by Nelson, Cara
“I like you.”
She’d blurted out the words like she was pulling a thorn out of her hand. For a few minutes, he simply stared into her eyes, sure that he’d misunderstood her. What was going on in that wicked mind of hers? “Yeah,” he said drawing the word out. “I also like you. We wouldn’t be friends if we didn’t like each other.”
“Oh God! I can’t believe I am saying this.” She put a hand over her eyes and hopped a few times, her blond hair doing a crazy dance around her head. Standing still again, she ran both hands through her hair, smoothing it back. “I like, like you. As in like not as a friend…but as something more. Of course, I wouldn’t be saying all this if Sue hadn’t put it in my head this afternoon. And if I wasn’t feeling so lost right now. But here you are helping me in every way possible…and I have never once told you how I feel about you.”
“You like me?” He backed up a step. “What the hell did that mean? And…you wouldn’t be saying this if Sue hadn’t said something? Are you stoned?”
She gave a laugh. “I wish. I just thought you should know I’ve had a slight crush on you for God knows how many years. Since forever, I think. But it doesn’t mean anything. Not that anything can ever happen between us. Or will.” She rolled her eyes. “And it wouldn’t work anyway. As a couple, we’d be terrible. I can just see it.” Her voice was breathless and her words tumbled out so fast she was barely breathing. “You’re so not my type, and I am really not the ditzy kind of hot bimbo you go for…but with everything that’s happened …I just felt compelled to share my feelings.” She took a deep breath. “There! I said it.”
Sure he was losing his mind, or maybe she was, Trent rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Huh?”
“You don’t have to say anything. We’ll just erase this conversation.”
Trent needed to sit down. He stumbled to the kitchen table and perched on the edge. “Did I just miss something here?”
She joined him, perching on the table next to him. “I think it’s shock.” She snapped her fingers. “Presto—this never happened.”
He shifted so he could face her. “You like me…like a boyfriend kind of like me?”
“Can’t we forget I said all these crazy things? Let’s just move back to the part where you were telling me how you were going to clear my name?”
For a full minute, he stared into her eyes. His pulse kicked up and his breath caught in his throat. He leaned closer. She didn’t move back, so he closed the distance until his mouth hovered over hers. She still didn’t move. He touched his lips to hers, a soft press. She gave a small moan and parted her lips. He dove in. She tasted of plum sauce and ginger. She tasted of heaven. He pressed in for more—more of her, more of her warmth, more of the passion he could taste. Her lips moved against his, soft and seeking. He wanted more of her. He wanted all of her.
Reaching up, she pressed a hand on his chest. And then she shoved—hard. Trent fell back. He licked his lips and grinned. “That was good. Don’t know if it’s boyfriend-girlfriend quality, but—”
She punched him again and stood. “You are such a heel! We’re friends.”
He stood. “But you just said that—?”
“What I said was that we’d be a disaster!” She waved her arms in the air and jabbed him in the chest with one finger. “It’s not as if the kiss meant anything to you. And I can bet…”
He clamped a hand on her mouth. “Calm down! It’s my turn to talk.” When he removed his hand, she folded her arms over her chest. “So talk.”
“I’ve always liked you, Tori. Always.”
“Which is why you asked me to the school dance—oh, wait…you didn’t!”
“Like you’d have gone with me?”
“I might have.”
“When—after you stopped laughing your ass off at me?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve always had a girlfriend hanging around. You never showed any interest in me.”
“Hey! Your dad made it clear you were off-limits to me, and other girls were willing and available.” He spread his arms wide. “I never claimed to be celibate. But, given a choice, yeah, you could have been on top of the list. Always Tori! Right on top!”
She opened her mouth, closed it, and took a step back. “No. No. No.”
“You’re the one who just opened this door, Tori. Let’s just walk through and see where it leads. Come on. You can’t always plan stuff in life. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.”
“That’s what silly people say when they don’t know what they want or how to get it. I know I want more than a quick fling. Are you telling me you’re ready to grow up and settle down?”
Trent couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of his throat. She glared at him but he shook his head. “That sounds so much just like you. Plans, fully mapped out routes, paths to make things work—how is that doing, Tori? Fate led us to this. Who am I to fight it?” Grabbing her hand, he pulled her forward. For an instant, he gazed into her panicked eyes. God, she was beautiful! That spun-gold hair, those endless deep-blue eyes, those sweet pink lips—he’d dreamt about this moment often enough, but had never allowed himself to act on any impulses. Not with her.
But maybe…
Bending over her, he caught her lips with his again. This time, he kept the kiss soft, didn’t let it spiral into a hot flame the way it had before. He wanted to lure her in, slow and sure. She had her own moves. She melted against him, all those curves pressing into him. She put her arms around his neck, and he lost control. She swept her tongue into his mouth and she tangled with him in an erotic dance. Heat coursed through his veins. Her fingers teased the fine hair on the back of his neck. He brought his hands down to her hips and molded his fingers around her curves. Trailing a line of kisses down her throat, he wondered how long it would take to get her out of her sweats. She leaned back and he slipped his fingers under the waistband of her pants.
She stopped moving. Trent stopped, too. Pulling back, he stared into her eyes—dark now with desire and something else. Something he didn’t want to think could be anger.
With deliberate care, she stepped back. He let his hands fall away from her. She swiped a hand over her lips as if to wipe away his taste. “This is not happening.”
“Come on, Tori!”
She pointed a finger at him. “I am not one of those ditzy girls who swoons at your feet after hearing that deep, sexy voice of yours.”
He grinned. “You think my voice is sexy?”
“That doesn’t mean a thing. You’re never going to change.”
“Maybe I just need the right motivation?” He didn’t want to mess this up. Victoria mattered. She was important. He didn’t want to do anything to ruin the friendship they already had.
Her eyes filled suddenly. She folded her arms and turned away, and he realized just how on edge she had to be right now. Crap—and here he was trying to take advantage of him. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, but that only reminded him how good those little, secret touches of hers had felt.
Dropping his hands, he shook his head. Hell! She could tell him to do anything, and he’d do it. And he’d rather shoot himself than put tears into her eyes. She’d pulled the ultimate female weapon on him, but he knew she didn’t use it like that. Which made it all the more significant. He caught a small tremor in her voice when she said, “Trent, I don’t want to destroy our friendship.”
“Nothing will destroy that. We’re solid.”
“Yes, we are.” She glanced at him... “And I want us to remain that way. I…it’s…I had a big shock today. My brain is addled. I don’t know…I’m reaching for comfort and you happen to be here, and I don’t want to use you like that. I think I need to be alone.”
Anger rippled in his gut. “This isn’t—you’re not just in shock. And what are you trying to do—pull me one way and then another on command send me away?” He stared at her, willing her to fight back. Come on, Tori!
Instead, she stared at him, eyes wide and dark, an
d he saw something that shook him. She was frightened. His Tori—the girl who’d taught him to shoot when she’d ‘borrowed’ her dad’s side arm, the woman who’d told him she was on a quest for excellence—looked scared. Of what? Him? Or maybe of losing him along with the rest of her life.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “You should go.”
He stepped closer so that she would have to open her eyes and look at him. “I have always liked you, Tori. There has never been a moment when I haven’t thought…wished—“
She put her fingers on his lips. “Now you need to shut up. We’re going to push and then we’re going to be sorry. And you’ve always been bad at looking ahead—so let me do that for both of us.”
He took her hand, kissed her fingers and pulled them away from his mouth. But he kept hold of her hand. He needed that connection to her right now. “This particular slinky cat is out of the bag, and we can’t put her back in without getting our eyes clawed out.”
“You and your metaphors.” She smiled. Victoria pulled her hand away, but she touched his bare forearm with one fingertip as if she couldn’t stop touching him, either. “Even if I said I was attracted to you or that I wished we could be together, we both know it wouldn’t work in the long run. We’d drive each other crazy. Our differences would wedge us apart. We’d have a nasty break up. We wouldn’t talk for months—or forever. And I won’t lose you as a friend.”
He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Opposite attract.”
“That’s what Sue said. And look where that’s gotten me!”
“You know, you look gorgeous when you’re in a huff. And I have to thank Sue next time I see her.”
She shook her head. He longed to put his fingers into those silky strands, to inhale her sweet scent. But she’d made it clear this wasn’t the time.
Pulling her hand away, she made a fist and gave his chest a light punch. “See, you’re making a joke of it already.”
Trent tilted his head. “You’re not getting just how serious I am. The joke would be if we didn’t do something about this.” He gestured between them.
She stepped away and headed into the living room. Trent followed her. Flopping down on the couch, she crossed her arms and looked up at him. “I am not becoming another notch on your belt.”
He pulled back. “Don’t you realize love and lust are two different things? Sure, I’m salivating over the thought of running my hands over that luscious body of yours, but you could never be that.”
She lifted her chin. “I bet you said the same thing to Sin-Cynthia.”
“She’s history, Tori. We broke up two months ago.”
Both her eyebrows lifted. “And Darling Sarah?”
“That was last year!” He spread his hands wide. “Haven’t seen her since.”
“And exotic Jasmine?”
“Way before Sarah. And why are you naming all my ex-girlfriends? What do they have to do with this?”
“And lovely Ria and tiny Tina?” She thumped her bare feet on the rug. “Do you see where I’m going with this?”
“Haven’t got a clue. I have a past and it’s not hidden from anyone. But if I am with you, I’d never look at another woman. You know I mean that. I’ve never been the type to cheat. And I broke up with those girls because none of those relationships ever amounted to much. But I am impressed you remember their names. It’s kind of touching that you’ve been paying attention.”
Standing, she headed for him. He opened his arms wide, thinking she was planning to walk into his arms. She grabbed his shoulder, turned him, and pushed him toward the door. “Your love life has been more than colorful. And I don’t want to be just another shade in your rainbow. Now move. Call me tomorrow and we’ll talk catching bad guy plans.” She opened the door.
He wanted to fight, but he knew when Tori had that set to her jaw and her mouth tugged down on the corners that he wasn’t going to change her mind. He stepped out of the apartment. He might have lost this round, but this was one war still being waged. And he wasn’t going to give up so easy. Turning, he saw her leaning on the door frame.
She gave him a small smile. “That is, if you’re still helping me?”
“Of course I am.”
“Good. See you tomorrow.” She banged the door closed before he could get in another word. Trent scratched his head. What had just happened? Had she told him she liked him, or had she shoved him out like so much unwanted trash? The woman was more than a puzzle. But he couldn’t deny those kisses—no one kissed like that without more than a fire going.
He lifted a hand and pressed it on the door.
He knew this was unlike his usual behavior. But on the other side of that door was Tori—for her, he did the impossible. Which meant, as far as she was concerned, he was willing to take it as slow as she liked. He wasn’t going to give up on nailing her—or on nailing the person who had framed her.
Chapter Five
Trent suffered a restless night. And a worse day. He couldn’t concentrate, and then he got dragged into an afternoon meeting with a new hardware vendor that left him bored and wishing himself anywhere else. Finally, he had to admit to the truth—he wanted Victoria in his bed. But was she right? Would they have great sex and butt heads over everything else? Would they end up trashing their friendship in exchange for satisfying their urges? He had to admit that what she’d said had shaken him—but those kisses. Oh, man could that woman kiss. He couldn’t walk away from that. But where did that leave them?
Dammit, he should have done a better job of seducing her. But how did you get a woman you’d known all your life in bed without a few laughs along the way? He knew he’d bungled his chance with her last night.
He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
After he got off work, he texted her to come over to his place for dinner. When the doorbell rang, he headed over to open it. He glanced around his apartment. He’d picked up the tech books and had vacuumed—twice. He’d also dusted, showered, and put on a fresh white shirt and clean jeans. Hell, he’d even shaved for her. After taking a deep breath, he plastered on a smile and opened the door.
Victoria smiled and lifted plastic bag. “Hey. I got Indian. Hope you’re up for spicy curries.”
Seeing her, his breath hitched in his throat. Tight blue jeans hugged her legs. A white sleeveless top gave a glimpse of her cleavage and showed off her trim waist. She’d done something with her hair—pulled it up into a style that left her looking young. The red eyes were gone, but she still had that haunted and hunted look her eyes. And she looked good enough to eat with a spoon—a saying left over from his dad. Given everything that had happened between them yesterday, he’d expected her to be wary or uncomfortable, but she seemed relaxed.
Resisting the urge to pull her into his arms and steal a few kisses while he could, he stepped back. “Sounds great.”
Pulling off her shoes, she left her loafers beside his running shoes. He’d adopted the habit years ago when his family had been in Japan—that was before his father’s company had moved the family to Kuwait and he’d met Victoria. Heading for the kitchen, she put the bag on the kitchen counter, glanced around and wrinkled her nose. “It amazes me how you keep your apartment so clean. I could probably eat off the floor.”
“I wouldn’t advise it.” He was a stickler for cleanliness. Moving so much as a kid—his father had worked for an oil company, on an exploration team—he’d learned to pack light, don’t make many friends, and keep everything well organized. One bad move had taught him that if he didn’t have his stuff together, his stuff didn’t come with him. It was one area where he excelled and in which Victoria was dismal—and he took a secret pride in that. He knew she tended to be a total pack rat when it came to hanging onto stuff—a surprise given her military dad, but then she’d always been daddy’s princess. He pulled a sparkling water from the fridge. “I am not totally useless.”
She opened the bag and spice filled the kitchen—cumin, turmeric, and peppers. “Ne
ver said you were.” She glanced at him and brushed a strand of hair away from her ear.
Desire curled in his gut. In the soft light of sunset—he hadn’t turned on any lights yet—her eyelashes seemed a long, dark sweep that highlighted her bright eyes. Down boy, Trent told himself. He pressed the cold bottle of sparkling water against his belly. Time to take down the heat in his veins. Opening the fridge again, he pulled out a good chardonnay that he’d already had open. “Take a seat. I’ll serve.”
Victoria drummed her fingers on the counter. “I don’t like this.”
He’d taken out two wine glasses. Now he frowned at the cryptic statement. “The wine? You love Kendal-Jackson.”
“No, this new avatar that you’ve decided to use in front of me. This is not you. Wining and dining me. The romantic mood lighting. We’re not a couple, and you don’t need to indulge me.”
He smiled. She wasn’t as immune as she pretended to be. Was she feeling slightly pressured? God! He hoped so. As far as he was concerned, he couldn’t wait for Victoria to capitulate and fall into his arms so they could figure out if they really had everything going for them. He wasn’t sure how anyone could have known what the future would be—but Victoria had always wanted locked down plans. That just wasn’t reality.
Pouring a glass of wine, he handed it to her. “You might as well enjoy it.”
“I am not getting dragged into this discussion again.”
“What discussion? Did you give some thought to our plan? I have to tell you work kept me away from everything but real work today.”
She slanted him a startled glance, but she sipped her wine. “I spent the day writing down a timeline for my actions for the past two months. It’s amazing how much you don’t forget.”
