“Fine,” I grump, blowing an air kiss and pulling the door open. “But you’re calling me if we’re having that conversation, or I might be paying a phone bill with one of my organs. No orgasms for six years is at least a six-hour gripe session.”
“None!”
“Nope, but I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad about that and just thank the Lord I got the heck out of there before he went serial killer on me.”
The comment is meant to be a joke, but it turns out to be one of those moments I wish I’d kept my big mouth shut when the three Lane brothers come walking out of the study and stop dead in their tracks.
My blush reappears in a nanosecond and I just wish the ground would open up right under my feet when Miah scowls and stops dead, Jared’s lips twist, and Wyatt gives me one of those commiserating looks I’ve come to despise.
“Huh, um, ladies, is it safe to come out of hiding now?”
Good save, Wyatt.
“Uh, I think I’ll just… Bye.”
I don’t stop blushing all the way to my car and almost scream my fool head off when a hand lands on my shoulder and spins me around.
“What the hell was that?”
My tongue won’t work, or is that my brain? I look up and stare into two burning blue eyes that seem more angry than annoyed with me.
“Clara,” Miah growls, his deep voice and proximity giving me the good shakes, especially when that hand starts kneading at my flesh in an unconsciously sensual way.
“Hmmm?”
That’s it, slide that hand down a little more, Miah.
“What was that? Did someone hurt you?”
“What? Oh no! No, he really didn’t,” I lie, crossing my fingers behind my back.
I’m not lying as much as I’m reforming a few facts. For instance, he hurt my feelings, a lot, and that last time he caught me trying to pack a bag he came really close to getting physical. Turns out that Nick was really good at inferring things, and I’m relatively sure that what he was saying was that if I tried again, I’d end up in a ditch somewhere.
No one needs to know that, though. As if I want anyone to know that I spent six years of my life with a man who didn’t love me so much as I fit his checklist of wifely criteria.
“You aren’t staying for dinner?”
Who is this guy and what did he do with the real Jeremiah Lane? I’m doing my best not to focus on the fact that his hand is now running up and down my arm in what I can only call a caress.
“No, er, I have some work to do.”
Not a lie. I do have a few things to keep me busy, but he doesn’t have to know that it’s only a handful of papers that I’ll have done in under an hour.
“I have to go.”
Take the hint and leave. Now. Before I do something monumentally stupid like lean into your touch and start puckering my lips for a kiss I shouldn’t want and won’t get in this lifetime.
He snaps out of his trance and drops his hand, stepping back as if burned, and we’re back to the cold eyes and his even frostier attitude.
“Drive safely and call Ma when you get home or she’ll just worry incessantly,” he growls before turning sharply and stalking away.
I have whiplash as I slink into my beat-up old Honda and make my way down the long drive.
Wanting Miah Lane is not a good idea, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking of him all night before finally drifting off to sleep.
Chapter Two
Miah
“You’re an ass.”
My scowl and the fact that I’m not willing to answer finally gets Jared off my back halfway through dinner. Finally, I can swallow the food I don’t taste as I try and fail to avoid Ellie’s evil eye.
So what if I feel like crap after eavesdropping on Ellie and Clara and hearing how reluctant she was to stay because of me. I know that my actions prior to that embarrassed her, but I want the woman—a lot. I know that, if given half the chance, my damn mind and body will start going rogue on me and I’ll end up doing something I know won’t be good for either of us.
Clara, like I’ve told myself and my nitwit brother a million times, is a good girl, the exact opposite of what I want. For that reason, I won’t let myself near her.
What would happen if I let my guard down?
I’d sleep with her and she’d end up hurt when I walk away, which I will do eventually, make no mistake.
I don’t want commitment and the hassle that comes along with it, and not just because of the trust issues I have where women are concerned. Let’s face it, I’m not such a moron that I’d let one female skew my perception of all women.
Not entirely, at least.
My biggest reason for steering clear of sweet and the happily-ever-after she’s got shining in those big green eyes is simple; my job comes first. Bringing a woman into the equation, while working as a cop who has more enemies than one man should, is also not my idea of smart.