Page 30 of Make Me Love You

That wasn’t him. He wasn’t forceful with women. He wasn’t needy with sex. He didn’t give angry kisses that left his own lips tender for hours after—God only knew what he had done to hers.

And now he was hard again just thinking about it. There was something wrong with him. There had to be. He had spent the last three days since their kiss in a near constant state of arousal and fury, and the only thing that kept him from hunting her down and finishing what they had started was his promise to her.

He wouldn’t kiss her again. She would have to kiss him.

She would do it, too. Maybe it would take days, weeks—oh, good Lord, he hoped it wouldn’t take weeks, he would never survive that and his dick would fall off from depression—but she would come to him eventually. Oh, yes, she would. She had changed somewhat in the last eight years. She took her coffee with cream instead of skim, and her laugh came slower than it once had. But this had held true. Emma Andrews never left a job unfinished.

And he was very much unfinished. Painfully so.

Which was why he was standing on Main Street, watching Emma paint the last of the streetlights, his pants too tight across the crotch and his mind full of impure thoughts. He wanted her to paint his pole with her tongue.

Yes, there was definitely something wrong with him.

“Just what the heck is wrong with you, Eli?” a strangely familiar voice demanded, echoing his own thoughts.

He turned around. “Suzie!” He grinned, genuinely happy to see her. She was close with Emma, but once upon a time she had called him a friend, too. Along with Luke, they had spent their high school years as a tightknit foursome. And then he had arrested Emma’s dad, and the battle lines were drawn right down the middle, boys against girls. That had hurt, even though he wouldn’t have taken Suzie from Emma, not for the world. But still. He had always liked her. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed her until now.

“How are you doing? When is this one coming?” he asked with a nod at her stomach.

Her eyes lit up and she gave her belly a fond rub. “Any day now. A girl.”

“Yeah? Is Michael going to make it back in time?” Michael was Suzie’s older brother. He had been, in Eli’s opinion, a fairly stable, reliable type, until last year when his wife had suddenly filed for divorce. Two days later, he took off for Kilimanjaro.

“No, he’s in Switzerland now. He can’t miss the summer climbing season. But he’s talking about coming home for Christmas, so—” She broke off with a frown. “But I don’t want to talk about Michael. You distracted me!”

“Sorry.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “I was just so happy you were talking to me again.”

“Don’t you try to charm me with those long eyelashes, Eli. I’m not talking to you again. I’m lecturing you. There’s a difference.”

He sighed. He had a pretty good idea of what the lecture would entail. Emma. “Any chance you want to continue the lecture over coffee?”

“No coffee for me, thank you. But I’ll accept a treat from Sweet Things. They have these great lemon candies that I like to suck on. It makes the baby kick.”

“Sure.”

“You’re paying.”

“Of course.”

He held the door for her and then followed her in. It was like stepping into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, without the creepy factor. Everything was bright and cheerful, from the pink-and-yellow striped curtains to the jars of colorful candies.

Eli looked around curiously. He hadn’t been here since the grand opening four years ago. Not because he didn’t like candy, but because it had been pretty clear from the way Emma had hugged Kate Gonzales, the owner, that they were good friends, which made this place her domain.

Which meant—

Eli cursed under his breath. It was an ambush. He gave Suzie a reproachful look when Kate popped up from behind the counter like a jack-in-the-box.

“Officer Carter.” Kate’s eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon. Suzie, I have those lemon drops for you.”

“Yay, candy.” Suzie reached into the pink-and-yellow striped paper bag Kate offered her and popped one into her mouth. “I found him on the sidewalk, stalking Emma like a total perv.”

“Hey!” Eli protested. “I wasn’t—” He paused, remembering what his thoughts had been. Definitely a little pervy. Fair enough. “I wasn’t stalking her. I just happened to be patrolling the street at the same time she was painting the lights. You know, doing my job?”

Kate’s head tilted while she studied him. “Does your job also include making our friend angry every time she sees you?”

“Emma is always a little angry. That’s part of her charm.”

“She’s been stomping around town for three days now, bossing the life out of everybody,” Suzie said. “It’s annoying.”

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