Pen Pal(29)

We gaze at each other for a moment until he reaches out and sweeps his thumb over my burning cheek.

He murmurs, “Good. You can recite it to me next time I’m inside you.”

Somebody just picked me up and dropped me into a volcano. Searing heat envelops my skin. The breath I pull into my lungs is scorching. I wouldn’t be surprised if I looked down to find all my clothes burnt to ashes in a pile at my feet.

When I lick my lips, there’s a moment where I’d swear he was about to lunge at me. But he controls himself, dropping his hand from my face and turning businesslike.

“I’m gonna get that tarp up now.”

“What? Now? It’s dark outside!”

“So?”

“So I don’t want you falling off my roof and breaking your neck!”

He stares intently at me, his gaze sharpening. “Two things.”

“Oh no. Why do I get the feeling this is going to end badly for me?”

Brushing right past that, he says, “Number one. I don’t fall off roofs, no matter how steep they are.”

I cross my arms over my chest and resist rolling my eyes.

“Number two,” he says more softly, “so what if I did break my neck?”

I blanch. “Aidan, that’s not funny.”

“Nobody’s laughing. Answer the question.”

He’s very serious now, gazing at me with burning intensity, an odd light behind his eyes. I don’t know why, but my pulse goes haywire.

I drop my arms to my sides and say, “Please don’t make me answer that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t think I’m ready for this conversation yet.”

“What conversation?”

He steps closer. His intensity burns even brighter. We stand inches apart, so close I can feel his body heat, but he doesn’t touch me. He merely gazes down at me with hooded eyes, waiting.

Staring up into his dark eyes, I whisper, “The conversation about how I feel about what’s happening between us.”

He says instantly, “Yeah, we’re gonna do that. Right now. Because I almost went fucking crazy thinking about you today, and if you’re not into this, I’d rather know sooner than later.”

I close my eyes and exhale a shaky breath. “Did you forget our little chat in the shower so quickly?”

“Nope. Look at me.”

I open my eyes. When he’s got me good and trapped in the bonfire of his gaze, he says, “I know you’re not comfortable getting close in your house, and I’m respecting that. Otherwise, I’d already have you naked. Understood?”

Damn, he’s intense. I swallow nervously and nod.

“Good. Now talk.”

I debate with myself in silence for a while, but Aidan doesn’t push. He simply stands there staring at me like I’m about to dispense some mystic secrets of the universe that have been lost to the human race since we were cave dwellers.

Finally, I say, “Okay. But I’d like to ask that after I say what I’m going to say, that you don’t make a big deal about it.”

“Define big deal.”

I huff out a breath and shake my head. “I think you know what I mean, Fight Club.”

A faint smile lifts his lips. “Yeah, I do. Just wanted to keep you talking.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a jerk?”

“Yeah. You. Twice. You didn’t mean it either time. Get back on track, and tell me what I need to hear.”

I thrust my hands into my hair, close my eyes, and count to ten. The man is impossible.

“You can stand there with your hands pressed against your head for as long as you want, but I’ll still be standing right here waiting.”

“I believe that.” I open my eyes, drop my arms to my sides, and stare up at him. “Okay, Aidan. Here’s the deal. I like you. Which I’m sure you already know, by the way, this is just your way of torturing me.”

I pause for a beat, but he doesn’t deny it, so I continue.

“If you fell off my roof and broke your neck, it would seriously fuck me up.”

When he opens his mouth to interrupt me, I hold up a hand. “I’m not finished. You’ll get your turn.”

A low growl of displeasure rumbles through his chest, but I ignore it.

“I’m very attracted to you.” Recalling how wantonly I rode his dick and how hard I came for him, the heat in my cheeks flares hotter. “I think we’ve already established that beyond any doubt. I also feel safe with you. And for some bizarre reason, I instinctively trust you, which doesn’t happen for me with anyone, but especially with men. It took six months of dating before I let my future husband see the inside of my apartment, so this thing we’ve got going on here, despite being brand new, is different. I don’t know anything beyond that, and I hope you won’t press me for more, because I tend to act like a cornered wolf when I get backed up against a wall, and believe me when I tell you that’s not pretty.”

I fall silent. Fierce and unblinking, Aidan stares at me.

I add sheepishly, “I also, um, have never, uh, role played or whatever it was we were doing when you were chasing me around your apartment, and…”

Aidan practically shouts, “And?”