Rumor Has It Read online

  “I’m still me. I’m just wondering how I’m sitting with you and how much I don’t really know about you.”

  “You know me… It’s the women I sleep with who don’t know me, and I don’t know them, and that’s how I like it.”

  “That seems so sad. Why is it that I am sitting on your lap, and you aren’t telling me to get off? Or is it that you aren’t attracted to me, so I can do whatever I want?”

  “Tell me… What is it that has you so worked up? It can’t be that I have a one-night-stand rule. You’ve never shown much interest in me, so you can’t be jealous. Are you just trying to prove a point? And if so, what is it, because I’m busy and want to finish my magazine.” He tapped her butt to get her moving.

  “Hmm…so you do have a bit of bark you’re willing to share with a friend.”

  “Looking for a bit of bark? Go find a tree.” The stern voice and cold eyes should have scared her, but somehow they did the opposite. “Get off my lap.”

  “Can I have a kiss, Liam?”

  “What?” He rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes. He seemed to be trying to pull himself together or just blocking her out. She didn’t know if she was torturing him because she wanted to see the beast or if she just didn’t believe it was in there. “Why?”

  She’d seen him with his fire crew, and he undoubtedly was the one shouting the orders, but it was hard for her to reconcile what Elaine, one of the buckle bunnies at the club, had told her about Liam—her intense, discreet friend.

  “I just want one.”

  “I kiss you all the time, and you haven’t moved yet,” he said in the most authoritative tone he’d never used with her.

  Damn, where had that come from? It begged her to be defiant.

  “You kiss me good-bye like my grandma…on the cheek or the forehead. I want a real kiss.”

  He moved his hands to cup her bottom, and she didn’t know if he was going to push her off or pull her closer.

  “I want to see what has all those women stopping me in line at the market or as I wait to use the restroom, whenever your back is turned. They ask me about your daily habits and how they can get you. In their words, you’re so exciting and seductive. With me, you’re like my cousin Billy.”

  His gaze was filled with something she hoped wasn’t pity, but she wasn’t going to look too closely at him in case it was.

  The puppy-dog twist of his head was back, and suddenly she felt foolish for even starting this. She wished she could turn back time and talk about something else. Fire-hose water pressure or the safest way to fireproof your house. That always got him off on a tangent.

  LIAM HADN’T GOTTEN as far as he had in life without recognizing dangerous situations, and he knew he had a sizeable keg of it on his lap.

  Watching her struggle with what she wanted to ask him was hard. He knew whatever she wanted was a big deal to her, no matter how she was trying to package it. He should give her a break and help her out. Unfortunately, he knew exactly where she was leading and what she was asking for. Maybe not exactly, but he knew he was in the ballpark.

  He wanted to make her work for every word because he didn’t think he could deny her, and he wasn’t sure of how this would end up. He liked to know the end game. That was just how he liked to play.

  He watched her study his neck and willed himself to calm down. It was time to get to the crux of the matter. “You want to see if I can make you have an orgasm. Is that it?”

  “I’m frigid.” She’d said it so softly that he shouldn’t have heard it. The only reason he did was because she was perched on his lap and he was staring at her full, pouty lips. He certainly hadn’t seen that intriguing piece of information coming.

  “Bull—” She put her hand over his mouth. He knew she was trying to break him of swearing, but that was the thing. She was always trying to get him to do something, and he usually tried to do it. There was just something about her that made him want to try…made him want to please her. Not that he wanted her to know that.

  “No, seriously, it’s true. I don’t have as much experience as you, but I do have experience, and I’m not dumb. I know how it’s supposed to work, but for me, it just doesn’t happen.”

  She would hate to know how adorable he found her right now, but he couldn’t help it. She scanned the room with her whiskey-brown eyes, attempting to look anywhere but at him. It made him notice how much he liked her eyes on him.

  “You’re not a frigid woman. You are extremely passionate. If the guys you’re with aren’t getting you off, then maybe they have the problem. You just need a better partner.”

  The smile he loved to see lit her face.

  Damn. Why had he just said that? He wanted to kick himself as that last sentence flew out of his mouth, but looking at her face, he could tell she was serious, and that was almost laughable…almost.

  “That’s exactly what I wanted.” She moved to center herself over his quickly stiffening cock and continued the discussion like they weren’t fitting together like a lock and matching key.

  “What is it exactly that you want?” He tried to pull his mind back to the conversation, but she was making subtle rotations with her hips. She was probably doing it subconsciously, but it was driving him nuts.

  “What you give any other woman you meet.” That brought him back in the game.

  “I don’t have sex with every woman I meet. I’m extremely selective.” He was going to have to deal with this one way or the other, so he may as well put his cards on the table. “You want me to see if I can make you see fireworks without using any battery-operated device. You want me to show you what your body is capable of?”

  A pretty pink flush was working its way up from the collar of her T-shirt. He loved how she blushed, and this one was a doozy.

  “Who said I used battery-operated devices?”

  “That was just a guess.” He wanted to see how easy it was to shock her. Test her limits. “Did I offend you, Raina? Do you only use your hand?”

  Her quickly inhaled breath told him how much she liked how the conversation was going and that she might not be as easy to shock as he originally thought.

  Liam knew that playtime was over, and now it was time for the real deal. The last thing he wanted to do was mess up his friendship with Raina. “I don’t want to lose how close we are.” He rubbed his thumb across her forearm. While he enjoyed the closeness of this encounter and wanted to soften any blow she was about to receive, he didn’t think this was the best road for either of them.

  “Who says we have to lose it?”

  “Things change when sex is involved. People change after the deed is done.”

  “Not if we make promises not to let anything change the friendship we have.”

  He scanned her face and saw the honesty he’d always found there. She genuinely believed what she was saying. It didn’t look like he was going to be able to change her mind about this, and he wasn’t sure he could turn this sexy woman down. She was a staple in his late-night thoughts and dreams. He could see she was beginning to look at this as a challenge. He tried to think of something to stop this train wreck he saw coming.

  “Whatever, Liam. Where’s my kiss?”

  “If you want it, come closer.” He was torn, and that wasn’t like him. He found himself wanting to indulge her even as he chastised himself for encouraging any part of their current situation. It was this mix of shy and sassy. She was intriguing in a way he didn’t think would happen if she were someone else. Her very presence was comforting, and she seemed to soothe the part of him that was so neglected. He’d told her more about his past than he’d ever shared with anyone…although he’d let her think his mother was dead. His car seemed to find her house when he was at his lowest, and although he wanted nothing more than to sink his cock deep inside her sweet pussy, he didn’t know how he’d deal with the aftermath. She was so important to him, and he still wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. His father might have had i
t right, keeping emotional attachments out of his life. He’d done a great job with it, because after his mother walked out on them, his father packed up his emotions and put them in storage.

  “You’re actually going to kiss me?”

  “I have always given you whatever you’ve asked for. Why would I stop now?” He watched her eyes light up and knew he’d said the wrong thing, but he was enjoying himself too much to stop.

  “So you’re saying all the rules don’t pertain to me? If you were with me, would I have more than just one night?” Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen her this playful.

  “Are you saying you’d want more than just one night?”

  “Don’t answer my question with a question. You know that makes me crazy.”

  “I do know that.” He waited, trying to weigh his options.

  “Answer the question.”

  “If this were something you were thinking of for the purpose of making sure you could have an orgasm with a man, I would be willing to help you with that.”

  “What if it took more than once?”

  He couldn’t believe he was even having this conversation. There was nothing wrong with her, and he knew he could relieve her worry and be finished with this whole situation quickly.

  “I’d be willing to go the distance more than one time but not for more than one night.” He loved watching her think…or in this case over think.

  “I heard that you don’t like to be touched and you like to direct the action.” She moved her hands up around his neck and into his hair. “Do you not like it when I play with your hair? I never thought about it because you give me free rein without letting me know what’s okay. I’m sorry if you had a problem with me touching you.”

  “You know I would have told you if I didn’t like it. I think it’s cute, and I do love to let you have your way, but I’m not a pushover—you know that.” Now she was being ridiculous.

  “Cute! I don’t want to be cute. I want to be hot.”

  She could be so easy to trigger, and that wasn’t his goal. He should have known that would get to her. “Okay…you’re hot. I thought you wanted a kiss.”

  “I do, but I don’t want to lose what we have. Maybe I should have kept my curiosity to myself and keep the friend I have and not get greedy.”

  Since the beginning of this conversation, he’d expected this. Even hoped it would happen. She was talking herself right out of this proposition. Too bad, because now he was interested.

  “I like you greedy. Anyway, you can’t help it. You’re a greedy type of girl.” She smiled at him, looking like she knew he was teasing her, but he knew he’d better clarify things so this wouldn’t get messy. “You know I don’t do relationships.”

  “I am aware. I don’t want anything you don’t want. I just heard a couple things about you and your…umm…success rates and wondered if you could help me with my problem.” She sat back and thought for a second. “Maybe I need to see a specialist.”

  “I thought that was what you were doing when you asked for my help.” He watched her smile grow, pleased he could make her smile at a time like this.

  “If you think you’d be able to do it, I can’t tell you how much I’d appreciate it. We’ll go back to the way we’ve always been, I promise.”

  “It may not be as easy as you think. It may appear women fall for me on a regular basis, but they don’t truly know me. You…well, it may be harder for you to contain yourself.”

  She picked up a pillow and swatted at him. He tried to block her blows to avoid being struck, but she seemed determined to hit him. He pulled it from her hands and set it back down on the couch. She looked so happy and mischievous he couldn’t help but enjoy her antics.

  “I’ll be fine because I’ve seen you run through those women like Tic Tacs. It’s you who may have a problem.”

  “Why would you think that?” He watched her coy glance at him through her lashes and couldn’t remember ever seeing her in this mode.

  “I don’t think you’ve ever slept with anyone you actually knew or really liked. You may fall for me.”

  Chapter Two

  If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was playing with him. Ever since she broke up with Theo, she’d been a bit different. It could be the way she seemed to notice him with a touch more heat in her gaze. It was not the same but was hard to put a finger on what that new look was about. The way she viewed him was different…more thoughtful…something. She didn’t play games, and that was one of the things he liked about her.

  She wasn’t moving from her perch on his lap. He wondered how far she was going to go with this plan. He placed his hand on her thigh and watched her follow it like it was going to do a magic trick. He made a path up her body and to her neck and waited until she peered at him. Her beautiful eyes appeared excited, and he felt something that hadn’t come over him in a long time. Anticipation.

  He moved his hand into her hair and cupped her nape. He’d wanted to do that for such a long time, but he was afraid it would feel exactly like it did. Soft…silky… He wanted to put his face in it. He knew it smelled like vanilla and roses. He freakin’ loved that fragrance. Her hair was the color of the deep-red wine she favored, and it complimented her whiskey-colored eyes. She was intoxicating.

  Her chest rose and fell as he slowly brought his hand down between her breasts. When he took a moment to look at her face and found she’d closed her eyes, his heart jumped. She was so trusting. There were times he didn’t think she should be, and now might have been one of them.

  If he didn’t do this for her, would she find someone else? He should let her. He’d wanted her for as long as they’d known each other. Although she’d started off as someone he wanted for the night, she’d grown into someone he liked to talk to…spend time with.

  He could strangle Elaine for bothering Raina with her jealousy, but he couldn’t work up enough anger right now as he listened to her breath hitch and then quicken. She meant more to him than a quick lay, but it sounded like she’d attempted to think it through and maybe they could go back to how they were before.

  “Is it that big of a hardship?” She must have taken his silence and the absence of a kiss as a sign of rejection. “You know what? Never mind.” She moved to get off his lap, and he eased her to her back on the couch, making sure he didn’t grind his granite-hard erection into her softness.

  She squirmed under him, and he tried to hold back the groan that had been fighting to get out since he figured out where this conversation was headed.

  “I think those are advanced techniques. Maybe we should do something simple.”

  “I’m serious, Liam. Never mind.” She was focusing on a spot somewhere past his shoulder and appeared…maybe embarrassed? It would have to be that, because it would be impossible for her to think he wasn’t interested. He moved his gaze to her face and couldn’t remember a time he’d been so close to her. Her skin looked so soft. He had noticed that before right now. He caressed her cheek with his fingers because he’d always wanted to know if it was as soft as it appeared… It was.

  “Have you changed your mind, or are you just pissed that I took so long to answer you?”

  She didn’t answer, but the flush was spreading again and her eyes shimmered with…excitement, anger, frustration? He wasn’t sure, but he wanted to find out.

  “If you want to retract your request, let me know. If not, I would be happy to help you.” He touched her face again just in case this whole thing never came to be. At least he could memorize how silky smooth her skin was.

  “Do you plan to go over the rules?”

  “Rules?” He was stroking her face from the space below her ear to the tip of her chin with his thumb and enjoying her supple, fragrant skin.

  “The rules you have about your adventures.”

  “Ha, well, it seems to me whoever talked to you told you all the rules. Why don’t you tell me what you think they are?”

  “No
sleepovers, no cuddling, no stalking, no crying when it’s over—” He stopped her by putting his fingers on her lips.

  “I know I’ve never said any of that to anyone.”

  “Maybe it was implied.”

  “How about we just leave it at this? We’re friends, and friends help friends solve their problems.” He wanted to take away some of the anxiety he saw in her earnest gaze. “You have a problem, and you think I have the solution. How about we prove your theory wrong and prove me right and go back to the friendship we’ve maintained for a good while? How does that sound?”

  She opened her mouth and licked his finger. He often found himself watching this particular opening, and with her drawing his attention there once again, he used the moment to study her lips and tongue. They were as full and pliant as he’d thought they would be. With them being so close to his mouth, he knew he wouldn’t forgive himself if he didn’t find out what her lips would feel like against his. This whole situation had him off-kilter and harder than stone. He drew his finger back slowly and fought to return his gaze to her eyes.

  “I’m going to take that as a yes.” He could almost see her calm down. “Tomorrow everything will be back to normal. Right?”

  “Yes, sir.” Her breathy voice and her words made his body lurch, so he moved to lean over her, but he was no longer giving her full-body contact.

  “So what do we have under these clothes?”

  Just like that, her anxiety was back. He watched concern cover her face, and something in his chest pinched. That was unfamiliar, but he decided it was because she was someone he cared about and maybe this was a bit new for him.

  “Maybe we should wait for another day.”

  “There’s no time like the present.” He waited but got no response after a few minutes. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” The words were right, but that didn’t mean she meant it.