Two of a Kind (Fool's Gold #11)(28)

Not exactly how he would have phrased it, but, “Yes.”

“I want to belong,” she told him. “I want to fall in love. I understand much of the feeling is chemical, but I still want to know what it’s like. Eventually I want to get married and have children. I want to be part of a family. I want roots. Nothing you’re interested in.”

“No.”

“Then spending time with you doesn’t help me achieve my goal.”

Stark words, he thought, surprised at the kick in the gut he felt. But she knew what she wanted, and he had no right to keep her from it.

“I told you before, I’m not the forever guy.”

She nodded. “Even so, I find myself reluctant to stop seeing you. I wonder if I’m attracted to the traditional bad-boy elements of your personality. Or it could be our sexual compatibility. I do like thinking about us making love and having orgasms together.” She sighed. “I’m not sure what I should do.”

His suggestion, mostly screaming from his suddenly hard dick, was that they practice a few of those orgasms right here, right now. Dinner and her life goals be damned. But he liked Felicia nearly as much as he wanted her, and there was no way he was going to screw up everything because he needed to get laid.

“You should walk away,” he told her, the words physically painful to speak.

“A sensible solution.” She stared at him. “I don’t want to be sensible. Why is that?”

“You’re a woman?”

She laughed. “I believe my ability to reason is far greater than yours, but the sexist comment is charming.” She nodded. “I need to consider this. Do you mind if I think about what I want and then get back to you?”

She was like no one else he’d ever met. Damned if that didn’t make him want her more. “Take your time.”

“And it’s all right if we finish dinner?”

“Sure.”

“Good.” She smiled. “Would you like to talk about sports? I have a working knowledge of baseball and can discuss team rankings along with player statistics.”

He started to laugh, then leaned close and kissed her. She stared at him.

“Why did you do that?”

“Because I couldn’t help myself.”

She smiled. “What else can’t you help doing?”

“No way, young lady. You have to make your decision first. No-strings sex and practice dating, knowing it will never last, or walking away and waiting for Mr. Right.”

She nodded. “Yes, that’s the sensible course.” Her eyes widened. “This is what women mean when they talk about Mr. Right Now. They’re attracted to a man like you.”

“Not exactly,” he murmured. “But close enough.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

“THIS COULD BE higher,” Ford yelled from the top of the rope hanging from the base of a thick tree branch a good twenty feet off the ground.

“It could,” Consuelo shouted back to him. “We could also dig a moat and float a few alligators. How does that sound?”

“Sweet!”

Gideon shook his head. One day Ford and Angel were going to kill each other with their brainless competition. But as they’d been trying to best each other for years, he knew he wasn’t going to change anybody’s mind. As it was, he’d been brought in to offer suggestions for ways to make the obstacle course more challenging for the professionals while keeping it doable for “normal people.” He wasn’t sure why anyone thought he would know more than either Ford, Angel or Consuelo, but, if nothing else, he would enjoy spending a morning in the forest.

Angel patted one of the larger trees. “The trunks tend to have a flat side. We could set up targets.”

“No shooting in the forest,” Consuelo snapped. “Do you want to get someone killed? We’ll have a special shooting range on one side or the other of the warehouse. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Angel stared at her. “What?”

“Tell him,” Consuelo demanded, pointing at Angel. “Tell him he’s an idiot.”

“You’re an idiot,” Gideon obliged.

Angel glared at him. “Hey, what’s with taking her side? We’re friends. You just met her.”

“I like her better.”

Consuelo grinned. “Likewise,” she told him.

Angel snorted in disgust and stalked away.

Gideon chuckled, remembering that this was what it was like in the field. Sure there was danger and stress, but in the downtimes there was fun. Life had to be lived all the more because it could end at any second.

Consuelo was short, but she was strong and moved as if she knew what she was doing. Ford had introduced him, saying she would be teaching hand-to-hand and street fighting, along with a few tactical classes. Gideon would guess she knew ways to kill a man that would make the hardiest of souls shudder.

More important to him, he knew Consuelo was one of the few people Felicia considered a friend. As he had suddenly found himself wanting to look out for the beautiful redhead, he was inclined to side with Consuelo.

Ford slid to the ground and stepped away from the rope. “What’s the course?” he asked.

Gideon pointed to the west. “Easy two-mile jog to the edge of the vineyard, head north for another mile. Targets are set up. Shoot at a hundred feet. Center target and bottom left.” He looked to his left and right. “Do you two want to try? I dropped something along the way. One of you could bring it back.” Angel and Ford nodded with gleams in their eyes. Gideon paused. “Okay, go.”