Page 33 of Possess

This is why she shouldn’t date someone she worked with. When they broke up, because it would happen, how was she going to handle seeing him? Her heart clenched at the thought this might be their last date. She turned to him when he parked. “Thank you for dinner.” Her voice wobbled as she reached for the door handle.

“We’re not through, not by a long shot.” He climbed out, made his way to her side, opened the door, and helped her out of his truck. After grabbing one of the bags of food, he waited while she opened the security door.

“Zeke, I understand.” She put her hand on his forearm when they reached her apartment.

“No, you don’t.” He stared down at her. “Open the door and let me show you the difference between sex for sex’s sake and sensuality.”

“Bossy and arrogant.” Why was her skin tingling from his words? Could it be hope he wasn’t going to walk away? She opened the door and stepped inside. Zeke followed and closed the door behind him. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

“It is. Let me put this in the fridge.” He took the bag of food and went into the kitchen, then he was back. “I want you to look at your living room and describe what you see.”

“Why? You can see it.”

“An exercise.”

Allyson shrugged her shoulders and glanced around her living room. It was nothing special. “There’s a sofa with two side tables, a TV, pictures on the walls, a rug on the floor. It’s small but homey.”

“Is that all you see?”

“Yes.” What did he expect her to say?

“Let me tell you what I see.” He slipped his arms around her waist, bringing her back to rest against his chest. “I see a sofa with a crocheted blanket on the back. I suspect someone you respect made it for you. Lots of silk-covered pillows, which tells me you like the feel of soft luxury. The pictures on the walls. There’s one that’s a heart made out of wood, and through it, you see the ocean. There’s another that is a silhouette of a couple standing at the water’s edge at sunset in each other’s arms. Oh, and the one of a woman wearing a mask. All sensual. It’s not about sex; it’s about emotions.”

Her mouth dropped open. “I bought the pictures because I liked them. And the blanket…” Her gaze was drawn to it. “Dani’s grandmother made that for me.”

“And your bedroom. The purple and blue quilt on the bed, the sheets look soft and inviting. You have more pillows. The walls are painted a soft peach, and don’t think I didn’t notice the small pictures of a rose, a cowboy, the lips, and a couple entwined in each other’s arms.”

Damn, this man was observant. She’d forgotten those pictures were even there. “Why do you think that means I’m sensual rather than sexual?”

“Are you kidding me?” He shook his head. “It’s in the way you walk, even in the way you dress. You pick colors that complement your skin, but also accent your body.”

“What?” She started to pull away, but he tightened his hold on her.

“You don’t do it on purpose. I bet you love the way soft material feels against your skin.”

“I do.” Again the words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them.

“Honey, I don’t know who taught you that a relationship was all about sex, but it isn’t. There is a deep sensuality to you, and it’s going to take the right person to bring it out.”

“And you think that’s you?”

“As arrogant as this is going to sound, yes. Right now, you’re in my arms and not tense but relaxed.”

She was, and she hadn’t even realized it. Allyson was comfortable with Zeke, and there weren’t many men she could say that about. She squirmed in his hold. “Doesn’t mean anything.” Why was she being so stubborn around this? Maybe because she’d seen the way her parents acted when she was growing up, like sex was all there was to life. If Zeke walked, it would hurt much more than anyone she’d dated before. She already knew that.

“It does.” He turned her in his arms. “Who scared you away from your sensuality?”

“Who says I’m scared?” She lifted her chin.

Zeke grinned. “There’s my spunky lady.” He rubbed his nose against hers, and her skin tingled at the contact.

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way…” She wanted to move the conversation in another direction.

“I know there’s more you have yet to reveal,” Zeke said. “I’ll wait, for now.”

“Thank goodness,” she whispered, and he chuckled.

“But you need to understand I am a Dominant, and I’m a member of Wicked Sanctuary.”

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