Page 52 of Inevitable
That had been a little unnerving at first, but I’d gotten used to it.
He might be a man of few words himself, but he was incredibly observant when it came to other people’s behavior.
I put my hand on his shoulder to keep my balance as I answered, “Do you really think it was easy for me to bare my body in front of a man who hasn’t seen me since I was younger and thinner?”
He tipped my chin up a little so our eyes met. “Yet you had no problem challenging me,” he observed.
Ithadbeen a challenge, and I’d been banking on the fact that Colin never backed down from a challenge.
I shrugged. “Someone needs to do it. I don’t think it happens very often. You love to swim. I needed to get you into the water somehow. I wanted to prove to you that nobody cares about your leg. The rest of you is so stupidly perfect that it just doesn’t matter.”
Then…it suddenly happened, that something that I’d been hoping for since the moment we’d seen each other again.
Colin moved a strand of wet hair from my face and shot me a small grin.
My heart turned over and completely melted.
The man was devastatingly handsome when he was serious and stoic.
When he smiled, he was utterly and deliciously irresistible.
“You always were a bold woman,” he told me teasingly. “Nobody challenges me, Emma. Not for a very long time. I think the last time it happened was fourteen years ago when we were in Virginia Beach. You knew damn well that you were going to get me into the water with that challenge.”
“It wasn’t easy for me,” I confessed as I fell into his mesmerizing eyes. “I look a lot different than I did fourteen years ago.”
His expression sobered. “Yeah,” he conceded. “You look even better than you did back then. Christ, Emma! Do you honestly believe that you’re any less attractive than you were when we first met? You’re curvier, but those curves look good on you. You were a little too thin when we met. You look healthy and sexier than ever. I had to get into the water. My dick was so hard that I needed to dive into some cold water before anyone noticed.”
My heart squeezed hard inside my chest.
Was he just saying that to make me feel better, or did he really believe that?
I asked him that question directly because I wanted to know.
“Have I ever told you anything that wasn’t true?” he questioned as he wrapped both of his arms around my waist. “You know I’m not the kind of man who says something just to charm a female.”
That was definitely true.
Colin wasn’t a natural charmer, but I’d always adored that about him.
What he said was always blunt and honest.
I’d never needed to try to figure out exactly what he meant beneath a bunch of charming words that meant nothing.
I put my arms around his neck to keep my balance as he pulled me closer to him. “I’m really not the kind of woman who inspires lust in any guy. Not at my age with this body,” I said honestly.
“You do more than inspire it inthisguy,” he said huskily. “I’m not going to bullshit you Emma because I never have. You’re the first woman who has gotten my cock hard since those days we spent together at Virginia Beach. That hasn’t changed for me. I hate it, but it’s the truth. You’re a beautiful woman. But I know I’m going to have to learn to live with that reaction every time I see you.”
I rested my head on his shoulder with a long sigh. He was completely serious, and I knew he was being truthful. “I feel the same way. I think I’m always going to be attracted to you, Colin, and I haven’t felt this kind of chemistry with a man since we met, either. I know there’s nothing I can do about it. I’d like to think it will go away, but I’d be lying to myself. It’s not like we can have another fling. We live different lives in different states. We’re different people than we were years ago. But it totally sucks that I want to touch you every time I see you.”
“How in the hell is that even possible, Emma?” he asked hoarsely. “I’m fifty-three years old and I have a bum leg now. I’m sure you’ve met men who are whole and attractive.”
“You’re still whole,” I protested as I pulled back to look at his face, completely annoyed with Colin because he didn’t know just how attractive he was. “And irritatingly gorgeous. Do you really think I want to be attracted to you? I can’t help it. It is what it is. If I could control it, I would. We have a daughter. I’d like the two of us to be friends. I think we can, but I’m always going to want to get you naked. That’s really not comfortable for me, either.”
That stunning grin formed on his face again, and it made my heart soar all over again.
“Have I ever told you that you’re adorable when you’re angry?” he asked jokingly.
“This isn’t amusing for me,” I scolded him. “I’m a forty-five-year-old mom to a teenage daughter and I’mstilllusting after her father that I haven’t seen in fourteen years.”
