Page 4 of The Single Dad Project

“Why?”

She blinked. Slowly straightened and set her bottle on the bar top.

Okay. Hadn’t been expecting that response. “I’m sorry. What do you mean,why?”

He set his glass on the bar, too, and his scrutiny seemed to narrow, intensify as it scanned her face, searching for...what? Confusion crowded out the mortification.

“I mean,” he said, “why? Why me? Why do you want one night?”

The abrupt burst of laughter she released reflected the surprise swirling inside her. She tipped her head back, her locs tickling her lower back as she blankly studied the wood-beamed ceiling.

Leave it to her to approach the one man who wanted to discuss her feelings about a one-night stand. Dammit. Where was a fuck boy when you needed one?

“Look, if you’re not interested—”

“Did I say that?” he interrupted. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“I’m trying to put other things in your mouth, but you don’t seem in a rush for that,” she muttered.

“Clever.” That quirk at the corner of his mouth. Resentment filled her that she still wanted to kiss that lush curve. Bite it. “Are you going to answer?”

She swallowed a sigh and eyed her beer. She might need it for this conversation. Out of all the Dennisons,shewas the one he wanted to go deeper with. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so frustrating. She avoideddeeplike vampires dodged direct sunlight.

“Why you?” She addressed the easiest question first, hoping he’d leave the second one alone. She scoffed, waving a hand up and down, encompassing his big self. “Have you seen yourself? I don’t think you need me to tell you how attractive women find your big, tall body. How it makes them want to climb it like a tree just to get to that beautiful mouth. Or grab ahold of that beard so they can run their fingers through it, see if it’s soft and springy or coarse and thick. Imagine how it would feel over their bare skin. And then there’s those eyes.” Her breath hitched as they brightened. “I called you Big, Bearded and Sinful in my head before you even walked over here. But one glimpse of those stunning eyes and it confirmed that impression. That’s what you are. So does that clear up thewhy? Thewhy you?”

Her heart pounded after that little speech, and it left her mouth dry.

He didn’t immediately answer. Or maybe he did. Thatsomethingflashed in his eyes again and he lifted his tumbler to his mouth, tossed back the rest of the whiskey, then slowly set the glass back on the bar. All while never releasing her from his stare.

Damn.

The flames in her veins evaporated all the air from her lungs. Until this moment, she hadn’t believed in insta-lust. That was a vehicle rolled out to sell romance novels and movies, not real life. Had she been attracted to men and women before? Sure. But this demanding, clawing, hungry thing defied mereattraction.

But something this hot, this needy, couldn’t last. It burned too hot. Still, she wanted to go up in its flames before it died.

“No,” he finally said, sending a frisson of shock shivering through her. “You haven’t finished answering. Why the one night?”

Her lips twisted. “Are we really discussing this?” She shrugged, throwing up her hands, palms up. “Why does anyone have a one-night stand? To get off? Because they’re not looking for a relationship but a strings-free time?”

“Okay.” He cocked his head. “Now that we’ve discussedanyone’sreasons, let’s talk about yours.”

Embers of anger sizzled beneath the desire, and she lifted her beer to her mouth again, gulping down a mouthful, but the cold brew did nothing to douse her annoyance.

Discomfort.

“This is the funniest way of saying you’d rather not—”

“Still trying to put words in my mouth,” he murmured. “Or are you trying to avoid the question?”

“Yes,” she nearly snapped. “Either you want to fuck or opt out, but I don’t want to have a therapy session about it.”

Even in the noisy hum of the bar, silence beat between them.

It pounded with its own rhythm, holding her chained to her chair. And when he put an elbow on the edge of the bar and leaned closer to her, invading her personal space, she didn’t move. Couldn’t move. She inhaled his rich, woodsy scent that carried notes of a heady, earthen musk, sweet and light like milk chocolate and fruit and caramel from the whiskey. He was a veritable buffet of fragrance. And her mouth watered for a taste.

“Let’s just get this out the way, queen. I might question why you want this, but not if I wantyou. Fucking you isn’t the issue. If that was my only concern, we would already be outside in my truck and headed to the nearest flat surface. And evenflat surfaceis negotiable. But I want to make sure you don’t wake up tomorrow and I’m a regret you wish you’d given five more minutes to consider. I would hate to be that for you.”

“Queen?” she whispered, surprise winging through her for the second time that night. Surprise and a flood of warmth she had no name for, but it made her...feel.

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