He reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. Oh God. That was heaven.
“Now isn’t the time for this.”
“But I want more.” She pouted.
He frowned but she saw a glint of amusement in his eyes. “Demanding little thing, aren’t you?”
Immediately she pulled in on herself.
You have no right to ask for anything. I took you into my house. That’s all you deserve. You’re lucky I didn’t leave you in the system. Ungrateful little brat.
“Charlotte! Charlotte, are you listening to me?”
She blinked, stared up at him. “What?”
“There you are.” He gave her a concerned look. “What were you just thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
His gaze narrowed. “Not good enough.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
There was a moment of silence and she thought he was going to push her. “All right. We’ll leave that for now. But you will tell me eventually.”
“Why?”
“Because I won’t allow anything or anyone to hurt you. Including yourself. I’m attracted to you, Charlotte. I want you. I know I haven’t been there for you as I should have. I know I have to earn your trust, but I think I will once you realize that you come first with me.”
“I’ve never come first with anyone.”
He cupped her cheek, gave her another soft kiss. “And that’s a damn crime. Because you deserve to be cherished. Pampered. To have nothing to worry about but pleasing your man.”
She snorted. “And you think that’s what I want? To only worry about pleasing you?”
He grinned. “It should be.”
She rolled her eyes, but she was more amused than anything else. His arrogance was out of control. But it was part of what made him Clint.
“How do you know I deserve all that?” Because she really didn’t. And he wouldn’t feel that way once he knew the truth about her. Something tickled at her memory, but she pushed it away to pay attention to what he was saying.
?
??Because you’re a sweetheart. All I’ve heard over this past week is how sweet and lovely you are. Everyone wants you to stay. I’ve also been informed that rather than asking for help lighting your fire, you were prepared to stay the night in a cold cabin.”
She stared over his shoulder. “I didn’t want to bother anyone. This is a temporary job. I shouldn’t get attached to anyone. Goodbyes are hard.”
“Well, luckily, you don’t have to say goodbye.”
She frowned. What did that mean?
He placed a finger under her chin, tilting her face up. “I’m going to ask you a few questions and I want you to be honest with me.”
“O-okay.”
“How long have you been living in your car?”
Shit. That wasn’t something she liked to talk about, but she didn’t have a good reason to refuse to tell him. “About seven months.”