ThreeReasonsWhy (2 page)

He stepped into the storeroom and shut the door. She spun
around in time to see him turning the lock.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, pixie, the way I see it, you and I have some
unfinished business to attend to and I aim to see that you stay in place while
we do it.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” A blush covered
her cheeks. She knew exactly what he was referring to. He hadn’t been the only
one
celebrating
under the mistletoe, and it was time Jill understood
exactly what that kiss meant to him.

“Yes, you do.” He inched closer as she tried to back away
from him. He couldn’t help but grin when she hit the shelf and realized she was
truly trapped.

“I see you got your cast off.” Obviously she was attempting
to dissuade him from his pursuit.

“Yep. Two legs now. All the better to chase you with, my
dear.”

She rolled her eyes. “And your ribs? Your wrist?”

“All healed. Two hands.” He raised his palms. “All the
better to catch you with.”

“Wes.” Her breathing was labored, but he wasn’t in the mood
to be lenient. Ever since their first kiss on Christmas day, she had avoided
him like the plague, and now he was going to finish what they’d started.

He continued forward until their bodies were only a few
inches apart. He reached down and grasped her small waist, pulling her toward
him until every part of them connected.

“You’ve been a very hard girl to capture.” His lips
descended toward her cherry-red ones.

“I have?”

He was finished talking. Claiming her mouth, he laid waste
to her lips and tongue, drinking in every bit of her sweet breath. He was
thrilled when she returned his heated kiss with an even hotter one of her own.
She gripped his hair so tightly, he sucked in a breath at the pain she produced
while pulling him closer. Sex with her would be an adventure. She was
passionate and not shy about expressing it.

“Easy, pixie,” he murmured. “We’ve got all the time in the
world.”

She shoved him away.

“Damn you, Wes Robson. How dare you come in here and attack
me like this. I have work to do.”

“Attack you?” He chuckled as she struggled to catch her
breath. He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. “Sweetheart, I’m
surprised I’m not completely bald after that so-called attack of
mine
.”

He took a step back to study her flushed, annoyed face. It
was the same look she got every time he’d tried to get close to her since the
holidays. She would offer her friendship freely but the second he tried to
press for more, she pulled away, hissing and clawing at him like a cornered
cat. He simply couldn’t understand her continued refusal. “Why are you fighting
this, Jill? Why can’t you admit you feel this thing between us as much as I
do?”

“What thing?” She tried to pass him to get to the doorway.
When he refused to budge, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I’m not
kidding, Wes. I have a shitload of work to do.”

“I just saw Cheryl and she assured me the lunch hour was
over. I have no doubt she’s finished cleaning and has already locked up for the
afternoon.” He glanced at his watch. “That means we have two hours until you
reopen. Plenty of time for what I have in mind.”

“Two hours is plenty of time? Pity. I’d have thought you had
more stamina.”

He laughed, relieved to see her fighting with him again. “I
was plotting a quickie since you’re so busy. If you’d prefer something longer…”
He wiggled his eyebrows and let her fill in the rest.

“God. Spare me. I’m busy,” she insisted. “And I have no idea
what’s gotten into you, but we have nothing, no
thing
to discuss.” As
she said the word
thing
, she made quotation marks in the air with her
fingers.

“Is that right? That’s funny, because I think you know
exactly what I’m referring to, pixie, because it’s that
thing
that’s
making you run from me.” He repeated her finger gesture.

“Stop calling me pixie. If you think you’re so smart, say
what you have to say and get the hell out.”

He ran the back of his hand lightly down her cheek and tried
not to grin at her slight shudder. “I’m talking about the
thing
that
makes it impossible for us to keep our hands off each other. The
thing
that makes me think about you all hours of the day and night, desperate to
strip those clothes off your body. The
thing
that makes me want to tie
you to my bed and never let you loose.” As he spoke, he watched the effect his
words were having.

She wasn’t as unaffected as she tried to pretend. The tight
buds of her nipples poked through her T-shirt, and the breathing she had gotten
under control after their kiss was suddenly labored again.

“Why can’t you just admit that you want me too, Jilly?” He
flashed her a charming grin, the one most women couldn’t resist.

“Ha!” Her laugh was forced, and he was annoyed by the return
of her inexplicable defensiveness. What the hell was going on with her? They
were friends, and he knew without a doubt the woman wanted him just as much as
he wanted her.

Her tone, when she spoke, was light and easy. Her words,
however, were not. “Wes, your conceit is only surpassed by your arrogance. You
think you can flash those dimples at any woman and she’ll fall down drooling at
your feet. Well, I have news for you. I’m immune to your charms. I’m not the
slightest bit interested in anything you might have to offer, so if you will
kindly step aside…”

“No.” He crossed his arms. “Not this time. You and I are
going to settle this once and for all. I would like to know why in the hell you
run from me like I’m Satan incarnate every time I come around. I want to get
closer to you, Jill, and I don’t mean in this goddamn friendship trap you’re
hell-bent on maintaining. Damn it, woman, give me one good reason why you think
we can’t make a relationship work.” He sucked in a breath, cursing his anger.
He hadn’t meant to lay it all on the line quite like this, but she had a habit
of pushing all his buttons.

She gave him a grin. “Oh no, Wes, I won’t give you just one
reason. I’ll give you three. Three reasons why this thing…” She paused as if
unsure what to call their undeniable attraction. “Three reasons why you and I
could never be more than friends.”

Obviously, she’d given some serious thought to her denial of
his suit and was now ready to lay all her cards on the table. Unwilling to let
her get the upper hand, he took a couple steps back as a peace offering to
encourage her. Then he raised his eyebrows and gestured for her to proceed.

“Number one, we are like oil and water. We fight all the
time.”

He waited for her to elaborate, but she simply looked at him
as if her words were all the explanation needed. “That’s number one?” His voice
was laced with disbelief. “That’s it?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Isn’t that enough? Wes, you have
to admit we get on each other’s nerves more than the average couple.”

“Jill, we don’t fight. I don’t think you and I have ever had
one serious argument the entire time we’ve known each other. We bicker, we pick
on each other, we spar, but all of that is in good fun. It’s just the nature of
our friendship. You’ve never done anything that’s really angered me and I have
a sense that, in truth, our arguments—should we pursue a relationship—would be
few and far between.”

“Oh.” Her eyebrows creased as she considered his remarks.

“Besides, pixie, think how much fun we’d have making up
after one of our little disagreements.” Leaning forward, he captured her hand
in his and brought it to his lips. She watched, her face flushed, as he placed
a soft kiss on her knuckles before turning her hand over and running his tongue
suggestively across her palm.

She pulled her hand back. “Stop distracting me.”

He struggled to look chagrined. “Sorry to interrupt. You
were about to give me two more reasons, I believe, as to why you and I
shouldn’t become lovers.”

“That’s right and that actually leads me to my next
argument.” Her face became more composed and he braced himself. “I’m not in the
slightest bit attracted to you.”

He laughed—loudly. Her words were such a blatant lie he
didn’t even pretend to fall for them. “Is that right?” He reached down and
gripped her hips tightly. Pulling her closer, he let her feel the erection that
was fighting to escape its denim cage.

Jill’s eyes drifted shut and for just a moment, she pushed
against him. Then her gaze lifted to his face. “All that proves is you’re
attracted to
me
. We already knew that.” She gave him a cocky grin that
made him smile.

He lifted his hand and tweaked her tight nipple. She gasped
at his unexpected attack. “You go to hell for lying, Jill,” he teased. “Should
I dip my fingers into your panties to see just how big your lie is? How wet are
you?”

Jill was nothing if not resilient. “I was fantasizing about
Gerard Butler when you walked in. Needless to say, I’m soaked. But that doesn’t
mean I’m going to bend over for the first guy who walks by with a hard-on.”

“So that kiss at Christmas meant nothing?” He refused to
accept her second reason. He knew she was interested, knew she was as hot for
him as he was for her. It simply made no sense for her to deny it.

“It meant we were under the mistletoe and you were laid up
in a wheelchair over the holidays. Consider it a gift.”

“You expect me to believe it was a sympathy kiss?”

“Well, it probably started out that way. I’m not going to
lie to you, Wes. You’re a pretty decent kisser. Let’s just say it was a gift
that kept giving…for a few minutes.”

“Thirty,” he amended. They’d made out like a couple of
teenagers in the backseat of a car for half an hour before Rick and Kate
returned to the living room.

“Wow. What’d you do? Put a stopwatch on us?”

“I’m observant. And I observed while we were kissing that
you’re totally hot for me.”

“It was just a kiss.”

He shook his head. “No. It wasn’t. Do you want me to say it,
Jill? I lust after you. And I’m not talking about some meek, mild lust, but a
hot, heart-pounding, rock-hard-cock kind of lusting. I’m pretty sure if we
explored that lust a bit we’d set the town on fire. And the attraction is
definitely mutual.”

She rolled her eyes and he struggled not to laugh. No other
woman on earth kept his feet so firmly on the ground. “Fine, Wes. You’re
probably right. We’d burn down the house, but we’re never going to let it go
that far. It wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because it wouldn’t lead to anything.”

“I’m pretty fucking sure it would lead to a ton of orgasms
for each of us.”

“Yeah.” She paused, and Wes suspected they were finally
going to get down to the heart of the matter. Her first two reasons—weak
excuses at best—had been a ruse. “Actually, that leads me to my final reason.”

He crossed his arms and struggled not to gloat. If her last
reason was as lame as the first two, he had nothing to worry about.

“I know what you’re looking for, Wes, and I can’t go there.
I don’t want a relationship. At all.”

That
caught him unaware. “I’m sorry?” he said, unsure
he’d heard her correctly.

“I’m thirty-three years old and perfectly content with my
life. I’ve just now gotten to a place where I’m genuinely happy. Upsetting that
status quo isn’t something I’m interested in attempting.”

“You don’t intend to date? Ever?” He thought back to what he
knew about Jill. He and Rick had moved to Madison nearly five years ago and
Jill had been the first friend they’d made. As he considered her words, he
realized that while she went out occasionally with different guys and indulged
in infrequent hook-ups with Seth Johnson, she’d never dated anyone seriously.

She narrowed her eyes, glaring. “Don’t look at me like
that.”

“Like what?”

“I tell people I don’t want a boyfriend and suddenly they’re
eyeballing me like I’m a lesbian. Why is it so hard to believe that a woman
might not want to tie herself to a man?”

“I don’t think it’s that hard to believe. I just don’t
understand why you’re so opposed to a relationship.”

“I’m not against dating in general,” she corrected. “The
problem is dating can lead to marriage and I’m definitely not putting my neck
in that noose.”

“I’m not asking to marry you, Jill. I’m just asking for a
date.”

She held her hands out. “Sorry. Not interested in dating
you. I like my life the way it is. What can I say? I’m old and set in my ways.”

Wes narrowed his eyes. “Thirty-three is hardly old.”

“It’s old enough for me to have gotten to a nice place in my
life. I’m not looking for complications. If you were interested in dating
casually, I’d be your girl, but I know you, Wes. You’re a romantic at heart.
You’re looking for Miss Right, and I’m not her.”

“I think you are.” Wes appreciated her candor, even though
he found it hard to accept. He knew Jill. He’d never met a woman who was more
comfortable in her own skin. He also knew she was being completely sincere and
honest, but there was a difference between contentment and genuine happiness.
He intended to show it to her.

She reached up on tiptoe to place a quick, friendly kiss on
his cheek. “I know all about that dominant streak you try to hide. You like to
think you’re an evolved man, and in some ways you are. But I’ve seen glimpses
of your true spirit as well—the man compelled to protect, to shelter. You’re
used to calling the shots because you’ve spent a great deal of your adult life
doing just that. I call my own shots. Surely you can understand that.”

“I don’t want to change you, Jill, and I don’t want to take
over your life. I just want to be included in your days. I want to be a part of
your pleasures.”

She looked at him and he thought he saw a spark of longing
before she shut it down again. She’d definitely lied about not wanting him.
Unfortunately, she was stubborn as shit when she set her mind to something.
He’d have to work overtime to convince her to let him into her life.