Virtuous(21)

He goes strangely still as he contemplates my question. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you want to be with me when you could have anyone? Why would any sane man want to be with a woman who won’t sleep with him when he could have his pick of women who would?”

“Despite what you may believe, not every guy lets his little brain do the thinking for his big brain.”

“Really. Hmm, that hasn’t been my experience.”

“Then you’ve been hanging out with the wrong guys.” Once again he takes hold of my hand. Every time he does that, my skin tingles and my nipples tighten. I’ve never had that kind of reaction to anyone else. Not that I’ve let any other man get close enough to test my reactions. “Let’s take care of this concern of yours once and for all, okay?”

“Okay…”

“I like you. From the first minute I laid eyes on you, on the ground, the wind knocked out of you, your adorable little beast of a dog hovering over you, I wanted to know you. My first thoughts about you weren’t, ‘Damn, I need to get this woman in my bed.’ They were more along the lines of, ‘Don’t be an idiot and let this incredible woman walk away without getting to know her.’”

I’m finding it difficult to swallow all of a sudden. I clear my throat and meet his intense gaze. “So you don’t think… that way… about me?”

“What way?”

“You know.”

Suddenly he gets exactly what I mean. “Oh! That way… Yes, I’ve definitely had a few thoughts about what it would be like to get you naked and into my bed. I won’t lie to you about that. I think it would be amazing, unbelievable, off the charts, spectacular—”

Smiling, I press my fingers to his lips to make him stop talking.

His eyes light up with silent laughter. He brings his free hand up to cover the fingers I’ve placed on his lips, and the next thing I know, he’s nibbling on my finger. The charge of heat that travels through my body sears me and collects in an insistent throb between my legs.

Overwhelmed by my reaction, I pull my hand free.

“Sorry,” he says, “I couldn’t resist.”

I’m undone and confused by the way my body responds to him. I’ve never experienced these particular reactions before, and I’m not sure what they mean. Am I reacting to Flynn the man, or Flynn the movie star? Even as I ask myself the question, I know it’s the former, and I’d be lying to myself if I said otherwise.

He has my full attention again when he runs his finger over the furrow between my brows. “Don’t overthink it, sweetheart.”

That makes me want to laugh. I overthink everything. I haven’t had a choice about that. When you leave your home and family at fifteen, overthinking becomes a way of life.

“I should go home—”

“Do you want to watch a movie?” he asks at the same time.

“Oh, um…” I check my watch. It’s only nine, and I don’t really want to leave, but I need a moment to get my emotions under control without his overpowering presence distracting me. “May I use your restroom?”

“By all means. You know where it is. Feel free to also use the tub, if you’d like.”

I laugh at that. “Thanks, but I’ll pass tonight.”

“The offer stands.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be here.”

In the bathroom, I take a moment to practice the deep-breathing techniques my court-appointed counselor taught me. Any time I find myself out of balance or off-kilter, I breathe my way through it. I’ve been off-kilter since the moment I realized I’d crashed into Flynn Godfrey. And now… Now he’s asking me to go to California with him, to attend the Golden Globes, to meet his family. It’s too much.

I look in the mirror, and I’m shocked by what I see. My cheeks are flushed with color, my lips are slightly swollen as if I’ve been passionately kissed, and my eyes… My eyes are wide and somehow brighter. The rest of my body fairly vibrates with sensation, especially my nipples and between my legs.

Gazing at my reflection, I can’t deny that what I’m feeling—and seeing—is desire. It’s all new to me, so I can barely process the cascade of emotions that go along with this startling realization. After what happened to me when I was fifteen, I tamped down that part of me, the part that’s a young, healthy woman. Since then, I’ve avoided men and relationships and sex and all the things other young women seek out with unfettered abandon.