Page 44 of Wild For You

He leans into me, his lips coming dangerously close to mine. The intoxicating scent of his aftershave reaches me. I inch just a little bit closer to him, and my lips part on instinct, wanting him, begging his mouth to conquer mine.

Our eyes connect, and something ferocious, like a hunger, passes between us.

“I lied before,” Cash says slowly. “The pain didn’t wake me. I smelled your cake and wanted to know what you were up to. I wanted to see you.”

“Why?” I croak.

“Because I needed to tell you how beautiful you looked yesterday.” His tone is casual, but his gaze betrays his insatiable lust for me. His eyes are ablaze, undressing me with every glance, scorching my skin. My body begins to tingle in response. He makes me feel chosen, wanted, as though I’m the only woman for him. No man’s ever had this effect on me.

I want to satiate his hunger for me, even if only for a night.

“I didn’t think you would notice,” I whisper.

“I often miss things, mostly because they don’t matter. You’re not one of them.”

My throat goes dry. I want to ignore his remark. He’s my patient. I shouldn’t pay attention to the intimate things he says, and yet I want to know what he means by that.

“What do you—”

His thumb brushes my cheek gently, the gesture cutting me off. “I notice you, Erin. All the time. How could I not?” His eyes pierce into me, cutting through the layers that have been protecting me for years. “I know what you’ve been trying to do.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ve been trying to make me jealous by flirting with my brother. Just so you know, it’s working. I didn’t want you to know last night, but I’m ready to tell you now.”

“You woke up early to confess that you were jealous?” I shake my head, unsure what to make of it. My patients often mistake gratitude for profound love, but they’re never jealous. “Is that why you were so angry yesterday?”

“I wasn’t angry,” Cash says. “I was disappointed that you wanted Ryder, and not me. I was ready to fight for you.”

The thought brings a smile to my face. He can’t possibly mean it, but his stealthy expression betrays his determination. This is not the kind of reaction I ever get from my patients, and it scares the hell out of me.

“I didn’t hook up with your brother,” I say. “I needed a ride to town to go shopping. Given that you’ve locked your car in the garage, Ryder offered. Where else do you think I got the ingredients for this cake?”

“The cake was your idea?”

“Baking a cake for you? Yes. All mine.” I catch his surprised glance and laugh. “Margaret mentioned your fondness for peanut butter cake. As it happens, it’s my favorite, too.”

He eyes me for a moment, trying to decide whether I might be making this up. It’s in that instant that his expression changes. The want in his eyes disappears, and it’s replaced with something else.

He’s cagey.

I can see it in the way he puts some distance—both the physical and emotional kind—by busying himself with the coffee maker.

I don’t know what I did to earn this change in him, but it sobers me up.

Silence fills the air as he prepares the coffee and hands me a cup, his expression grim.

“Why would you be jealous, Cash?” I ask slowly.

“I’m attracted to you.”

His honesty hits me hard. I’ve known it all along, but I didn’t think he’d be so open about it.

“That’s a normal reaction given that—”

His hard glance silences me instantly. “I don’t give a crap about your textbook experience.”

“I thought we settled that with a kiss? You said it would be enough,” I say weakly, fearing his answer.

---