven’t had a woman reject me in… well, no woman has ever said no.

Her nudge on my arm brought me back to her.

“See, you’re doing it now, and you don’t even know it. You’re not listening to what I’m saying. How is it that you’re trying to get into my panties and ignoring me at the same time?” she asked.

I shook off my intrigue and scanned through my short memory for all the words she’d said in the past minute. Juggling between my thoughts and real conversation had become second nature the past six years only because some thoughts weren’t meant to be spoken. Regrets and heartaches were better left unsaid.

“Of course I’m listening. You said you hate kids and you never want to have one of your own. You said some families weren’t worthy to be called such. You also seem to think that family equals heartache. I must say, it breaks my heart that you’re not open to experience that kind of love because even if you don’t have a family now, you could just create your own. You could create your own corner of the world, filled with love and family.”

It was how I’d survived.

I watched her gasp at my words, and that was the first moment I was certain that holding Lola Lowes in my arms all night long, listening to her breathing, would be better than getting rid of the wood in my pants.

Yeah, I see where we could have a few issues, though I wasn’t sure why I was considering it being an issue at all if all I needed was a one-night stand.

And why would she think I didn’t listen?

One of my jobs was not only to listen, but also to be in tune with women. One woman to be exact. Her name was Sophie, and I knew that I’d never love anyone as hard as I loved my daughter.

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