Nobody But You(53)

Jacob gathered everything back into the bag he’d brought down from his cabin and stood.

Sophie did the same. “You told me I could stay here.”

A commander had once told Jacob he was the hardest sonofabitch he’d ever met, and Jacob had believed it. He’d been in some pretty ugly places and had done some pretty ugly things. People tended to give him a wide berth.

But not this woman. Nerves and fears or not, she still went toe-to-toe with him.

He f*cking loved it.

Whether she knew it or not, she was comfortable with him. It made him want even more from her. Things he hadn’t imagined ever wanting from anyone. Things he’d promised her he didn’t want.

Which put him in the ridiculous position of either continuing to lie to her about that, or swallowing emotions he didn’t know what to do with anyway in order to keep her in his life. “Yeah,” he said. “I told you that you could moor here. And I meant it. Indefinitely.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Indefinitely?”

“Yes.” Expect more from me, he wanted to say. Demand it from me. You deserve it. Instead, he smiled. “No worries. I’ll collect my rent.”

She didn’t smile. Instead she stared up at him. “I’m sorry I assumed you were lying to me.” She said this quietly but also slightly begrudgingly, which made him smile. “I’m not good at letting people in.”

“I think you’re doing pretty damn good,” he said.

She stared at him as if she wasn’t sure how to take him. So while they were on that, he said, “And you should know, I don’t lie.” Well, except for how I feel about you… “Too much to remember. I’m lazy, Sophie. Very lazy. We square?”

“You’re the most unlazy man I’ve ever met.”

“Say it.”

She looked at him for a long beat. “We’re square,” she finally said. “Are we friends?”

Is that what they were doing? He hadn’t put a label on it, but if he had, friends would have been in the mix. Friends. Lovers… “Is that what you want?”

She stared into his eyes, and then her gaze dropped to his mouth and she licked her lips, nearly causing him to groan.

“I think we’re a little more than that,” she said.

“Is that what you want?” he asked again.

She stared at him. “It’s a start, right?”

“And the end?”

“You don’t seem like a guy concerned with the ending of anything.”

True enough, he thought. And he had no idea why he was pushing on this. Except he did. He wanted more and yet he wasn’t exactly in a position to offer it. “You know what I’m asking. I’m asking if we’re going to be more than friends.”

“For the duration, you mean?”

His own words, of course, put right back on him. He’d said she was his for the duration, and he was hers. He’d meant it. He just hadn’t known how much…or how badly he’d want the duration to be extended.

She cocked her head and studied him, and he did his best to look like the kind of guy she couldn’t live without. And maybe also the kind of guy she wanted to take belowdecks and lick from head to toe.

“I have no idea what to do with you,” she said.

“I’ve got a few ideas.”

She snorted. “Stop. I mean it.”

He sobered. “I know.”

“And you know it’s not you, right?” she asked earnestly. “It’s me.”

He laughed at her use of the cliché. He couldn’t help it. And she smiled and gave him a push. “It’s not a line. I mean it.” Her smile vanished. “We both know I’ve got some things to work out. In my head.”

And she wasn’t the only one. Reaching over, he took her hand in his, liking it when she entwined their fingers. Bringing their joined hands up to his mouth, he brushed his lips over her knuckles.

Her breath caught.

“Sophie?”

“Yeah?” she asked a little breathlessly.

“Take your time,” he said.

She let out a whoosh of air as if greatly relieved, and not for the first time he wanted to hunt down the men who’d been in her life, starting with her dad, who should’ve protected and cherished her and not let it be the other way around.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” she said. “You’re leaving.”

True story. “What do you need?”

She hesitated.

“Talk to me,” he said.

“Well…that’s just it. I need you to talk to me. I need your deep, dark secrets.”

“How do you know I have any?” he asked.

“All men do.”

“Ah,” he said, not particularly thrilled to have been looped in with her ex and her dad but getting it. “All of us, huh?”

“Every last one of you,” she said, sounding very sure.

“Okay.” He nodded. “Where should I start?”

“Well…” She considered. “You could tell me what you think of cats, since I’m thinking of becoming a cat lady. There’s your favorite food. Your feelings on sexy undies. Things that make you homicidal,” she said.

The last part did something to him deep in his gut. She’d buried her lede, afraid to ask outright if he was a dick when he got mad about something. He got that too.