Page 37 of Color of Love

“I could but I’m also aware of what this town can be like, having lived here my whole life. It’s going to be nothing.”

He snorted next to her. “Yes, what a nice sleepy town this is. Like your date the other night, that wouldn’t have escalated at all, would it?” he shot back. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively, trying her darndest not to smile at his sarcasm. Damn him for being amusing!

“Yeah well, you soon stopped that, didn’t you?”

“And I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he said fiercely. She looked out the window, not able to take any more intense eye contact or she would explode. They sat in silence, both surveying the street.

After about an hour something caught her eye, she leaned forward, placing her hand on the console between them, trying to get a better look. Except the console was warmer than she thought it would be. Firmer too. She swallowed as she looked down and saw her palm gripping Blake’s hard thigh. She looked up at him, his eyes were sparkling with amusement. She snatched her hand away, flushing. Luckily, the lighting was so dim he wouldn’t see her embarrassment. His amusement faded as he realized she spotted something.

“What did you see?” he demanded, back in alpha mode.

“I thought I saw a shadow over there,” she pointed, and he turned his attention to the place she indicated.

“I’m gonna check it out,” he said, reaching for the door handle and she grabbed his arm.

“Wait!” she cried, suddenly feeling like she should’ve been taking this stakeout seriously after all. “Be careful.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back. We have unfinished business,” he rumbled, and then he was gone, his words echoing in her ears. She watched him slink across the road, as stealthy as a ninja. Scratch that, ninjas had nothing on Blake. He blended into the shadows and then she lost him.

She knew she was overreacting, she just told herself that it would be nothing, so why was she worrying? And what did he mean by unfinished business? She wanted to chalk what happened between them down to a mistake. Because that’s what it had been. A silly, stupid mistake. Okay fine, it was a toe-curling mistake she was dying to repeat but couldn’t.

After ten minutes he still hadn’t come back, and she started to panic. What if the Trashcan Bandits were actually a hard-core street gang? Or the Mob? What if it was a serial killer? Her mind ran into overdrive and just as she reached for the door handle to go and search for him, the driver’s door opened, and Blake got back in the vehicle.

“I couldn’t see anything except a cat,” he said. The relief she felt must have been written all over her face. He frowned at her. “Were you worried about me?”

“No,” she answered a bit too quickly. He held her stare, a fierce expression consuming his features and she started to burn under the intensity.

“I’m not sorry for kissing you,” he growled, surprising her. She didn’t think he would bring it up. She didn’t respond, she didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t think about what that meant, she wouldn’t let herself. She watched as a calculating look crossed his features.

“I have a proposal for you,” he said with a sly smile. She swallowed hard. “I think there’s a way we can help each other. We can have a partnership of sorts, an agreement. You’ll help me with overcoming my PTSD and anxiety, and I’ll open up to you so we can work through it together.” He paused, his eyes not leaving her face.

“You’ll have to do that anyway,” she replied. “If you want to keep your job.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “True. But I can make it easy on you, or hard.”

She glared at him. Was this sexy bastard trying to blackmail her?

“Okay, and what is it you think you can help me with?” she asked, sounding bored and as though she was trying to humor him, but her heart was pounding in her chest. His eyes flashed at her.

“I can help you get rid of that pesky virginity you’ve been carrying around for far too long,” he said, a wolfish smile taking over his face.

Her heart stopped, she couldn’t breathe, that smile could start wars. She shook herself, replayed his words and the silence surrounding them was deafening.

“What makes you think I want to sleep with you?” she asked when she finally felt she was able to talk. She tried to inject some confidence in her tone, like she was in control even though it was painfully obvious she wasn’t. He fixed her with a look that screamed, bitch, please.

“Honey, I was there the other night, when you were rubbing yourself against me, moaning…” he trailed off and she gnashed her teeth together. Damn him!

“Let me rephrase. I could go and sleep with anyone, why would I choose you?”

“But you haven’t, have you?” he asked, his stare probing her, looking for confirmation. She looked away and then back at him and that was all the answer he needed, satisfaction flaring in his eyes.

“You can trust me not to hurt you, that’s why. Just like I would be trusting you with my deepest, darkest thoughts. I’d be trusting you not to hurt me.” His tone turned serious and something about his words stuck with her.

“Blake I-”

“It’ll be a business deal, nothing more. You can trust me with your body, to help you explore your sexuality and you can help me fix my mind.”

“This is ridiculous! You know I can’t agree to this. It would be a huge violation of ethics!” she cried, shocked at herself that she was even considering this.

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