ONE NIGHT ONLY

Chapter 8

It was all Philip could do to keep his hands to himself as he followed Rosa, she tempted him that much. The angry sway of her hips in those low-slung jeans tied his belly in knots. The round curve of her butt taunted him until he had to focus on walking straight. The heavy swish of all that wavy black hair as she tossed her head distracted him with need.

Everything about her enticed him and always had. It wasn’t just physical but, man, the physical was killing him right now. He wanted to hold those hips and anchor her to him as she straddled him and pumped, hard and fast, slow and easy and every permutation in between; to bite that bare ass; to sink his fingers into that dark silk as it spread over his lap and she took him in her mouth. His hands shook with the want and his palms were clammy with it.

Stay cool, Anderson, he told himself as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Don’t blow it now when you’ve waited this long.

Looking as though she was determined to be brave while she faced certain doom, Rosa stalked to the vaulted living room, her body stiff. Once there, she selected an overstuffed chair and sat with an apparent iron rod in her spine that wouldn’t let her relax.

Clasping her hands in her lap, she looked up at him with suspicious doe eyes that had been so sultry a few short hours ago. "What’s this proposal?" she demanded.

Ah, yes. He could see where this was going. She planned to listen politely, claim that last night’s kiss had been a mistake, reject any further attempts at seduction and get rid of him as soon as possible. That was her plan.

Too bad she didn’t know that he had a better plan.

Settling on the coffee table in front of her, Philip rested his elbows on his knees and ignored her start of surprise; she’d probably expected him to sit a safe distance away, on the sofa. Not this time, sweetheart.His closeness affected her and that was a good thing seeing as how her closeness damn sure affected him.

Always had.

"I propose that we go out tonight for Valentine’s Day. See what happens."

You’d think he’d suggested a noon skinny-dip at the local pool on the busiest day of summer by the way her face scrunched and flushed with discomfort. "That kiss last night was a mistake. It’s given you the wrong idea. I’m not having sex with you."

She would, and, judging by her passionate reaction to him last night, it would be sooner rather than later, but now wasn’t the time to get into that. "Who said anything about sex? I’m talking about us spending a little time together. It’s called a date."

"We’re not dating. I’m not dating anyone."

"You dated that knucklehead last night."

"That was different." Immediately she clamped her pouty lips together and looked as though she’d like to bite off her own tongue as punishment for saying something so foolish. Her gaze skittered away and refused to meet his.

Philip’s heart thudded into overdrive. Watching her face and seeing the color rise in her high cheekbones until her brown skin looked sun-kissed, one thing became perfectly and painfully clear: she was petrified. It’d been years since she’d been with a man, and the man she’d chosen had died on her. Better to hide behind meaningless absolutes like I’m not dating anyone than open herself up for any more heartbreak in this lifetime.

And, of course, the chemistry they felt together was explosive and scary.

"Of course it was different. That guy last night was safe. You could never fall in love with someone like him." Philip paused and kept his tone gentle. "I’m not safe, am I, sweetheart?"

Their gazes locked and held for the longest moment of his life. He felt the subtle hitch in her breath and saw the instant that her nipples peaked underneath that thin T-shirt. And his penis reacted, hardening into an ache of awareness until he had to shift his hips and change his position.

"Tell me something, Philip." God, she was drowning him in those brilliant brown eyes. "When did you stop hating me?"

For long seconds he couldn’t speak—couldn’t trust his heart to keep quiet if he opened his mouth. And, of course, he was scared because she had the power to make the sun shine on his face, or to cast him into eternal darkness with her rejection. But now was the moment he’d waited so long for and he wouldn’t let his fears keep him quiet.

He took a deep breath. "Do you really not know how I feel about you? How I’ve always felt?"