“You know that’s not what I meant,” he said quietly.
Yeah, but she’d thought maybe he’d be a good guy and let her change the subject, but she should’ve known better. One thing she knew about him already was that he didn’t let much slide. She stood up, not all that happy to find herself a little wobbly on her feet.
Parker stood, too, and she found herself disconcertingly close to him. He was tall and had a way of moving that made her think of a big cat.
A feral one.
She told herself that he was irritating and not at all sexy, but she was a big, fat liar. Or at least drunk Zoe was. “I’m working on getting myself a life,” she heard herself say. “Learning to bake, going out on dates, not getting burned . . .” Dammit, Zoe, this is why you don’t drink, shut up. “I think I should put myself to bed now,” she said, and turned to leave.
“So the answer’s yes.”
Like a moth to the flame, she turned back. “Yes what?”
“Yes, you’ve been burned.”
His hand came up and cupped her jaw, his long fingers sinking into her hair. “It’s because we’re all assholes,” he said.
“The entire male race?” she asked, meaning to tease, but her voice came out soft and a little shaky.
“Every last one of us.” His gaze dropped to her mouth as the pad of his thumb gently rasped over her lower lip. “Remember that on this new lease on life you’re going for.”
Since she doubted she could speak, she nodded. And then, before she could do something really dumb, like let the vodka talk her into kissing him, she backed away, turned, and headed up the stairs.
At the top, she moved to her bedroom door, looked into the cold, empty room, and then turned back and . . . tripped over Oreo, who’d followed her. “That’s it,” she said. “There’re too many men in this house.” She crouched low to love up on the sweet, sleepy dog. “And one of you is nosy, mysterious, and smarter than the average bear, yes he is.”
Had she been burned by a man?
Hell yes. Not that she was going to talk about that.
Ever.
“We’re not going to like him,” she whispered nose to nose with Oreo. “You hear me? No more melting over him, either of us. I’d ask you to shake on it but you don’t have opposable thumbs.”
“Would you like me to shake on it?” came the low, amused male voice behind her.
She grimaced to herself and rose, turning to face Parker. “Okay, new rule. Wear a bell or stop sneaking up on me.”
He smiled easily. “You’ve got a lot of rules. You should know, I’m not much of a rule follower.”
“Try real hard,” she suggested.
“I will if you will.”
She stared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean? You have rules for me?”
“Only one. And it’s easy,” he said. “No W’s.”
“W’s?” she repeated.
“We’re coexisting here in this house for the duration, right?” he asked.
“Right,” she said slowly.
“So let’s do just that, in the moment,” he said. “No wondering, wishing, or worrying.”
She stared at him some more. “I don’t understand.” But she did. She understood exactly even before he stepped into her, before her heart kicked into gear, before he gently pushed her up against the wall and then not-so-gently kissed her.
Heat swamped her because, holy cow, this was not like when she’d sweetly, chastely kissed him on his first day here.
Not. Even. Close.
Of their own accord, her hands slid up his chest and fisted in his shirt to hold on tight for the ride—and it was a ride. A helpless moan clawed its way out of her throat, but just as it was getting good, really really good, Parker broke away.