Page 45 of Those Who Are Bound

“What made you panic?”

The breath leaving her at his pointed question caused an audible sound. She was grateful that she’d chosen chairs because she was knocked back with the jolt that powered through her, although in reality she probably didn’t move at all. Her gaze dropped.

“No, look at me,” he instructed.

She peered at him quizzically.

“Looking down means you’re trying to come up with an answer; I want the truth.”

She countered, “It could also mean I don’t want to see your reaction.”

Jonah assured her, “I’m not judging you; this is a judgment-free zone.”

“There’s no such thing.”

“You’ll have to trust me,” he said earnestly, immobilizing her.

Tilting her chin up, she said, “I don’t do this; I don’t…” She made a sound of frustration; talking didn’t come naturally to her. But she finished honestly. “I like you, and I know I’m going to screw this up. So I panicked.” Close enough.

He looked pleased. “I like you, too.” Then his brows drew together. “But you can’t know something like that. You can be afraid of it, but you don’t know that. And I’m not going to let you screw it up.” He offered, “I was afraid when I left on Monday that I’d offended you. I’d already determined that if I didn’t hear from you, I wasn’t willing to let it go—let you go.”

Elliott tilted her head. “I wasn’t offended.”

“It was a risk; you offered me a part of yourself, and I walked away.”

Elliott looked at the shop window behind him and made a contemplative sound. “No, you challenged me, which was smart, although I hate to admit it.”

Jonah smiled. “Noted.” Taking up another slice, he said, “I don’t want you to panic. Don’t doom our relationship in your head before we’ve even started it.”

“Relationship,” she said out loud, more to hear it, to taste the word. It was so foreign to her; she was trying to associate it with herself.

“That’s what I want. I’ve said it before. I hope it’s what you want. Otherwise, what are we doing?”

She was bewildered. “How can you know that so soon? We’ve just met.”

“Do you doubt me, or yourself?” he asked. “I know we’ve just met. That’s why we’re doing this, learning about one another. You already admitted that you were scared, so I accept that you panicked over it. I advised you before not to overthink.”

“So much for not judging,” she slipped in.

“I’m not judging you,” he assured her quickly. “But you can’t control this. You don’t get to put limitations on it: date one, I’m not allowed to ask about your history, and now, date two, and I don’t get to see a future with you?”

“Future?” She blinked, taken aback. “Now you’re talking about thefuture? You sped right to that.”

He tilted his head. “What’s your definition of future?”

Elliott looked around. “I don’t know, what is anyone’s? Marriage? Kids? Picket fences? I’m not ready for that on date two. It’s not meant to be a limitation, but that’s… fast for anyone. If you thought my attack earlier was bad, buckle up!”

He chuckled. “I didn’t ask for anyone’s definition; I asked for yours.”

She grabbed a piece of pizza and shoved it into her mouth with an incredulous shake of her head. After chewing, she answered, “I should probably be more concerned about your definition.”

He shook his head slightly, his expression gentle. “It’s not so dramatic. Next week, next month, that’s in our future. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. I want us to start laying a foundation. Can we do that?”

Elliott’s thunderous pulse calmed as she listened to the balanced cadence of his voice; watched how relaxed he was; patient. He was levelheaded. He calmed her; it was an odd sensation, that he could both ramp up her libido to dizzying heights but also soothe her distress with a look and the tone of his voice. Almost breathlessly, she answered, “Yes.”

He delivered a knee-knocking grin. “Good. That’s decided. The rest is… details.”

“Details,” she repeated.

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