Page 14 of Not Part of the Plan
“I can be friendly,” she argued. “But I can also recognize your type from a mile away.”
“And what type is that?” he asked, stepping dangerously close to her.
Emma watched as beads of sweat trickled hypnotically over the sinewy curves of his shoulders and down his veined arms.
“The type that sees something shiny, plays with it until he gets bored, and then drops it when the next shiny object comes along.”
“So a cat?” he drawled out, amused.
“Look, let’s just get this out of the way, shall we? I’m not looking for anything—” she waved her hand at his spectacular torso, “that you have to offer.”
“Not even scintillating conversation and foot rubs?” He was teasing her and enjoying himself.
“Nikolai, I’m sure you’re a very good time. I’m just not in the market for a temporary good time. So the sooner you stop wasting your time with the flirting, the sooner we can settle into casual acquaintances.”
His eyes narrowed as he watched her. “I find you fascinating.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “It’s because I said I’m not interested. Believe me, the novelty of my disinterest will wear off soon enough,” she predicted.
“What can I say to make you like me?”
To prove that she could shove him as off-balance as he made her feel, Emma took a step closer. “Tell me you don’t do casual.” She felt a sense of satisfaction when he took a step back. “Tell me you’re looking for something long-term. Tell me you don’t date model after model after model because you’re looking for something real.” She advanced on him until she backed him into the eye-searing lime green wall behind him. “Tell me you’ve decided to pack it all in and move to Blue Moon to find a partner in life that will support you, challenge you, and be there for you day after day.”
She poked him in the chest. “Tell me all that without lying, and I’ll not only like you, I’ll ask you out.”
He opened his mouth, closed it.
“That’s what I thought,” she said, smugly. She felt like she’d won a small victory. At least until his hands lashed out, grabbing her by the shoulders. Nikolai spun her around, and now she was the one with her back to the wall.
“I don’t need to apologize for my life choices,” he told her. Their closeness, his dominance, had Emma’s system zinging. He was tall enough that she had to look way up to deliver her glare.
“I’m not asking you to apologize. I’m trying to illustrate our basic incompatibility,” she said snippily.
“Touché.” He grinned down at her, placing a hand on the wall behind her. “Since we’re putting it all out there, I find your distrust of me oddly fascinating.”
Emma let out a groan. “Let’s connect the dots. You don’t do relationships, right?”
Niko pursed his lips in thought. “I do mutually beneficial casual.”
“Good. Fine. Great,” she shrugged, waving a hand. “Ionlydo relationships.”
“So I’m just supposed to give up?” he frowned.
“Yes!” Emma hadn’t meant to shout the word, but at least the volume seemed to have gotten her point across. “Sorry. But we’ve just expressed our differing points of view and now we—and by we, I meanyou—can start respecting each other’s boundaries.”
The sexy grin that curved his lips sent a warm feeling sliding through her stomach. “Because if I continued to pursue you after you’ve made it very clear that you’re not interested, I’d be a douche.”
“The douche-iest,” she affirmed.
His smile was heart stopping.
“So then we’ll just be friends,” he decided.
“Friends?”
“You know, we’ll talk, we’ll laugh. You won’t throw things at me, and we won’t have sex. It’ll be fun.”
Emma remained skeptical. “In my experience, men and women who are physically attracted to each other never make it as friends.” She realized her misstep immediately and blamed it on his proximity. It was hard to think clearly when over six feet of pure, gorgeous male was looking at her with an underwear-dissolving grin.
