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She gave him a half-smile, stepping closer to him. “I couldn’t stay away,” she said honestly.
“You should have,” Nick said brusquely, tossing the emptied bottle into a box in the corner. He looked at her darkly. “I’m no good for you. And this is wrong. We should never have had sex in the first place.”
Amy heard his voice wavering, felt his reluctance dissipating, even though his words pointed to the contrary. She felt wounded by his verbalization, but knew it was a necessary defense tactic for him.
“Well, we did, Nick. And I’m here now. I don’t really believe you regretted what we did.” She inched closer to him, goose bumps rising on the back of her neck as she breathed in his heady scent.
“You wouldn’t, would you? It’s so hard to believe someone doesn’t want you the way you want them, isn’t it?” Nick chastised her, wiping his hands on an already blackened rag, his voice intentionally demeaning. He was trying to push her away, Amy realized, to make it easier for himself… or for her.
“Stop it, Nick,” she replied, her voice vacillating between desperation and assertiveness.
“No good can come of this,” he continued, his tone louder, more frantic. “Don’t you see! Chris will kill me if he finds out I even thought of you naked!”
“This is about you and me,” she persisted, trying to recapture the words she had played over and over on the ride there.
“I’ll only hurt you, Amy. I’m a thirty year-old lawyer. I’m a bachelor. I work sixty hour weeks sometimes. I barely have time for myself, let alone someone else. You’re young. You need someone who will give you their undivided attention and will give up whatever they’re doing to be with you. Someone who’s not your brother’s best friend.”
“You’re telling me what I need?” Amy said, gritting her teeth. He was arousing her temper now, she could feel it flaring up, the hot blood pulsing through her system, tinting her cheeks pink. “What are you hiding from? You know there’s something between us, Nick. It was obvious a few days ago. Sure, it’s not convenient, but what ever is?”
“It was just sex,” Nick said calmly. “Lust.”
Amy paused, drawing in a deep breath. “Don’t lie to me, Nick,” she urged. “Don’t lie to yourself, either.” She stepped closer to him until they were standing only a few inches apart. She looked up at him, felt the chaotic energy between them. “Just tell me. Tell me you don’t feel it too. I’ll turn right around and leave.”
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