Page 55 of Inviting Trouble
“It was all right.”
She stopped directly in front of him. Up close she was all glossy and shiny. Her hair was in soft waves, she wore makeup that made her doe-brown eyes look wider, her cheeks and lips were rosy like she’d just had an orgasm. He clamped down on that thought and looked upstairs, away from her.
“Your dad home?” he asked. It was seven o’clock. He wasn’t sure if he was working over Christmas break.
“Left for work an hour ago,” she said, taking his jacket and tossing it on the sofa. She turned back, getting close enough for him to feel the heat of her sexy little body. Her T-shirt had a small V where she’d ripped the collar, revealing part of the tattoo that might as well have been his name. His fingers tingled, aching to trace the hawk over her heart. He pulled his gaze from it with great effort, sliding to her collarbone, up her slender throat, to her pointy chin.
“We gonna talk about this or just go for it?” she asked.
His gaze snapped to hers. “I don’t know what you mean.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her petite frame against him, all curves and strength. “We slept together.”
He peeled her off him with a groan. Leave it to Mad to boldly announce it. “That can’t happen again.”
Her eyes flashed. “Why not? We’re two consenting adults and we have the house to ourselves.”
“Ty—”
“Fuck Ty.” She lifted her chin, all belligerence, her legs shoulder-width apart in battle mode. This was a battle he couldn’t win. Either way, sleep with her or deny her, he’d screw things up for himself with the Campbell family.
He took a deep breath. “Okay,Idon’t want to mess things up. I’m not…I don’t do relationships. Mad, you know…” His voice choked, his throat tight.
“Know what?” she snapped.
He cleared his throat. “You’ve always been special to me.”
She softened and took a step closer. He backed up a step.
“That’s a start,” she said.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t. I won’t let you.”
He glanced toward the door. “Look, I’ll get a hotel or something.”
She blew out a breath. “It’s a three-bedroom house. There’s plenty of room for both of us. It’s not like I can’t control myself.” She met his eyes and frowned.
He so wanted to fix this. He didn’t want to fight or piss her off. He wanted to spend time with her again. Like they used to. He’d missed her so much for far too long.
“Can we go back to what we had before?” he asked. “Pretend it never happened.”
She stared at him like he was nuts. “Seriously?”
He pulled her in for a hug. “Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say. I’m just trying to make it easier.”
Her arms wrapped around his waist and she rested her head on his chest.
The least he could do was comfort her. He stroked her soft hair, glad she wasn’t too mad. Hopefully things would go back to normal soon.
Finally she lifted her head, and his heart lurched at the pain he saw in her eyes. She went up on tiptoe, her face tilted up at him. He froze. Her lips brushed across his, the soft touch luring him in. Still he hesitated. His body said go; his brain said stop.
She did it again, grazing his lips with another soft, teasing touch.
“Mad.” He had nothing more. Just Mad. His brain was shutting down.
Their eyes met for a long sizzling moment.
