Winning the Right Brother(45)

“This,” he said, looking at her, at the water that clung to her hair, her lips, her lashes. “You play it safe and I go along with it, because I think that’s what you want, and then you dance out in that storm like…” He paused, searching for the words he wanted. “There’s something elemental about you, Holly. It’s hidden most of the time, but it’s there. You let it out once in a while, and then you cover it right back up. Something primal. Untamed.”

Holly didn’t like the sound of that. “I like to think of myself as very tame,” she objected, trying for a light tone. “Polished and refined.”

Alex shook his head. “I know you do. That’s what’s so funny. You wear these conservative outfits and you think you’re fooling everyone. Even yourself. Hell, it probably works most of the time. But I’ve never been fooled. Even back in high school I wasn’t fooled, and I still let you lie to me and to yourself, over and over again, and never did a damn thing about it.”

It was getting harder to breathe. Desire was making her tremble, and if she didn’t get away right now, Alex would know.

“I think I’ll go and—” she started to say, taking a step sideways, but in a flash Alex’s arms had trapped her, his hands flat against the door.

“Not until we finish this conversation,” he said.

“What conversation? This isn’t a conversation. This is—”

“This is me finally telling you the truth and you finally listening.”

His blue eyes had never been more intense as they bored into hers, unyielding in their challenge. The planes of his face looked harsh and dangerous and his rain-soaked hair made him seem… What was the word he’d used before?

Elemental.

“Stop it,” she whispered.

“Make me,” he said roughly. “You know you can if you want to. Push me away. Better yet, just tell me you’re not attracted to me. If you can do that, I’ll walk away.” He pulled back a little. “Can you do that?”

She could. She had to. Because if she gave in to these feelings, her life would never be the same again.

She opened her mouth to say the words, but nothing came out.

He pushed away from the door, backing off a few paces, but his eyes never left hers.

“You can’t do it. But you can’t reach out for what you want, either.” He took a step back toward her. “You’re scared. And you’re letting fear make your decisions for you.”

Another step. “I’ve been scared, too. I’ve been scared since the night we kissed. But I’m damned if I’m going to let either of us run away again. Not without a fight, anyway. So go ahead, Holly. Give me all you’ve got. All the reasons why we can’t do this.”

One more step, and he was so close she couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see anything but him. He leaned in until his mouth was at her ear, and when he spoke his breath sent shivers down her spine.

“Come on, Holly. I’m sure you can think of just one reason.”

At last she found her voice. “Stop it, Alex! I can’t think when you’re…when you’re like this. You’re too close. It’s not a fair fight!” Even as she said the words she heard their absurdity, but Alex just smiled grimly.

“A fair fight is exactly what it is. What we’ve always had. We’ve been fighting each other from the moment we met, and you’d think we’d have figured out by now that neither one of us is going to win. Why the hell can’t you see that? What are you so afraid of?”

There was something in his eyes Holly recognized. He was daring her, damn him, just like he’d done back in high school.

He shook his head. “I guess you really are too much of a coward to go after what you want.”

He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was different, calmer and somehow more dangerous. “Unless it’s in your dreams, right, Holly? Because you do dream about me. I heard you last week, through your door. I went in and you were asleep, calling out my name again and again. And from the tone of your voice, I’d say whatever was happening in that dream, you were enjoying it.”

Holly was so furious and so embarrassed that she finally found the strength to push past him, turning so he was between her and the door and she could face him with a little breathing room.

“How could you do something like that?” she spat out, her cheeks burning. “Come into my bedroom, listen to me talking in my sleep. How could you invade my privacy like that?”

Alex didn’t give any ground. “Why not?” he asked. “You’ve invaded mine. You’ve invaded every part of me. Every nerve, every cell in my body. You think I don’t dream about you?”