Page 74 of Knocked Up in Alaska

“Lilah, we need to establish some ground rules.”

“About?” She wracked her brain. “Oh.” And then her heart sank. She’d been selfish and presumptuous. “About asking you and Mia to babysit? I know it’s last minute, but this came up last minute—”

“About asking me to babysit so you can go on a date. I’m trying not to hold you back from…anything. I’m trying to remember that you have your first real taste of adult freedom, and of course you want to see what that’s about, but maybe you could hold off on dating someone else until my bite marks have faded from your ass?”

“I’m not—” Heat stormed her face, but she pushed through the embarrassment because her confusion demanded immediate attention. “I don’t have any plans to go on a date, tonight or any other night. That’s not why I need a sitter.”

Now, incredibly, color swept under his cheeks. “Oh.” His brows lowered. “I saw you and that guy talking out front, and then you came in and asked if we could look after Shayla tonight, and I just…” His fingers tunneled through his hair again. “Shit. I assumed.”

And he’d been upset by his assumption. That fact shouldn’t make her heart float like a helium balloon, but it did. She took a step closer to him. “You assumed wrong, on several counts. First, I need a sitter because Izzy and Bridget asked me to come over to the Shanahans’ house tonight for the judging of the baby blankets and”—she made air quotes—“other important business.” The uncertainty of that business had her stomach tightening again. “I’m welcome to bring Shayla, of course, so if you can’t do it, no problem, but Izzy wasn’t sure how long this other business would take, and I thought it might go more smoothly if I didn’t bring her.

“Next,” she continued, so he didn’t interrupt, “the conversation you saw outside was one-sided. Trent did ask me out, but I told him face-to-face what I’ve already communicated via text. Namely, I don’t have any time for him. He hoped to change my mind.”

That dangerous edge Ford’s bone-deep calm and easy humor usually hid suddenly sharpened. She saw it in the rigid angle of his jaw and the narrowing of his eyes.

“He’s not going to change my mind,” she added, aiming to make that dangerous edge disappear. “Last, but not least, the, uh, marks on my ass”—new heat rushed to her cheeks, but she soldiered on—“are pretty much faded. I’d appreciate an opportunity to return the favor whenever you’re free.”

He absorbed that without blinking, then stepped closer to her. Some of the dangerous edge disappeared. Not all, but some. “You put that all out nice and orderly,” he said. “Let me try to do the same with my responses. First”—he wrapped her hair around his hand and tipped her head back—“Mia and I would be happy to watch Shayla tonight while you’re at the Shanahans’. Take your time.”

“Thank yo—”

He placed a finger over her lips. “Next, if that Trent fucker can’t take no for an answer, you tell me. I’ll explain the meaning of the word to him.”

“I’ve made him understand,” she promised. “But gently. His family could bring new money to our local economy, and I won’t be the one to jeopardize an opportunity that could benefit so many. I’ll continue to be polite but unavailable. He’ll get bored and find a more receptive target for his invitations. That’s how I want to handle it.”

She maybe expected him to argue or at least caution her. She didn’t expect to be hauled up and into a strong embrace and a possessive kiss. But that’s what happened. Too stunned to unpack all the reasons behind it, she held onto his shoulders and drank it in like parched earth drinking in rain. After several breath-stealing seconds, his mouth slowed. His lips softened. He ended the kiss by degrees and murmured into the space between them, “When I passed you two this morning, I didn’t pick up a gracious defeat coming off that guy. I’m not saying you weren’t communicating your lack of interest,” he continued quickly, “but some people don’t respond to polite and gentle. Block his number. If he tries to corner you again, tell me. I’ll break it down for him in a way he’ll be able to process, and whatever fallout comes from it will be on me. Understand?”

“He didn’t corner me. He approached me in broad daylight on a public sidewalk—”

“He backed you up against a wall, put his hand on you without invitation, and showed no signs of taking no for an answer. I’m glad you didn’t feel threatened, but I’m not going to give him a chance to accomplish that. I’m not negotiating this, Lilah. I need a promise.”

“Okay. Okay.” It wouldn’t be an issue, anyway, so what was the harm? Polite and gentle would do the job. A guy like Trent wasn’t looking for more than a short-term hookup. He just didn’t know what to make of a girl not jumping at the opportunity. She took his face in her hands. “I promise.”

“Thank you.” He lowered his forehead to hers. “Now, about the last part…”

She slipped her hands into the back pockets of his jeans and felt something stir along the front of his jeans. “Yes. Let’s talk about that.”

Instead of smiling, his expression sobered. “I don’t want to put demands on you or ask for commitments—that’s not who I am—but I have one rule. For as long as we’re sinking our teeth into each other, it’s just you and me.”

“Of course.” She agreed without hesitation, and a part of her thrilled at hearing him acknowledge their relationship—the naked parts of it, specifically, as she knew he’d always be her friend—would continue without the need for her to resort to more sexual torture to wear him down. He was hers, and she was his, and that sounded just fine. But something in the way he delivered his little speech left her perturbed.

“Good.” He kissed her again, then eased back. “Glad we got that settled.”

“Me, too.” Except she still felt unsettled. Before she could talk herself out of it, she blurted, “No, actually, I don’t think things are completely settled yet, for me.” And God, she sounded pissy.

He heard it, because he sat back against his desk and lifted a brow. “How so?”

“Why wouldn’t you make demands or ask commitments of me?”

He tipped his head slightly, and the mild smile returned to his lips. “Because I have to be a little bit fair. Our dynamic is skewed as hell. I can’t take advantage of that.”

“I don’t understand.” But she suddenly had a violent desire to slap that smile off his face. “Are you afraid I’d agree to something I didn’t really want to agree to? Because I won’t. I know what I want and what I don’t want. Maybe you should try me?”

“I shouldn’t.”

The calm certainty of his reply made her want to scream. Instead, her icy, “Why not?” vibrated with frustration.

He pushed to his feet, and she realized she hadn’t corned the market on frustration. “You’re closer to my daughter’s age than mine. You’ve slept with precisely one other man in your life. You just had a baby. You went through a massive upheaval a few months ago, and you’re still figuring out which way is up. Do you want me to keep going?”

“No. Actually, I’ve heard enough. I’d like a turn.”

He made a the-floor-is-yours gesture.

“I’m not a teenager. I’m a full-grown adult. Maybe I had to do some of that growing up fast, but I did it. I have a daughter, a job, a place of my own, and I’m taking care of all of it. On top of that, I’m almost halfway done with a college degree. Do I have help? Yes, I do, and I’m grateful for every bit of it, but I deserve a little respect for managing my life. I may not know everything, but I know what I want, and I know what I don’t want, and I know which freaking way is up. I don’t need to be protected from my supposed inexperience.”

He didn’t smile, or frown, or offer any physical hint of what he thought of her arguments. Instead, he tipped her chin up and kissed her very softly. With his dark eyes fixed on her, he said, “I know you think you don’t, and that’s just another reason why I have to be fair.”

Then he walked out of the office.

When the door closed, she bit back a groan and kicked the leg of the desk. It didn’t speak well of her self-professed maturity, but it made her feel better.

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