by Rita Sawyer
“What point would that be?” Gage hadn’t planned on pushing her into a confrontation, but her blasé attitude brought out the bastard in him.
“That since we’ve both honored our parts of the bargain, there’s no reason for us to continue to see each other.” She tossed the ball from hand to hand, still not looking at him.
“So sleeping with me was just part of the bargain?” he asked, and she snapped her head in his direction.
Hell yeah, baby. Her glare told him she didn’t like him implying the sex between them meant nothing. He’d finally found a weapon he didn’t even know he’d had in his arsenal. Gage had always assumed women could separate sex and emotions, but maybe he was wrong. God, he hoped so.
“You’re being an asshole.” She headed for the gate.
“Maybe, but I deserve to know the truth.” He wiped the smile off his face as she turned back to him.
“I had sex with you because it was something we both wanted.” Her voice never wavered, not that he expected her to show a kink in her armor just yet.
“Fine. For now we’ll put the incomparable sex aside. There are other reasons for us to be together and you know it.” He slowly closed the distance between them, not wanting her to run.
“I can’t think of any.” Her shrug seemed a little forced, but her voice had risen quite a bit.
He got so close she had to tilt her head back to look at him, but he was pleased she didn’t step back. “How about the fact that I’ve fallen in love with you? Not infatuation, but love.”
“You haven’t.” Her whole body quivered.
“I have. Since you seem so opposed to the idea, I won’t bother you again, but first I need to do this.” Gage pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his.
Her lips parted under his. As their tongues stroke each other it drove the heat within him higher. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, pressing her against him. His cock lurched in response. Dianne’s fingers fisted in his hair. She held his mouth to hers. No woman could kiss a man like this without some damn strong emotions behind it. Knowing he could lose himself in a kiss like this, he forced himself to pull back.
“I really do love you,” he whispered as he let her go.
He turned to leave, surprised to see they had drawn a crowd. Gage needed to get the hell out of there. Never seeing her again wasn’t an option, but he hoped he managed to find a way to ignore the way she made him feel. He reached forward to open the garden gate and felt something hit him in the back hard enough to jerk his shoulder.
* * * *
She drew back her arm and let the tennis ball fly before she even thought about it. His grunt had her lifting her foot to take a step back, but she stopped herself in time. He turned and looked at her with disbelief. His head cocked to the side, as if asking if she’d really just done that. Okay, so it surprised her, too, but he deserved it. Dianne looked past Gage to where their friends all stood gaping at them. Having this conversation in front of an audience sucked.
Admitting she was wrong was going to be hard enough, but with all their friends staring at them, it was going to be even harder. There really wasn’t any other choice. It was either admit she loved him, too, or lose him. After his heartfelt admission, she wasn’t willing to just let him go. Loving someone was a risk, but if they were both willing to take the chance, maybe they could make a go of it.
“Did you have something else you wanted to say?” Anger coated each and every one of his words.
She wanted to scream, so she did. “Yes. You don’t just make a declaration like that and walk away. You… you jerk!”
“Sorry, I didn’t know the etiquette for telling someone you love them when they don’t want to hear it.”
“I never said I didn’t want to hear it.” She took a few steps forward.
He countered, taking a few steps of his own. “From the look on your face you weren’t too pleased.”
She walked right up to him and poked him in the chest. “Shock. I was in total shock, you buffoon.”
“What are you trying to say?” He closed his hand around hers and pressed it to his chest.
She could feel the rapid beating of his heart under her palm. It was almost faster than hers. In a strange way, it was reassuring.
“I’m saying I think I love you, too.” She confessed soft enough that only he could hear.
He smiled. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”
“I love you, too,” she said louder.
“Thank God.” Gage swooped her off her feet and spun her around so he was facing everyone. “She loves me.”
“What are we going to do now?” She sighed as he stood her back on her feet.
“We are going to really get to know each other.” He waggled his eyebrows, and they both laughed as he lowered his mouth to hers.
THE END
WWW.RITASAWYER.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When it comes to writing Rita has always made up stories to entertain her kids. As they grew up she began writing romances to entertain herself. Luckily she has a wonderful supportive family, and friends that are willing to sit there and listen to her ramble on about what her characters have done, or are about to do.
When she’s not totally caught up in getting her characters and scenes fleshed out she can usually be found with her nose stuck in a book, or snuggled up on the couch with her hubby or one of her kids watching a movie. She enjoys spending time with her big noisy family, mostly because they provide her with lots of ideas for her stories. Rita is a proud member of Romance Divas and enjoys visiting the Romantic Times forum.
Also by Rita Sawyer
Brazen Sisters 1: A Brazen Love Worth Fighting For
Brazen Sisters 2: To Unleash a Brazen Desire
Brazen Sisters 3: Stroking a Brazen Lust
Brazen Sisters 4: Uncommonly Brazen
What Are Friends For 1: Doing It Her Way
Available at
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www.SirenPublishing.com
