Page 14 of Reacher
She covered her mouth for a moment, then glanced around.
“I’m afraid I can’t offer anything to help that. I… uh… all I have is my stuff from my place, and it’s… Huh… Yeah, I have nothing.”
I watched her as she looked around again, her shoulders dropping.
“This isn’t home, Ally. Home is with me, and you know that.”
“It’ll be fine. I’ll uh… I don’t know… put a throw over the sofa. I’ll buy a plant. It’ll be nice.”
I risked getting up from the floor, only wincing slightly.
“No, I meant what I said. Home is with me. You’re coming back with me.”
She was backing away. “Not happening. You can’t… you can’t just use me and then… and anyway, I have to find a job, and… and I have to, Jesus, I have to do something.”
She bit at her lip, but it was trembling.
“Dammit, woman. Will you let me fucking hold you?”
She didn’t move. She just stared at me.
“Why?”
Fucking hell. “Because I want to.” I dragged her into my arms, and pressed her against my chest, sighing slowly, as the tension started to drain from my shoulders.
“Thisis home, Ally. You and me. Come back with me, please.”
She rubbed her face against my chest, a shake of her head.
“I can’t. You think you want me now, but you’ll push me away again. I can’t… I’m not strong enough to be rejected like that again.”
I grabbed her hair, pulling her head back so I could look her in the eye.
“I didn’t fucking reject you, Ally. Where the hell are you getting this shit from?”
She wouldn’t meet my eyes, and that pissed me off.
“So earlier we connected, and now you won’t even fucking look at me? That’s it? When you’re sober, you don’t want me? That’s exactly what I fucking thought.” I released her, and turned to leave. I wasn’t going to force her to be in my presence, if I was someone she could only lower herself to be with if there was enough alcohol in her blood.
“Reacher?” She was following me, but I grabbed the door handle, fully intending to get the fuck out of here, and somehow ride my bike home.
“Don’t worry, woman. You feel how you feel. I’ll stay away from now on.”
I was halfway out the door before she slammed both hands into my back and shoved me, making me stagger a few steps, caught unawares.
“What the fuck?”
“Are you dumb, as well as a total asshole?”
I turned, glaring at her. What the hell was her problem? Had I always been this clueless, or was she just particularly fucking confusing?
“Don’t hold back, darlin’, tell me how you really feel.”
She fixed me with one of those hot-as-fuck fiery glares, and then shocked the shit out of me, by lifting off her top, and tossing it aside. Next, she unclasped her bra, and dropped it, revealing fucking gorgeous tits.
“Woman, what are you doing?” Yeah, it was getting to me, because I fucking wanted her. I wanted her naked, and writhing on my cock.
“I’m trying to show you, dipshit.” She unzipped her jeans, and shoved them down her legs, stepping away from them, before she hooked her fingers into the sides of her skimpy knickers.
