“You know, you don’t have to—”
Cutting themselves off simultaneously, Lucky chuckled and motioned for her to speak first.
“You go.” The grin he gave her then was more like the ones she was used to seeing.
“Sorry, I…I was just going to say, I should probably start looking for a hotel to stay in while I search for a new place to live.”
His awkward smile returned, only this time it was accompanied by a flash of…somethingin his unreadable gaze. “Right. Of course. That, uh…that makes sense.”
Does it, though?
I mean, of course, it does.
Ellie had always heard it was never a good sign when one argued with oneself. Yet here she was, doing exactly that. And why?
Because you don’t want to sleep in some strange hotel bed. You want to sleep here…with him.
But that was ridiculous on several levels, so…
“I’ll, uh…I’ll go get my things. Er, Cassie’s things. You know what mean.”
“Sure.” Lucky shoved his hands into his heather gray pockets. “Just let me know when you’re ready, and I can drive you to your car.”
Crap. She’d forgotten all about her car, which was still parked in her building’s garage.
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
With nothing left to say, Ellie turned and started for the hall. She’d just passed by the small accent wall separating the hallway’s entrance from the rest of the open living room when she heard a rough and gravelly...
“Wait!”
She froze but refused to turn around. If she did…if she allowed herself even a glimpse of his entrancing stare, Ellie just knew she’d end up making a giant fool out of herself. So she planted her feet, kept her spine straight, and her focus on the door at the end of the hall.
Her attention was so fixed—her determination having risen to an all-time high—that she almost missed the man’s whispered plea.
“Don’t go.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs. Had he just said what she thought he did? Surely she’d misheard him. And as the seconds passed by, Ellie was all butconvincedof that truth.
But then he took her completely off guard by telling her to, “Stay here.” His voice was drawing nearer now. “You can use the spare room if you want. You wouldn’t be expected to—”
“To what?” She broke her silence. As she did, Ellie spun herself around so she could face him.
Licking his lips as if he were the nervous one, Lucky slowly continued stalking toward her. “To sleep with me.” His throat worked as he swallowed hard and gave his head a single shake. “What I mean is, the offer to stay here isn’t contingent on us having sex.”
The emotional roller coaster she’d been forced to ride took another sudden turn. Unable to stop herself, Ellie began to inch forward. “That’s good to know,” she told him honestly. “But—”
“But what?” He cut her off as his socked foot took another broad step. “If you’re worried I’ll expect something from you just because of what happened last night, that’s not the kind of man I am. I mean, I’ll never turn you down, just so you know. But I’d rather cut off my right arm than ever make you think youoweme sex in return for my help or anything else. I guess what I’m trying to say…”
Lucky looked away, curssing beneath his breath. Though he didn’t say anything else at first, he continued covering the short distance left between them.
Ellie stood stalk still, frozen in place by his adorable—albeit slightly confusing—rambling. Her pulse quickened as nervous excitement filled her veins, and when Lucky finally did looked back up at her, she physically lost the ability to breath.
A desperation she’d never seen had invaded his hypnotic stare. He was still moving in, only inches away from her now, and he was staring back at her as if she were his only lifeline in the midst of a terrible storm.
Only there was no storm, and she was not the kind of woman a man like him should want. Lucky—sweet, funny,surprisingLucky—was good. An all-American hero. A man who risked his life on a regular basis to protect people he didn’t even know.