Release by Rebecca Lynn Page B

already.”  His eyes watched her.
    “Jeremy, this is
exactly why this is a bad idea,” she sighed, all the while wishing he hadn’t
taken his mother’s position on the board.  “And for a number of other
reasons,” she muttered, and looked away.
    He looked at her
intently, curious.  “What are the other reasons?”
    She looked up at
him and said dryly, “Jeremy, it’s obvious you always get what you want, but I’m
not interested in being one of your girl toys.”  She could feel herself
getting flustered.  God, she hated that he did that to her.
    “Friday
night…what happened…I’m not that kind of woman…who just…allows a man to do that
to her,” she blurted out, completely red in the face from embarrassment. 
“I’m sure you do that kind of thing all of the time, given your…prowess, and
the way you talked to me at the showing.  I mean, you didn’t even know me,
and obviously, the things you were saying to me…” she stuttered.  “Look, I
have no interest in being one of the many women you chase around on a regular
basis, okay?”
    She let go of a
harsh exhalation, and stammered, “I think it’s best if we just… pretend Friday
didn’t happen.”  She knew Ayanna would be smacking her upside the head if
she were there.  She could hear her now.  Just enjoy it! she’d
be screaming.
    He continued standing
there, his hands now in his pockets, examining her, his eyes beginning to
narrow.  Then he walked slowly toward her and stopped within a foot from
where she stood.
    Ryann looked up
at him warily.
    “Well.  It
looks like you have me all figured out, don’t you?”
    Ryann continued
to look at him with uncertainty.
    He stepped
closer, putting himself within mere inches of her body.  She could feel
his heat, smell his scent.  She steeled herself.
    His hands were
still in his pockets, and he leaned in to inhale at her neck.  His voice
dropped low.  “Do you know what I’ve been thinking about for the last two
days?” 
    He hovered at
her neck, and continued speaking.  “How I can’t seem to get you out of my
head.”  Pause.  “I’ve never chased a woman in my life.”
    Ryann could hear
her breathing hitch.  Now that she’d heard him say it, that  didn’t
surprise her.  It was likely the other way around.  He was standing
so close, her nerve endings stood on end.
    “And here I am
chasing you.”  Pause.  “Why is that, I wonder?” he whispered. 
He seemed genuinely disconcerted by the question he asked himself.
    He slowly moved
his face to the other side of her neck, and inhaled again, still not touching
her.
    Why aren’t
you touching me?!  she wanted to scream.  It felt like her skin
was on fire, getting hotter and more sensitive as he continued to speak.
    “Let’s clear up
a couple of your points, shall we?” he whispered, his mouth now near her
ear.  He stepped even closer, now pressing her lightly to the door, still
keeping his hands in his pockets.  This seemed to be his favorite
placement of her…up against the wall.
    “Jeremy,” she
said shakily, “I don’t think –”
    “Number
one.  You’re right about one thing.  I do always get what I
want.  And it seems,” he paused, “that I want you .” 
    He moved his
face from her neck, and looked her in the eye.  She tilted her head back
quite a bit to reach his gaze, as if it was magnetically pulled there. 
His lids were heavy over his gorgeous green eyes, now darkened with resolve.
    She
whispered.  “It’s obvious you could have any woman you want.”  She
looked down.  “Why do you want me ?  I’m not a ‘sure thing’, I
can promise you that.”
    He chuckled, and
finally took one of his hands out of his pocket.  He put a finger under
her chin and tilted it up to reach his gaze again.
    “Ryann, I think
it’s safe to say that from the moment I met you, I knew you wouldn’t be
easy.  And that’s very...refreshing.”
    Ayanna had said
the same thing.  She sighed.