Page 27 of Tinder Embrace
Her point made, she sipped at her tea.
Waiting.
She studied me, lingering on my eyes, my mouth, my hands, making me feel exposed. The heated invitation in her gaze was clear: she wanted what I wasn’t yet offering. But I was damned close.
Holding her earlier at the fire pit had set me on edge, leaving me wanting nothing more than to make her mine. Slowly eroding my good sense and all of the reasons I shouldn’t indulge. Visions of taking her by the fire had sent a pounding pulse to my groin that was difficult to ignore. I wanted to lick the salty remains of her desire from her skin, plunge into her until we were both satiated, boneless with contentment. Losing myself in her would feel so good, if only it didn’t also make me risk losing my head.
The moment of challenge between us stretched, my pulse swelling beneath my skin, like a second more of her attention, and I'd burst from the chains of my control. Go after what I wanted ruthlessly. Did she have any idea that she was baiting a bear?
I shifted in my seat, as if that would ease the tension. The Sophie I thought I knew would have broken immediately, chattering away about the first thing that came to mind. Her silence made me nervous. Usually, I could count on Sophie to break the ice and set the tone. But the woman in front of me seemed to sense that something bigger was in play.
Did I trust her to accept me as I was, or would she grow frustrated when I screwed up?
Messing up was in my DNA.
My track record spoke for itself.
I gulped my tea, wishing the chamomile could erase my uncomfortable feelings. I drained my cup.
"Speaking of paying for things, I've got to get some sleep, or I'll be paying for it tomorrow. 'Night, Sophie."
I kept my tone gentle, but the disappointment flashing across her face still made me want to call the words back. Sophie was brave. Braver in ways I'd never given her credit for. But I couldn't help my cowardly impulses. They'd kept me safe. Taking a chance on Sophie Dunham would likely lead to disaster. We'd already had more than enough of those for one week.
Chapter 11
Sophie
I wilted in my chair. We'd comesoclose. I sighed. I couldn't make Davis take a chance.
Part of me questioned why I was so eager to put my heart at risk. Then I remembered everything I'd learned about Davis in our short time together. He might not tell me he cared, but he couldn’t help showing it. Every ice pack, every meal, every ride, they all demonstrated he could treasure a woman. And I wanted that woman to beme, darn it.
Breaking through his reserve had started as a challenge. I was used to everyone liking me, and when he didn’t respond to my friendliness, it pushed me to try harder. But the more I got to know Davis, the more I realized that trying to force him to like me would never work. He saw through the chatter and the unrelenting positivity to the insecure woman beneath. And if he fully perceived the real me and didn’t like her? Well, I didn’t know how to deal with that. I deserved a man who wanted all of me, not one who would push me away the first time things got hard or I had an inconvenient need.
Shaking off my reverie, I put my mug in the dishwasher and got ready for bed.
I could hear Davis moving around, only one wall away. It made me feel like a voyeur, wondering what he did when he was alone. Trying to picture it.
He was so closed off, so shut down. I wanted to pry him open like a nut. He was stubborn as fork. Unlikely to change. Telling myself was the only way to stay sane.
I'd tried.
I'd failed.
I wouldn't beg.
If he wasn't into me, I'd move on. Just because I thought he was hot enough to scorch didn't mean he felt even a fraction of the same interest in me.
My shoulders slumped. I snorted. Now who was brooding?
Shaking off the moment of melancholy, I reached for my phone. Digital distraction seemed like a good way to get some distance from my disappointment.
My phone buzzed.
Davis: It's not you. It's me.
I huffed. Sure.
Everything in me wanted to throw my phone against the wall that separated us.
