If She Dares (Contemporary Romance) by Tanya Michaels Page B

was trying to reconcile the woman next to him with the one who’d told him in a dark elevator that she was “quite the scaredy-cat.” He wished he could show Riley how
he
saw her.
    She might not be overcoming the trauma of something that had happened to her as rapidly as she wanted to, but she wasn’t weak in the slightest. He remembered the expression on her face as she’d stripped out of her clothes in that fitting room, a woman who knew her mind and her own appeal. His fingers itched for a charcoal pencil, and he wondered if he could do that look justice on paper.
    It wasn’t until she nudged him with her elbow that he realized the meeting was over. “Did you fall asleep there at the end?” she teased.
    “Just lost in thought.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. “You’re going to win in a landslide. It’s almost enough to make me feel bad for the opposition.”
    Once they were in the empty stairwell and safely out of earshot from Mrs. Tyler, he added, “I’ve never had a friend in a position of political power before. This is exciting.”
    “Don’t count the votes before they’ve hatched.”
    “Does that mean it’s too soon to ask for preferential treatment? I was thinking my own parking space...”
    She reached out to swat his shoulder with her fingers, and he deflected the strike by taking her hand. The amusement in her expression faded, but she didn’t pull away. He was walking through the hall hand in hand with Riley. What was next—asking her to go steady?
    She’d been right to call him on avoiding her. It was one thing to decide he should just ask her point-blank what she wanted. But since he hadn’t been sure how she would answer—or whether what
he
wanted was a good idea—he’d conveniently not found an opportunity to ask yet.
    No time like the present.
“Do you want to come in for a few minutes?” he invited.
    She nodded.
    He unlocked his door and led her into the living room, where she perched uneasily on the edge of the couch, as if she wasn’t sure she was staying long enough to warrant getting comfortable.
    “You want anything to drink?” He felt uncharacteristically inept. He preferred action to words. They were both consenting adults; maybe he should just kiss her and let nature take its course.
    But he’d grown up watching a string of selfish men never take Cyndi’s feelings into account, and he wouldn’t press Riley until he could assure himself she was okay with his emotional limitations.
    He sat next to her. “You asked if I’d been thinking about you? Since Saturday, you’ve been on my mind constantly,” he admitted. “And I’ve been so turned on it’s amazing I can actually function.”
    Her breath caught.
    “I hope the feeling’s mutual,” he said, “but—”
    “Jack?” She leaned so far forward that her full breasts were cushioned against his side, making it easy to forgive the interruption. “I’m not in the right head space to be dating, and I know you don’t want a relationship. But I miss touch. Being touched.” There was a tremulous catch in her voice, but her hand was steady as she curved her fingers around his upper arm, her thumb brushing lightly over his skin in a way that was inexplicably erotic. Until now, he’d never realized biceps could be erogenous zones. “Would it make me a terrible neighbor if I wanted to shamelessly use you for sex?”
    Holy hell, he’d met the perfect woman. Cupping the nape of her neck, he hauled her toward him. She met him halfway, her eyes locked on his until the last second, when he took her mouth in a searing kiss. Then his own eyes closed as heat surged through him. Her tongue rubbed against his, and his thoughts dissolved into formless, primitive instincts. He slanted his head, glorying in her taste, trying to kiss her from every possible angle.
    Damn, she could kiss. Her lips were soft and pliant beneath his, but assertive, too. Seeking. Claiming. Making him forget why he hadn’t