instinct was to reassure her. Tell her that he’d been looking forward to this, whether he’d wanted to or not, since Nikki had suggested it. That, with every day that had passed, his anticipation hadn’t just doubled, it had multiplied exponentially.
But he knew he shouldn’t, couldn’t , do that. Self-preservation trumped natural impulse, so he found himself once again ignoring the obvious. In fact, he didn’t even address the fact that she’d spoken. Instead, he offered her his arm like the gentleman he didn’t feel he was whenever Jane was around.
She took it, smiling as she dipped her head, and grabbed her purse from the table. As they walked in silence to his truck, he tried in vain to erase the urge to pick her up, throw her over his shoulder, take her back in her house, strip her out of her dress, and take her up against the wall, on the floor, on every surface of her home. Marking not only her but also her space his .
Whenever she was anywhere near him—hell, even if he heard her name mentioned in passing—a very unfamiliar, very caveman-like, animalistic side of himself emerged. One he’d had no idea he’d even possessed before the night he’d been playing pool at his cousin’s bar and locked eyes with the most breathtaking girl he’d ever seen. One word and one word only had formed in his mind that night and every time he’d seen her since then.
Mine.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Chapter 10
‡
D eep breaths. In and out.
Jane concentrated on breathing so that she didn’t pass out. Her inability to perform the simple task of exchanging oxygen had less to do with the fact that her dress was a tad snug and everything to do with the man to her right. She’d been pinching herself all night to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Since she’d walked into the fundraiser—under a blanket of twinkle lights, no less—she’d felt like Cinderella at the ball. Adam, of course, was playing the role of Prince Charming, and he was doing a pretty convincing job.
This wasn’t a real date, but his behavior certainly wasn’t supporting that fact. As much as Jane was trying to convince herself he was just a gentleman, she couldn’t help but notice the very ungentlemanly looks she kept catching in his eyes as they sat side by side at the table that Gowan Enterprises had bought for the event.
Mike leaned down between Adam and Jane. “Hey, man. Can I borrow you for a second?”
Adam nodded as he stood. Before following Mike, he bent over and briefly rested his hand on Jane’s shoulder, and his thumb brushed across her collarbone as he spoke next to her ear. “I’ll be right back.”
“ ’Kay,” she barely squeaked out, what with all the internal swooning she was doing. His gravelly voice and tantalizing touch vibrated through her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
All night, every time he’d been pulled away for business, he’d checked in with her, made sure she was okay. Attentive was the name of his game that night, and it was almost more than Jane could bear. He treated her like…a princess. Adam was unintentionally setting a bar so high that she wasn’t even sure a gold-medal Olympic pole vaulter could clear it.
No man had ever shown her this kind of attention which was fully a reflection of her poor choice in men. She took responsibility for the fact that, in every relationship she’d ever been in, she’d settled.
With each of the men she’d had significant relationships with, she’d seen things, even early on, that had made her more than pause—they’d stopped her dead in her tracks. But she was a world-class benefit-of-the-doubt giver. She could explain away almost any behavior…and she had.
With Disaster #1, she’d told herself that the only reason he was more interested in video games and hanging out with his friends than he was in her was because he was young. She’d met Peter during their freshman year of college and dated him until senior year.
But he knew he shouldn’t, couldn’t , do that. Self-preservation trumped natural impulse, so he found himself once again ignoring the obvious. In fact, he didn’t even address the fact that she’d spoken. Instead, he offered her his arm like the gentleman he didn’t feel he was whenever Jane was around.
She took it, smiling as she dipped her head, and grabbed her purse from the table. As they walked in silence to his truck, he tried in vain to erase the urge to pick her up, throw her over his shoulder, take her back in her house, strip her out of her dress, and take her up against the wall, on the floor, on every surface of her home. Marking not only her but also her space his .
Whenever she was anywhere near him—hell, even if he heard her name mentioned in passing—a very unfamiliar, very caveman-like, animalistic side of himself emerged. One he’d had no idea he’d even possessed before the night he’d been playing pool at his cousin’s bar and locked eyes with the most breathtaking girl he’d ever seen. One word and one word only had formed in his mind that night and every time he’d seen her since then.
Mine.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Chapter 10
‡
D eep breaths. In and out.
Jane concentrated on breathing so that she didn’t pass out. Her inability to perform the simple task of exchanging oxygen had less to do with the fact that her dress was a tad snug and everything to do with the man to her right. She’d been pinching herself all night to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Since she’d walked into the fundraiser—under a blanket of twinkle lights, no less—she’d felt like Cinderella at the ball. Adam, of course, was playing the role of Prince Charming, and he was doing a pretty convincing job.
This wasn’t a real date, but his behavior certainly wasn’t supporting that fact. As much as Jane was trying to convince herself he was just a gentleman, she couldn’t help but notice the very ungentlemanly looks she kept catching in his eyes as they sat side by side at the table that Gowan Enterprises had bought for the event.
Mike leaned down between Adam and Jane. “Hey, man. Can I borrow you for a second?”
Adam nodded as he stood. Before following Mike, he bent over and briefly rested his hand on Jane’s shoulder, and his thumb brushed across her collarbone as he spoke next to her ear. “I’ll be right back.”
“ ’Kay,” she barely squeaked out, what with all the internal swooning she was doing. His gravelly voice and tantalizing touch vibrated through her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
All night, every time he’d been pulled away for business, he’d checked in with her, made sure she was okay. Attentive was the name of his game that night, and it was almost more than Jane could bear. He treated her like…a princess. Adam was unintentionally setting a bar so high that she wasn’t even sure a gold-medal Olympic pole vaulter could clear it.
No man had ever shown her this kind of attention which was fully a reflection of her poor choice in men. She took responsibility for the fact that, in every relationship she’d ever been in, she’d settled.
With each of the men she’d had significant relationships with, she’d seen things, even early on, that had made her more than pause—they’d stopped her dead in her tracks. But she was a world-class benefit-of-the-doubt giver. She could explain away almost any behavior…and she had.
With Disaster #1, she’d told herself that the only reason he was more interested in video games and hanging out with his friends than he was in her was because he was young. She’d met Peter during their freshman year of college and dated him until senior year.
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