Page 19 of Breaking the Rules of Love

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Jake

For a second,I’m not sure if I heard her right.

“A no-relationship rule?” I repeat.

“That’s right.” She nods. “And…I could be wrong, but it sounds like from the things you were just saying, that that might be where you want this to go with us?”

A bitterness rises up within me out of nowhere. Wasn’t it her that came over to me with the lemon tart and invited me in for the lemonade? She was clearly flirting with me, and for what? Just so we could fuck?

And now she’s making presumptions about my intentions and saying them to my face? She may be right, but for some reason, I’m still pissed about it.

“Wait a second here,” I say. “Haven’t you been flirting with me? Did we not just have sex?”

“Yes, but hang on–” Sadie protests.

“Aren’t guys always the ones being accused of just trying to use women for sex?” I ask. “And I’m being…accusedof wanting to date you or something?”

“Jake–”

“A no-relationship rule,” I say one more time, still in disbelief. I’m hurt too. I don’t really know how to process this.

“Jake, I know maybe this isn’t what you want to hear, but–”

“So what is it you want to do then, Sadie?” I ask. “Just have casual sex with guys like you’re still twenty years old? Because you’re not twenty years old anymore, you know.”

I regret what I said as soon as the words leave my mouth. Sadie looks up at me, her eyes flashing with pain. Clearly I’ve struck a nerve.

“I’m not a slut,” she snaps.

“I’m sorry,” I reply quickly. “I didn’t mean to imply that.”

“I haven’t had a man,orevensex, in two years since my ex-husband left me. And I’mwell awareI’m not twenty years old anymore, Jake.”

Yeah, I shouldn’t have said that. But I want this woman so badly that the thought of a relationship with her being off limits just completely threw me off.

“Again, I apologize, Sadie.” It hurts to even say sorry to her right now. I want to yell at her. After the small connection we have had so far, I can’t even imagine how much further we could go.

I want to badger her into explaining to me where this rule comes from and why she has it. I want to grab her and pin her down on the bed and hold her there until I’ve forced her to reveal the depths of her soul to me.

But I can’t. That will only make her retreat from me. We’ve only just met, and I don’t want her to run away. I want to bring her closer.

“Thank you, Jake,” she says. I can see some of the hurt fading from her eyes as she takes a tiny step toward the bed. “And you should still feel special, because even if I have a no-relationship rule, that doesn’t mean I’m not okay with doing somethingcasual…if you get my meaning.”

“Something casual?” I get her meaning, but I’m going to let her elaborate.

“Mmm-hmm.” She nods, taking another step forward. “And remember—I haven’t hadanythingwithanyonein two years, so you should still feel special that I am willing to do that with you.”

Right. So special.

She leans in against me and takes my hands and places them around her waist. Yeah, she knows exactly what she’s doing. My body instantly comes alive for her. I may be angry right now—disappointed—but when I feel her, smell her, look at her, there’s no doubt in my mind that I want her. Badly.

For some reason, she’s holding back, and I need to know why. I need to conquer her, and I will. And nothing excites me more than a challenge.

“So what do you say, mister?” she asks, playing her fingers across my chest. “You wanna do something casual with me?”

She’s just expecting me to say yes, because that’s what us men do. And I don’t like that. Sadie needs to understand that it’s not going to just be that easy with me. I wantmorewith her, and this is going to be the moment that I plant that idea inside her head.

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