Page 99 of Crazy Thing

“Everything like what?” he challenges.

“The herbs. The pans. The special utensils. The…everything,” I ramble. “Everything I need is at my place.”

“I’ll gladly carry your ‘everything’ over to my place.”

I throw another glance at his big, beautiful mansion. I take a step backward. “Darius, please…”

After a long pause, he exhales heavily. “Fine.” He pivots on his heel, turning in the direction of my mobile home.

“Thank you,” I say, my shoulders loosening with relief. I open the door to let him inside.

He stomps past me, grocery bags in hand. He’sdispleasedand he’s not afraid to let hisdispleasurebe known. “What’s it like having me wrapped around your little finger, Fairy Girl? I bet you love it, don’t you?”

As he sets the bags on the counter, I come up beside him, dropping a kiss on his cheek. “Rather presumptuous of you, assuming that I sit around thinking about you being wrapped around my little finger.” I carefully hang my gorgeous new hat on a hook in my hat collection. “With the way my grumpy boss dominates my every waking hour, I don’t have the time to sit around thinking about boys.”

His open palm finds my butt, giving me a playful smack. “You’re a pain in the ass. You’re lucky you’re so fucking cute.”

Before long, Darius’s grumbling subsides. Then we’re dancing around each other in my tiny kitchen area, preparing dinner together. He grates the carrots while I dice the sweet potatoes. He rinses the salad greens while I sauté the onions. And when our chili is bubbling on the stovetop, he disappears out the door.

As I’m preparing a pitcher of bourbon lemonade, I glance out the window and catch sight of Darius arranging a bunch of large cushions and cozy blankets and battery-operated lanterns on the front lawn.

Moments later, I’m grinning broadly as I step outside with our large bowls of chili in hand.

Darius gallantly slips a pale purple flower from his garden behind my ear. He kisses the tip of my nose. My heart twirls.

“That smells great,” he says, taking the bowls from my hands.

We get comfortable on the grass under the starlight. As we talk and laugh and eat, the air is a tiny bit cool but I don’t mind. The fuzzy blankets and Darius’s adoring smile keep me warm.

He devours his food like a starving man. Then he turns his attention to me. “So why is it you won’t come inside my house?” he asks, taking a sip of his lemonade.

I snap a pita chip in two, dipping it into my chili and refusing to meet his gaze. “I never said that I won’t come inside your house.”

“True. But every time I invite you, you cook up some weak excuse to turn me down.”

I hesitate.

Darius drags a finger along my mouth, wiping up the drop of chili clinging to my bottom lip. He sucks his finger into his mouth and it’s the most sensual sight.

“I’d like very much to spend the night with you, without worrying that one of us is going to fall off the bed or that I’ll roll over and accidentally suffocate you in the middle of the night. And don’t get me started about the back pain I’ve had for the past few days.”

I push myself to laugh and force a joke. “Is that your way of asking for a back massage, mister?”

The gorgeous man shakes his head. “Lucky for me, I have an amazing chiropractor. But it feels sort of ridiculous that we’ve spent the last three nights sharing a tiny couchwhen I have seven huge bedrooms to choose from right across the yard.”

Darius is right and I hate it. I am being silly, sticking to my guns for the heck of it, making things between us more difficult than they need to be.

He inches closer, his voice dropping low. “Come on, Ziggy. I want to spread you out on my bed andfinallyfuck you the way I’ve been fantasizing about.”

A shiver runs through me. I get a flash of Darius and me, together in his bed, making each other feel good.Fuck.

I glance over my shoulder at the house. It looks unreal, beautifully lit up by the spotlights beaming against its regal facade.

“It’s just…I…” I try to craft a logical explanation.

But lying to him isn’t worth it. I decide to tell the truth.

“Your lifestyle reminds me of all the things I was running away from when I left my parents’ house. All the extravagance. The ‘bigness’. My parents are new money rich and they make sure everybody knows it. I never felt comfortable in their world.”

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