LEAD ME ON by Julie Ortolon (find a book to read TXT) 📕

He realized she meant it. She really didn’t want anything more from him than sex. The thought should have put him at ease. Instead, he felt oddly perturbed. Taking up his coffee, he studied her over the rim. “Okay, you asked me a question, now it’s my turn.”

Her smile vanished. “Oh?”

“Last night when you said you were a lot out of practice, what exactly did you mean?”

She looked away. “Just that I haven’t... been with anyone for a while.”

“Define ‘a while.’ ”

“A while. A long time.”

“I’m looking for a figure here. One year? Two?”

Her chin came up in a regal gesture. “I thought we weren’t supposed to ask personal questions.”

“So I’m breaking one of the rules. Sue me. But first answer the question.”

She gave him a mutinous stare. “How long has it been for you?”

She clearly didn’t expect him to answer. Which would let her off the hook. Damn. He took a sip of coffee. “Two years. And before that it was off and on, with increasingly long periods of off.”

“Why increasingly long periods?”

He narrowed his eyes, debating whether or not to answer, but the more questions he answered, the more she’d have to. And maybe those answers would help him unravel the mystery of her. “The last woman I dated was a pharmaceutical sales rep from Baton Rouge. Divorced, two kids, constantly on the road. Her career and family came first. Just as my career has always come first for me. However, we both enjoyed movies, live music, and Cajun food, so she’d call me up whenever she was in New Orleans. What we had was friendly and convenient. Nothing more.”

“So, what happened? Why’d it end?”

“The last time I saw Kelly, all we did was go to dinner where she told me she’d met someone. Even though she’d sworn to me a million times she never wanted to remarry, she had high hopes the relationship would become serious. Personally, I’ve never understood how people can change their minds about something like that, but I wished her well and haven’t heard from her since.”

A frown line formed between Allison’s brows. “Did it hurt? For her to end things?”

“Not at all,” he lied. The truth was, Kelly’s decision had cut his ego right to the bone. Not that he blamed her. He couldn’t give women the emotional sharing they seemed to want, and he knew it. “I miss her company whenever there’s a movie I want to see, but other than that, I really do hope she’s happy.”

Allison nodded as she digested that.

“Okay, your turn,” he said. “How long’s it been and who was he?”

She folded her hands in her lap and stared at them for several seconds. “Ten years. And the details are none of your business.”

“Ten years?” His mind raced. “How old are you?”

“I told you, it’s none of—”

“How old?” he demanded.

That chin of hers went up again. “Twenty-six.”

“You haven’t had sex since you were sixteen!” He nearly sloshed coffee all over his lap.

“It’s none of your business.” She started tidying dishes. “And I don’t want to talk about it.”

Scott remembered details from last night, her nervousness and uncertainty. “He was the only one, too, wasn’t he?”

She continued straightening the coffee table.

“I take it you were in love.”

She glared at him.

“Okay.” He held up his hand. “I won’t press for all the gory details, I just want to know if you were in love with the kid. I assume he was a kid.”

“He was a spoiled little rich boy carving notches in his bedpost. And yes, I thought I was in love. Except the boy I loved was an illusion.”

“How long did you date him before you figured that out?”

“Four months,” she answered through gritted teeth, her gray eyes flashing.

“Have you dated anyone since?”

“No.”

“At all?”

“No!”

“God, no wonder you were desperate to have sex.” He regretted the words the instant they left his mouth. She rose and crossed to the window, staring outside with her arms wrapped about her stomach.

With a sigh, he rose as well and came up cautiously behind her. “I’m sorry.”

“Why? It’s the truth. I’m desperate and pathetic. You’re the first man in ten years who has even wanted to take me to bed.”

“I doubt that.”

“It’s true.” She wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of the robe.

“No it’s not. It’s impossible.” He laid his hands on her shoulders and felt her stiffen. “You just intimidate men, is all.”

She snorted. “Oh yes, I’m so intimidating.”

“If you only knew.” He massaged her shoulders, to help her relax as he remembered first meeting her. The primness of her manner had warned him to keep his distance. Now he knew part of that stiffness came from old hurt, magnified through years of perceived rejection. How ironic that the shield she used to protect herself only compounded her pain. He bent his head to nuzzle her hair. “You’re so beautiful, the shy ones probably assume you’d turn them down flat, and you’re way too sweet for the selfish bastards of the world. Except me, apparently.” He kissed her temple. “Which proves I have even fewer scruples than I thought.”

“You’re not that bad.”

“Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, but I have to disagree.” He turned her and gathered her against him. “I had no business bringing you here. You should be dating some nice guy who’ll take you on picnics and long walks on the beach, then get down on one knee and beg you to marry him so he can spend the rest of his life giving you babies and making you happy.”

“No!” To his surprise, she buried her face against his chest. “I told you, I don’t care about that. I’m just tired of feeling unwanted.”

“Hey, hey.” Tipping up her chin, he brushed the tears from her cheek with his thumb. “You are anything but that.”

“Prove it.” She looked at him with translucent eyes. “Make me feel wanted.”

An alarm sounded inside his head, warning him he was entering dangerous waters. He should turn back and swim like