The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [42]
She looked startled. “You think I don’t want—”
Interrupting that thought seemed his safest bet. “I don’t think you know what you want right now. But it surely isn’t to be used.”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Meaning?”
“Meaning I’m human, and I get restless like any other man. But I have a reputation here, and a lot of people look up to me. I have to be very circumspect.”
She stared at him, her expression almost awed that such sanctimonious words had escaped his mouth. He felt like an idiot. “Honey, I’m sorry, but I just can’t—”
She took an appalled step back. “I wasn’t asking you to!”
His mouth quirked again, but he ruthlessly controlled it. “When I get too restless, there are women I know outside of town who feel just as turned off by commitment as I do. They’re content with physical release and no strings.”
Her mouth formed an O.
Feeling aggrieved, he explained, “They’re nice women, who are content with their lives, but they get lonely. The world being what it is, it’s not easy to find someone respectable who isn’t looking for marriage. We suit, and it’s simple and convenient and—”
Her face was bright red. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten into this.
“I see. So you…indulge yourself with these women you don’t really care about. But I don’t fall in that category?”
His teeth clicked together. He wanted to shake her. He wanted to haul her up close and nestle his painful erection against her soft belly. He shook his head, as much for himself as for her. “You most definitely don’t fall into that category. You’re young and confused and scared. You’re not from around here and you don’t know me well enough to know I have no desire to remarry. And that’s why I said I shouldn’t have kissed you.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and took a determined step away. “It won’t happen again, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
She drew a long, considering breath. “I wasn’t worried. Not really. I just wasn’t sure…” She bit her lip and then blurted, “Most of the time you don’t seem to like me very much. You feel responsible for some dumb reason, and you’re kind enough, but…I just wasn’t sure what to think about the kiss.”
She obviously had no experience with aroused men, to mistake his personal struggles for dislike. And no sooner did he have that thought than he tried to squelch it. It was dangerous territory and would lead him into more erotic thoughts of what he’d like to show her, and just how much he liked her. Instead of explaining, he said, “I’d like you a whole lot more if you’d stop keeping secrets.”
She got her back up real quick, turning all prickly on him. “We agreed we’d talk in the morning.”
“So we did.” He was more than ready to let it drop before he dug himself in too deep. “Why don’t you head on in.” If she stood there looking at him even a minute more, he was liable to forget his resolve and gather her close and kiss her senseless—despite all the damn assurances he’d just given her. These uncontrollable tendencies had never bothered him before; now he felt on the ragged edge, like a marauder about to break under the restraint. The things he wanted to do to her didn’t bear close scrutiny. “You look ready to drop,” he quickly added, hoping she wouldn’t argue.
Sighing, she turned to go in. “I feel ready to drop.”
Sawyer followed her through the door. The cold air-conditioning was a welcome relief as it washed against his heated skin. It may be evening, but summer in Kentucky meant thick humidity and temperatures in the nineties, sometimes even through the night.
Honey came to an abrupt halt beside the bed and stared at the fresh linens. “Someone changed the bed.”
“I did. I figured you’d want clean sheets.”
She gave him a querulous frown for reasons he couldn’t begin to fathom, then sat on the edge of the mattress and reached for the cat. Until she did so, Sawyer hadn’t realized the cat was back. Her calico coloring