NICE GIRL TO LOVE (THE COMPLETE THREE-BOOK COLLECTION)(105)

“I almost forgot how sexy you sound on the phone.”

She jolted awake in a flash. “Connor?”

“Glad to know you remember my voice,” he smiled over the phone line. “I was planning on waiting in bed all night for you to call me but then I remembered that I have fingers that can dial a phone number too.”

She valiantly fought back a smile. The man was entirely too charming for his own good. “Connor, really, I’m fine. I must have just eaten something funny.”

“Okay, then how about you keep me company on the phone. We can play a round of Twenty Questions,” he bulldozed right along. “Or rather, just the version where we have to answer each other’s questions no matter what.”

Oh, that was tempting. Not the answering part but the asking part, definitely.

“There are no off-limit questions…” he anted up lightly.

That sounded like a dare. What was it about talking on the phone that made things seem less dangerous than they probably were? “Okay, let’s play.”

“True or false?” he fired off quickly. “Everyone deserves a second chance.”

Geez, he was intending to play down and dirty stickball. Warily, she answered, “True.”

“Interesting. Okay, your turn.”

She asked the first question that came to mind. “Do you like strip clubs?”

He chuckled. “Depends.”

“Hey, no fair.” She glared at the phone. “That’s not an answer.”

“It is too,” he decreed. “You just need to make your questions more specific if you don’t want vague answers.” The last came out as a taunt.

Huffing, she sat up fully in bed. Now, it was on. “Fine. Your turn.”

“Yes or no? Do you still use that pink vibrator we played with in the tub that one night?”

She gasped. “Do you really expect me to answer that?”

“I’d reply, but then I’ll have to count that as one of your twenty questions.”

Argh! “Fine. No, I haven’t. I…can’t seem to bring myself to.”

A long pause, and then a gentle, “Your turn.”

“Have you slept with anyone since September?” Without realizing she was doing it, she held her breath.

“No, I haven’t,” he answered softly. “I haven’t wanted to, either.”

Oh. “Your turn.”

“Do you miss me?” Now it sounded like he was the one holding his breath.

“Yes,” she admitted. “As much I did the day you left. More, maybe.”

For a while, neither of them spoke.

And then he broke the ice again, “It’s your turn to ask me a question, sweetheart.”

Heart in her throat, she asked the question she’d wondered over more days than she cared to admit. “If I’d come to you during the months you stayed away, what would you have done?”

He didn’t even hesitate. “I would’ve locked you in my house and asked you to never leave again,” he replied quietly.

Holy swizzle sticks.

“My turn. There was a day last fall when I saw you as I was getting some Chinese take-out in town. Did you see me, too?”

She sucked in a sharp breath. So he had seen her. “Yes. And I jumped into a Brazilian wax shop to avoid you.”

“I know,” he let out a weary breath. “You don’t know how many nights of sleep I lost thinking about that day.”

“Really? Why?”

“Honey, the shop you ran into had a poster advertising 30+ different wax designs. I can guarantee you that I had at least 30+ hot nights being tormented by the possibilities.”

She flushed. Right, of course. The designs. The shop had a flipbook of photos they’d shoved in her hands that day and she’d had to pretend to flip through them while she was hiding out.

Most awkward day ever.

Speaking of awkward. May as well ask the question that had been plaguing her all night.

“Yes or no. Do you truly believe one woman would be enough for you…someday?”

“Yes. If it’s the right woman.” His voice dropped an emotional octave. “And if it’s the woman I’m thinking it is, I believe she’ll be more than just ‘enough’ for me.”

Wow.

A weighty pause, and then he came back with, “Do you ever think about that last time we slept together?”

Darn him. “No.”

“Liar.” The playful tone was back. “You know, there are penalties for lying in this game.”

“Okay, fine. Yes.”

“Too late. It’s time to pay your fine.” He was doing an impressive job sounding matter-of-fact about this.

Covering up the smile in her voice, she asked warily, “What’s the fine?”

“Describe that night for me. I want to see it in your eyes.”

“Connor—” They were treading dangerously close to crossing a line.

His voice sobered then. “I took it too far, I’m sorry honey. Let’s go back to the game.”

But it was too late. All the vivid memories of that night came barreling into her brain, one after the other until it was all her mind’s eye could see. “I-I…I remember you kissing the inside of my thigh…” Her heart raced just recalling the image.