He was right. It was. A part of me wanted to stay angry and continue pouting, but my hand tingled from his touch, and my heart galloped a mile a minute because of the way he looked at me. I searched his face for any tells that would indicate he was lying. I’d been acting for years—I knew when people were selling falsehoods, and as far as I could tell, Gage was being honest. Still, the truth of the matter was that I was just as much on my ass as he said he was on his. Nothing about my reaction to him made sense, mostly because I had nothing to compare it to. I swallowed past the nervous lump in my throat and pulled my hand away. The way his expression fell touched something inside me.
“I can’t—I won’t—just ignore what went on last night,” I said softly. When he opened his mouth to respond, I held up my hand to stop him. “I don’t make rash decisions, but I do know how to compromise. The question is, do you know how to do the work? I sense that you’ve barely had to blink an invitation before to get a beautiful woman on your arm, and I’ll never be the flavor of the week. I will never be like those girls, Gage. I won’t pretend to like things to gain your favor. If arm candy is your thing, I am not the woman for that.”
“Jesus, and you’re not even trying to do it,” he murmured.
I wrinkled my nose in confusion. “Huh?”
My eyes followed his when he glanced down. Immediately, I saw the issue. The outline of his hardened length was very visible through his jeans. My eyes flew back up as I gulped down air, the sound of my swallow ridiculously loud in the otherwise quiet room. There was a certain amount of pride in Gage’s smile. Damn him; I could tell he had a lot to be proud of.
“You can’t just wave that thing around and get me to come down with spontaneous amnesia,” I said. Of course, I was lying. I’d probably forget my name if he started waving it around.
“You’re half tornado, half angel,” he chuckled huskily. “What I was trying to say was that you’re incandescent when you’re passionate about something. I’ll go ahead and add it to the list of things I find attractive about you.”
“That’s grade A smooth talking deflection,” I said dryly.
Instead of being put off, my straight talk seemed to intrigue him more. “I wasn’t deflecting,” he corrected. “I was merely pointing out a truth. I’m fascinated by you.”
Needing a moment I reached out, picked up my coffee cup, and took a drink. I didn’t look at him while I did, but his eyes tracked my every action.
I used the opportunity to collect my thoughts and only after I’d taken two sips did I dare to look back at him. “I’m not saying that I’m not attracted to you,” I said. The way his eyes lit up as I spoke almost weakened my resolve—but I got myself back on track right away.
“Don’t get excited just yet,” I cautioned. “You need to prove to me that I’m not fascinating to you simply because I’m not on the floor pulling your zipper down right now. I’m not easy, Gage.”
When he opened his mouth to respond, I shook my head and plowed on. “Before you answer, you need to think about it. Don’t blow sunshine up my skirt because you think wearing me down is a challenge. I know how you Hollywood types are.”
His beautiful lips quirked as he stared down at me. “I have a past, that’s a given, and I can’t do a damn thing to change it. But you need to know that I’m not some sniveling little shit who runs with a random idea simply because I need to be challenged. I’m here, beautiful, and I’m not going anywhere unless you force me to. If it’s romance you want, I can do that.”
He said it with such conviction, but absolutely nothing I’d ever read or heard about Gage indicated that wooing women was in his wheelhouse. To say I was dubious was an understatement. “You can?” I asked.
“For you I can,” he answered. “The question right now is—are you going to let me?”
I bit my lip and looked up at him from beneath my lashes. “If you’re really going to do it, I’m in. Just . . . please, don’t make me regret this decision.”
He looked me straight in the eye. “I won’t,” he said firmly.
My stomach felt like it had about seventy-five trillion butterflies in it simply because of the intensity in his expression. It was almost surreal to have Gage Ryan looking at me as if I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.