Page 311 of Off Limits: The Firsts

“Too busy to return a text or answer a call?” He angles his head to the side, and his brown eyes pin me motionless as they try to read my body language and unspoken words.

“Just busy. I have a lot going on.” A lot as in I’m trying not to want to talk to you as much as I’ve wanted to. I take another step back but bump into the wall behind me. “Did you need something?”

“I wanted to see you.”

I’ve never known just how fine a line there is between want and need until this moment.

“That wasn’t the deal, Grant.” I reject his words immediately because they hit too close to home.

I wanted to see him, too.

“What deal?”

“The deal we made the other night.”

“Oh, you mean your rules?”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to believe any promises spoken when in the heat of passion?”

Heat of passion.

I level him with a glare. “Haven’t you realized yet I’m not your normal woman?”

“If by ‘normal’ you mean the type of woman who jumps out of airplanes, loves to eat food without shame, gives as good as she gets, and has no problem wanting sex for sex. Then, no, I’m sorry. I didn’t notice.” His face is stoic, but his eyes hold the humor and sarcasm his voice is lacking.

“Funny.”

“Perhaps, but it’s true.”

“The other night was a mistake.” Lie. Lie. Lie. I’m just so unnerved that he sees me so well when most days I can’t see myself.

“Nice try, but I call bullshit.”

“You can call it whatever you want, Malone, but it isn’t going to happen again.”

The corner of his lips curl as he shakes his head. “I’m glad you have this all figured out.”

“He chased you.”

Desi’s words come back and hit my ears as I stare at him and realize that he has the patience of a saint and she was right—he did chase me. He’s still chasing me.

So, why am I pushing him away again?

Because rules are rules. Now, I just need to stick to my guns.

“Look, I’m far from typical. Anything you might need to do out of obligation after sleeping with someone is not needed when it comes to me.”

“Like?” he asks as he folds his arms across his chest, leans a shoulder against the wall, and tucks his tongue in his cheek to fight from smiling.

“Like I don’t require the phone call afterward to make sure we’re both okay with the one-night stand thing. I don’t need flowers or apologies when you move on to the next woman. I don’t need empty promises or whatever else it is you guys do to soothe your egos. It’s all crap.”

“Every woman likes those things.”

“I’m not every woman.”

“So we’ve established.” He holds his hand up when I start to protest. “But no worries, I don’t do that. Just don’t tell my mom.”