“That is the problem. I’m not a nice man, Violet. I play one for short periods of time. And I did a pretty good job playing one with you. But the fact of the matter is, I have one decent thing to offer a woman. And that is a good time in bed. I figured we were on the same page. Last night, when you didn’t come to my room, and when you explained it this morning, it became clear to me that we weren’t. The last thing I want is to get involved with something that I can’t do right by. Because that’s not who I am.”
“Some bad boy then,” she said. “Isn’t leaving a swath of destruction in your wake and not looking back supposed to be...the whole bad-boy thing?”
“I guess if you’re all about an image. I’m not a bad boy, Violet. I’m a little bit of a bad man, though. And I think you need to be careful about that. I’m not sure that you have the respect for that that you should. Because I’ve been nice to you.” He stuck his hand out, dragged his thumb over her lower lip, and she shivered. “There’s only one way this ends, though. I don’t change. And sex sure as hell doesn’t change me. I’m not that kind of man. I don’t have transformative experiences in bedrooms. I just rock worlds and walk away. So here’s the thing, sweet girl. I came here tonight to rescue you. To find some other woman who knew the game. Because I don’t have it in me to teach you the rules.”
“Then why did you... Why did you cross the room to come to me?”
“Because dammit all, you’re the one that I want. That’s the problem. I told you... I like to go to a bar and see if there’s a woman that catches my eye. But it never matters who she is. I don’t give a fuck. I’ve slept with women I wouldn’t be able to pick out of a lineup the following day. No skin off my nose. This... I don’t like this. I want you. And I can’t seem to shake it. And maybe I would’ve had a hope in hell of picking up one of these honeys in here, but not when you’re in the room. If my family hadn’t gone home, you’d be safe right now. That’s how I know this is wrong. I’d never have come over here if they were still here to see it. But they’re gone, and here I am. So you have two choices as far as I’m concerned. You take your friend, and you leave. Or you stay, and test my word. See if I’m telling you the truth about who I am. I guarantee you I am.”
She shivered, his promises echoing inside her. She couldn’t square off the Wolf that she had spent time with over the past couple of days with this one. Who seemed darker, edgier and more intense.
But this one seemed... He did not seem too good to be true. He seemed too sexy to bear, but he didn’t seem like a fantasy. And that made her think that this really was the truth. And that it would do her well to listen.
But earlier, she’d already made her decision. She wasn’t going to know if she could handle this until she tried it. She wasn’t going to know if it would break her heart until she took the risk. But he was clear. It was sex, and it was only sex. And it couldn’t be anything else. So maybe if she knew that, if she believed it, she would be able to handle it.
“Maybe I’m not what you think I am,” she said.
“I’m afraid you are.”
That made her feel hot all over, because that made her wonder if her inexperience was quite so obvious. If you looked at her and saw big virgin stamped across her forehead.
“Well, all right,” she said. “Maybe I am. But you want me just the same. So maybe... Maybe you like what I am. And maybe it’s because you think you shouldn’t have me. Did you ever think of that? Maybe... For a man who’s given himself all the things he wants over the last few years... Someone like me is forbidden fruit.” She liked that idea. She liked it a lot. That as much as he was a departure for her, she was one for him. As bad of an idea as he was for her, she was a problem for him.
“Maybe so,” he said.
“I won’t stop at kissing tonight,” she said.
“Good,” he responded.
“I got a shot of whiskey,” she said, sniffing. “I’m not that safe.”
“Have you ever taken a shot before?”
“No.”
He walked across the space between her and the bar, grabbed her tumbler of whiskey and knocked it back.
“Hey,” she said. “That was mine.”
“And if you want to have sex with me tonight, you’re not drinking it. Because I don’t want you compromised in any way.”
“Well,” she said, “you drank it. What about your...your consent?”
“Please. A shot of whiskey isn’t enough to get my blood hot. You’ll have to do it for me.” He turned and walked away from her. “See you tonight.”
“Yeah,” she said.
She went back to Clara. “I think... I think I’m going to... I think I’m going to sleep with him tonight.”
“Well, I would love to warn you off of him,” Clara said. “Because he seems like very bad news. But I know that look on a man’s face. And he is intent on getting what he wants. Not that I think he would do anything you didn’t want. It’s just that... Any red-blooded woman would take him up on that.”
“I am only human,” Violet said. She sounded as helpless and turned on as she felt. “It goes without saying, but please don’t tell my dad and Alison?”
“Absolutely not,” Clara said. “Those are things that do not need to be shared. Sexy cowboys are your business and your business alone.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Clara suddenly looked worried. “Do you need a primer?”