Touch Me Not (Manwhore, #1)(31)

Her tongue darted out and wet her lips. His eyes followed the movement, and he felt himself growing hard imagining what that tongue would feel like against his skin. “You smell like vanilla, Lily. It reminds me of sugar cookies. Would you taste like warm vanilla sugar cookies, Milaya?”

“Uh, Nikoli,” she whispered, drawing in a ragged breath. “You’re eyes are getting darker.”

“Mmm,” he said, pushing himself closer to her. “Do you know why, Lily?”

She shook her head, and he smiled the smile guaranteed to get a woman out of her clothes. “It’s because I’m imagining all the things I could get you to do with that lovely little tongue of yours.”

Lily’s eyes widened and her breathing sped up. Nikoli pressed closer, his own mouth a hair’s breadth from hers. “Would you like to do that, Lily?”

Someone cleared their throat and Nikoli was forced to look up. Their waitress stood there, holding their plates. He groaned, frustrated, but moved back so she could put the plates down. Her hands were a little shaky when she pulled them back. Lily took one look at her and blinked. He watched all the progress he’d made in the last few minutes slip away as she closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were wary, watchful.

Frustration welled up, but Nikoli refused to show it. Instead, he smiled lazily up at the waitress. “Thank you, Julie.”

“You’re…ah…welcome.” Julie turned and walked away, glancing back several times. Lily made some kind of disgusted noise, but Nikoli ignored her. He picked up a fry and dipped it in ketchup. “So, now back to this bet…”

“The bet stands,” Lily said between bites of chowder, “unless, of course, you’re afraid you’ll lose.” Lily worked hard to keep her tone even. Nikoli had gotten to her for a minute there. She’d even wanted him to touch her, and that made her nervous. Confused too. She’d gone so long without someone’s touch, it made no sense to her that she craved his. She couldn’t let him see just how much he affected her.

“We’ve already established I’m not afraid of losing,” Nikoli countered. “Where did that particular little idea come from? It’s not something we talked about last night.”

“You want people to think we’re dating, don’t you?”

He nodded.

“Then I had to find a way to make them believe I’d ever date you.”

“What’s wrong with dating me?” he asked, putting his burger back down. He looked so outraged, Lily couldn’t help but giggle. An honest to God giggle. She was not a girl who giggled, but Nikoli brought it out in her. Not even Adam could make her so much as think about giggling.

“You’re not exactly dating material,” Lily said, laughing as his face became even more outraged.

“Why the hell not?” he demanded. “No one’s ever complained before.”

“Nikoli, you’re gorgeous, sexy, and every girl’s fantasy, but no girl would date you.”

He growled, his feet inching closer. She glanced down nervously, but her eyes shot back up when a fry hit her in the face. He did not! “You really want to start a food fight when I have clam chowder to throw at you?”

“Explain why no girl would date me.” His tone was clipped and hard. Ohh, she’d hit a nerve! Good. The man needed taken down a peg or two.

“You’re the bucket list guy,” she told him. “You’re the guy every girl wants to sleep with just once, but that’s it. Oh, you’ll get those who think they can change you, but we know deep down, you’re a one night stand kind of guy. You’ve got commitment issues.”

“I do not!”

“Really?” she asked. “Tell me when was the last time you had a relationship that lasted more than a night?”

“You.”

“I don’t count,” she said. “Besides, what we’re doing isn’t really a relationship. The question is why you don’t want a healthy relationship with one person.”

“I have my reasons,” he told her.

She snorted, but continued. “Girls, like guys, don’t want someone everyone and anyone can have and has had at one time or another.”

“I have not slept with as many women as you think. Girls tend to let their friends think something happened. I just don’t correct them.”

Like she believed that? Ha! She’d seen him with more women over the last three years than she could count. “You also have no respect for women.”

“I have respect for them,” he said and then paused. “Well, some of them. I respect you and my mother. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“Why don’t you respect them?” she asked, curious.

“As you like to point out, I’ve slept with a lot of women, not as many as you think, but enough. I’ve seen them cheat on their husbands, boyfriends, and fight with their best friends to sleep with me. I don’t say this to sound arrogant or to brag, it’s just a fact. Why would I respect people who would throw everything away for sex? If you’re not happy, then have enough balls to ’fess up to it. Don’t disrespect someone else by cheating.”

Lily frowned and shoved a spoon of chowder into her mouth to keep from having to respond right away. She hadn’t expected that answer from Nikoli. It’s something she would have said. And he had a point, dammit. How could a person respect someone who couldn’t respect themselves or others? Well, damn, maybe Nikoli did have some kind of moral code.