Skyler looked downright bewildered by the question, and Gage wasn’t sure he blamed her. He was throwing off a serious case of mixed signals, yet for the life of him, he couldn’t tell her to go. It had been easy to avoid her when all he had in front of him were words in a text message, but when she was standing right in front of him and looking so damn beautiful?
No amount of willpower in the world could force him to walk away.
After several seconds of silence, Skyler smirked at him. “Isn’t that breaking the sex-only rule you enforced?”
“Yes or no,” he said through clenched teeth.
She rolled her eyes. “You are the master of nonanswers, huh?” But she nodded anyway, her expression brightening. “You know what? Let’s do it. I’ve been dying to see that new Stallone movie but nobody has wanted to go with me. My roommates hate action movies, so I always end up seeing them alone.”
She liked action movies? Oh hell. She really was the woman of his dreams.
Skyler checked her phone, an adorable crease forming in her forehead as she scrolled through the listings. “Hey, it starts in thirty minutes. We can totally make it.”
With that, she took off walking, leaving Gage no choice but to trail after her. He couldn’t help but voice the question on his mind. “You don’t mind going to the movies alone? A lot of people are way too embarrassed to do that.”
Her dark ponytail bounced with each step. “Sometimes I prefer it, actually. And it doesn’t embarrass me at all. I don’t mind being alone.”
“Me neither,” he admitted.
“No, I think you prefer it, too.” A thoughtful note crept in. “Were you a loner growing up?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Naah, I ran with a group of guys. We got into a shit-ton of trouble together.”
“Did you grow up in Boston?”
“Southie, born and raised. You?”
“North End growing up, and then Beacon Hill when my mom remarried.”
“Huh. I didn’t take you for a rich girl.”
“I’m not. My stepfather is.”
They sidestepped a trio of giggling teenage girls and continued along at a brisk pace. Skyler didn’t seem to mind walking, and he appreciated the hell out of that. Some women would balk at the thought of trekking eight blocks to see a movie, but Gage had a feeling nothing fazed Skyler. Ever.
“So you caused trouble as a kid,” she mused. “And then you got older and chose to make a living by fighting.”
He frowned. “You’re doing a master’s in psychology, huh? What, are you conducting a case study on me or something?”
“Nope. This is for my own private database. I’m trying to make sense of you.”
“Don’t bother. I’m not very complicated. What you see is what you get.”
“No, I don’t think so at all.” She came to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk and placed her hand on his chest. “Tell me the truth—do you like me?”
With those big eyes peering up at him and her soft hand resting between his pecs, he couldn’t do anything but offer a wordless nod.
“Say it,” she murmured.
“I—” His voice was so gravelly he had to clear his throat. “I like you.”
Her lips curved in pleasure. “Then why were you avoiding me?”
“Because…” He swore softly. “I spent the night at your place.”
“Yeah, and?”
“It’s like you said before—I broke my own rule.” Something akin to helplessness jammed in his chest. “Screwing is one thing. I know it. I’m good at it. But cuddling and whispering in bed? Whole other story.”
He knew he sounded like an ass, but he’d set ground rules for a reason. He didn’t want Skyler to get too attached. He didn’t want to get too attached.
He’d hoped that enforcing a strict sex-only policy would help him keep a distance, but that night at Skyler’s place…he’d forgotten all about it. Falling asleep tucked against her warm body had felt nice. Too damn nice.
“My friends told me today that there’s no such thing as just sex.” She pursed her lips. “I think they might be right. I mean, there’s going to be moments when our man bits and lady bits aren’t touching—”
He barked out a laugh.
“—which means we’re bound to engage in some conversation. But that doesn’t make things serious, though.” Her hand remained on his chest, delicate fingers carelessly stroking him over his shirt.
Gage’s hand traveled up and curled over hers, gently stroking her knuckles. “I don’t do relationships, Skyler. I’m not good at them.”
“Why do you think that?”
He swallowed. “Because I don’t talk, I don’t share my feelings, I’m not affectionate—I could probably list a dozen more things, but that’s the gist of it.”
“I see. Well. I hate to break it to you, big guy, but right now? You’re talking, sharing your feelings, and being affectionate.” She twisted her hand around and laced their fingers together as if to emphasize her point.