isnât itâ¦? Itâs what you havenât stopped thinking about.
âWell, Tessâ¦?â he prompted with husky impatience.
âI donât think I want to be alone. Iâll just be sitting hereâ¦thinkingâ¦â She swallowed. âI want whatâs best for Ben, but I donât want to lose him.â She fought back a sob and caught the pink flesh of her lower lip between her teeth.
âDo you think Iâm very selfish?â Her wide green eyes fixed on his face.
Rafe swallowed hard. âNo more than the rest of us. Iâll stay if you want, Tess,â he agreed hoarsely and was rewarded with a watery smile. âBut youâve got to promise me one thing.â
âWhat?â
âDonât look at me like that!â he pleaded throatily.
âI donât understandâ¦â
âMen have hormones, Tess, and Iâm no exception. Do you hear what Iâm saying?â
She heard, all right. She raised her hand and touched the side of his face. It wasnât an innocent action and she felt a surge of satisfaction when Rafe jerked away.
âIâve got hormones too,â she whispered softly. âAnd Iâve been thinking about what you said beforeâ¦â It wasnât until the confession emerged that she realised just how much sheâd been thinking about it.
âI say a lot of things,â he reflected grimly. âSome more worth listening to than others.â
Was this his way of saying he hadnât really meant itâ¦heâd just been talking big, safe in the knowledge that sheâd never call his bluff? Only a total idiot could fail to recognise that this situation had a potential for humiliation on a big scale, and Tess was no idiot. But she found sheâd gone too far to back down now. Besides, a compulsion she didnât recognise was driving her onwards.
âI want toâ¦â Tess swallowed to relieve the aching constriction in her throat. Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she willed herself not to flinch from Rafeâs gaze. âI want to forgetâ¦I want to feelâ¦â The words sounded so breathily needy that for a moment she couldnât believe theyâd emerged from her own mouth.
He still hadnât said anything, which was definitely not a good sign. She wasnât sure whether it was obstinacy or lunacy that made her stumble on regardless.
âDonât look at me like that. Youâre the one who planted the idea in my head!â she shouted resentfully. â You said we wouldnât be hurting anyone. You said there was nothing wrong in giving and receiving a little comfortâ¦â She tried not to think about how flawed sheâd found his logic at the time.
Rafe didnât need reminding of what heâd said any more than he needed telling he couldnât go through with it if he had any shred of decency left.
âI could do with a little comfort right now.â Actually, she reflected, what I actually need is a great dollop of the stuff.
It was the harsh sound of Rafeâs sharp inhalation that finally brought her reckless babble to an abrupt halt. The enormity of what sheâd done hit her with the force of a runaway truck.
She didnâtâshe couldnât look at him as she stumbled towards the door. âPlease, forget I said any of that, it was stupid, I didnât meanâ¦â If only that were true, she would feel less cringeingly humiliated.
âTess!â
She flinched away from the touch of his hand on her shoulders; the contact was like a jolt of neat electricity running through her body.
âDonât think I took any of that stuff you said this morning seriously.â
He couldnât let her walk away looking like that; perhaps sheâd feel better if he confessed he didnât feel so crash-hot happy himself!
Rafe rapidly discovered that making Tess stop still long enough to listen to himâto look at
âWell, Tessâ¦?â he prompted with husky impatience.
âI donât think I want to be alone. Iâll just be sitting hereâ¦thinkingâ¦â She swallowed. âI want whatâs best for Ben, but I donât want to lose him.â She fought back a sob and caught the pink flesh of her lower lip between her teeth.
âDo you think Iâm very selfish?â Her wide green eyes fixed on his face.
Rafe swallowed hard. âNo more than the rest of us. Iâll stay if you want, Tess,â he agreed hoarsely and was rewarded with a watery smile. âBut youâve got to promise me one thing.â
âWhat?â
âDonât look at me like that!â he pleaded throatily.
âI donât understandâ¦â
âMen have hormones, Tess, and Iâm no exception. Do you hear what Iâm saying?â
She heard, all right. She raised her hand and touched the side of his face. It wasnât an innocent action and she felt a surge of satisfaction when Rafe jerked away.
âIâve got hormones too,â she whispered softly. âAnd Iâve been thinking about what you said beforeâ¦â It wasnât until the confession emerged that she realised just how much sheâd been thinking about it.
âI say a lot of things,â he reflected grimly. âSome more worth listening to than others.â
Was this his way of saying he hadnât really meant itâ¦heâd just been talking big, safe in the knowledge that sheâd never call his bluff? Only a total idiot could fail to recognise that this situation had a potential for humiliation on a big scale, and Tess was no idiot. But she found sheâd gone too far to back down now. Besides, a compulsion she didnât recognise was driving her onwards.
âI want toâ¦â Tess swallowed to relieve the aching constriction in her throat. Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she willed herself not to flinch from Rafeâs gaze. âI want to forgetâ¦I want to feelâ¦â The words sounded so breathily needy that for a moment she couldnât believe theyâd emerged from her own mouth.
He still hadnât said anything, which was definitely not a good sign. She wasnât sure whether it was obstinacy or lunacy that made her stumble on regardless.
âDonât look at me like that. Youâre the one who planted the idea in my head!â she shouted resentfully. â You said we wouldnât be hurting anyone. You said there was nothing wrong in giving and receiving a little comfortâ¦â She tried not to think about how flawed sheâd found his logic at the time.
Rafe didnât need reminding of what heâd said any more than he needed telling he couldnât go through with it if he had any shred of decency left.
âI could do with a little comfort right now.â Actually, she reflected, what I actually need is a great dollop of the stuff.
It was the harsh sound of Rafeâs sharp inhalation that finally brought her reckless babble to an abrupt halt. The enormity of what sheâd done hit her with the force of a runaway truck.
She didnâtâshe couldnât look at him as she stumbled towards the door. âPlease, forget I said any of that, it was stupid, I didnât meanâ¦â If only that were true, she would feel less cringeingly humiliated.
âTess!â
She flinched away from the touch of his hand on her shoulders; the contact was like a jolt of neat electricity running through her body.
âDonât think I took any of that stuff you said this morning seriously.â
He couldnât let her walk away looking like that; perhaps sheâd feel better if he confessed he didnât feel so crash-hot happy himself!
Rafe rapidly discovered that making Tess stop still long enough to listen to himâto look at
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