Part 11 (1/2)
He loomed over her. ”I touched your breast. That's all. Your nipples were hard and I saw that and-”
She gasped loudly at his audacity, feeling her face pulse with heat. ”It's cold out here, you a.s.s! My... my...”
”Nipples,” he supplied, smirking at her.
His att.i.tude infuriated her. ”It's because of the cold, certainly not because of you.”
”I know that. I'm not stupid to women's bodies. But the sight made me lose my head a little.” He suddenly looked solemn, and a little confused himself. ”You have very nice b.r.e.a.s.t.s, Carlie.”
Her heart raced in her chest. ”My...my...”
”b.r.e.a.s.t.s!” He stared at her irritably. ”They're called b.r.e.a.s.t.s, dammit.”
”Well, they're none of your business! Keep your opinions to yourself.”
”You're repressed,” he accused, sounding disgusted with her. ”It was no big deal. Forget about it.”
No big deal. The words crushed her. And to call her repressed...that was the same label her husband had applied, though she now knew it wasn't true. She had the same feelings as any other woman, but right now, she wished she didn't. Maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad if the accusation was true. She swallowed, staring at Tyler and his dark expression of irritation. ”I'd sooner forget you, Tyler Ramsey.” And she meant it. ”Go home and leave me alone.”
Carlie turned, finally unlocking her door. She tried to enter, but Tyler stopped her. ”You invited me in.”
”I changed my mind.”
”We need to talk, Carlie. This isn't going to go away.”
”Of course it is. Just as soon as you do.”
”No, it's not.” He took her arm and forced his way into her house.
Carlie refused to close the door. She was trembling inside and felt ready to snap. She was furious, with herself, with Tyler, with the circ.u.mstances. ”Get out.”
”No. I want to talk to you.”
She snorted. ”You have a funny way of talking.”
”Look, Carlie...” He tried to sound reasonable, but his eyes dropped to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s again, almost unintentionally, it seemed. ”Let's get dried off. Then we can sort this out.”
”There's nothing to sort out. You crossed the line and I don't want you to ever do that again.”
”Well, I'm d.a.m.n well going to do it again, and real soon if you don't get your b.u.t.t in the other room and find something dry to wear that isn't showing off your...”
She fled the room, and purposely slammed her bedroom door. Hard.
Odious man! Carlie yanked off her sodden clothing, repeatedly shoving her gla.s.ses up on the bridge of her nose. And all the while she rained silent curses on Tyler's head. Talk about fickle! First, he claims to be depressed because he's without a date; then, he wants to see the mystery woman again and can't; and then, he makes a move on her, Carlie. She stopped in the process of pulling a thick terry-cloth, floor-length s.h.i.+ft over her head.
He'd actually done that-made a pa.s.s at her. And he couldn't have been completely toying with her. He'd been affected also, she could see that. Slowly, she sat on the edge of her bed.
Tyler Ramsey wanted Carlie McDaniels? Good grief.
But, her thinking continued, he also wanted her alter ego, the mystery woman, and had already slept with her. She knew they were one and the same, but Tyler didn't. Was he only biding his time with her until he could discover the ident.i.ty of the masked harem girl?
It was equal parts ridiculous and unreasonable, but she was feeling jealous of herself.
She finished dressing, then left the bedroom. Tyler was pacing the living room, his s.h.i.+rt discarded, a towel in his hands as he tried to dry himself off. He'd removed his shoes and socks and had left them by the front door. His jeans were dark, soaked from rain and molded to his thighs and b.u.t.tocks. Carlie cleared her throat.
Turning, Tyler stared at her. She was nervous, she couldn't help that. Everything had suddenly s.h.i.+fted again, so many changes converging on her all at once. She was at a loss as to how to deal with it all.
His eyes swept over her, from her still-wet hair to her naked feet. He didn't say a word, but held her eyes, his hands hanging from his sides.
”I apologize if I overreacted,” she said. ”You took me by surprise. I never once suspected you might...”
A reluctant smile curved his mouth. ”You acted as if I'd defiled you in some way. Was it really so bad, honey?”
”No.” She shook her head, her heavy braid swinging behind her. ”But I really don't think getting physical is a good idea. I like being friends with you too much to complicate things. And it wouldn't have the same effect on you-our being...involved-I mean, as it would on me.”
He approached her slowly, then stopped in front of her. She lowered her eyes, unable to meet his probing gaze. He crouched slightly to look her in the face. ”Carlie. Don't sell yourself short. You can't know how I might react to you.”
But she could, because she knew how he'd reacted to the mysterious and provocative harem girl. She was simply Carlie. Plain and boring. ”You're used to beautiful women. Tons of them.”
”Tons, huh? Well, that's not true.” He wrapped the towel around his neck, holding the ends. ”I haven't had an ounce of experience with any real relations.h.i.+ps. In fact, the only relations.h.i.+p I've ever had that was worth a d.a.m.n was with my brother. And now Brenda. But that's not what we're talking about, is it? So give me a break here, okay?”
She stared up at him helplessly, and then he cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking her temple. ”I like the way we are together, Carlie. We could have a good relations.h.i.+p.”
She needed some s.p.a.ce. With Tyler standing so close, she could see the water drops still clinging to the dark swirls of hair on his chest. His body was moist from the rain, his muscles slick and smooth. Her nipples tightened again and she stepped away. s.p.a.ce. She definitely needed s.p.a.ce.
”Why don't you tell me what you really want, Tyler.” She walked into the kitchen as casually as possible and pulled two mugs from the cabinet.
She was filling the gla.s.s coffeepot with water, when she felt Tyler behind her. His hands lifted to her upper arms and he pulled her back against his chest. He murmured against her temple, ”I'm not sure. I know I like spending time with you. And I know I'm going to want to kiss you again.”
Carlie closed her eyes. ”What about other women?”
”What other women?”
”Your masked lady, for one. Are you only wanting to spend time with me until you can convince Bren to give you her name? And if your harem girl wants to see you again, what then?”
She could feel the added tension in the way Tyler's hands gripped her. ”You're jumping the gun, Carlie. h.e.l.l, I didn't ask you to marry me. I'm not asking for a lifetime commitment.”
She pulled away, embarra.s.sment vying with the anger rising within her. He made her sound desperate! ”That isn't what I meant, Tyler. I certainly don't aspire to tie you down. I don't aspire to do anything with you. It's just that I know how you are about commitments, and I'm trying to point out that you would only be using me until something better came along. Right now, I like you as a friend. I'm grateful for the time you donate to helping the children. But if you...that is...if we...”
Tyler rolled his eyes in exasperation. ”If I made love to you. That is what you're trying to say, isn't it?”
”Yes. If we... did that. I'm honest enough to admit my heart might get involved, and then my pride would suffer when you decided to toss me aside. I don't think I could forgive you, and our friends.h.i.+p, which I count more important than a bit of hanky-panky, would be ruined.”
She couldn't look at him after that little speech. Instead, she went about setting out cookies and preparing some coffee. She felt like a fraud.
Tyler narrowed his eyes in disbelief. ”You're amazing, you know that? I'm surprised you didn't carry your predictions through to the end of Time. And you forgot to cover a few scenarios. I mean, what if that jerk you told me you used to love suddenly reappeared? Or what if one of your teacher buddies caught your eye? You could ditch me!” He stormed around the kitchen, his hands on his hips, his dark eyebrows lowered in a fierce frown. ”I wasn't talking about some time in the distant future, dammit. I was talking about now.”
Carlie choked on the sip of coffee she'd just taken. Tyler grumbled and proceeded to pound on her back.
”All right, all right! Don't beat me to death.” She sucked in several desperate breaths, then glowered at him incredulously. ”You're wanting to...to...”