All Grown Up Read Free Page B

meet his gaze. “You’re
attractive. A corpse would probably respond to you. That doesn’t
mean I have any interest in receiving a pity fuck, Blake.”
    He frowned. “What?”
    She sighed with exasperation. “I don’t know
what Ethan told you. I doubt he blatantly asked you to have sex
with me, but he should have kept his mouth shut.”
    Blake leaned back a bit, looking genuinely
confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about?”
    She hesitated. “You don’t? He didn’t mention
Mick?”
    “Who the hell is Mick?”
    “An ex-boyfriend. Ethan thinks he broke my
heart, so he’s been trying to set me up with his friends.” She
rolled her eyes.
    “Did he?”
    “What?”
    “Did this Mick jerk break your heart?” A hint
of anger showed in the way his mouth tightened.
    Erin shook her head. “No.” He hadn’t broken
her heart, but he’d really ripped out a chunk of her self-esteem,
the lying, cheating bastard. He’d been screwing his roommate and
had the gall to blame her, because she refused to lose weight—as
though she had made the choice just to piss him off, and not
because her body was naturally curvy, and she couldn’t lose weight
easily, no matter how much she exercised. Having long ago decided
to focus on being healthy instead of being a certain size hadn’t
done much to keep her from finding new insecurities upon Mick’s
betrayal.
    “Good.” He leaned a little closer. “I’d like
to fuck you, as you so eloquently put it, but it has nothing to do
with pity. The moment I saw you tonight, I got an
insta-erection.”
    Erin snorted. “Sure, ‘cause I’m just so
desirable.”
    “You are.” He grimaced. “I find you
alluring.”
    She shook her head. “Yeah, not buying it, but
thanks for the effort.”
    Blake crossed his arms, anger sparkling in
his hazel eyes. “Not buying what? That I find you sexy?”
    “Bingo.” She scooted back, preparing to get
up. “Perhaps it’s the novelty. Maybe I’m the last girl in Seattle
you haven’t fu—”
    “Don’t.” His eyes narrowed. “Do not bring up
my past as a way to get out of this discussion. I was honest with
you about that, and it should be a non-issue.”
    She swallowed the rebuke, nodding. “You’re
right. I apologize for the comment. Anyway, I have to get
going.”
    He hesitated a moment before leaning away
from her. “Fine.”
    “You aren’t going to argue?” she asked it
with a touch of sarcasm, but couldn’t deny the surge of
disappointment at his easy surrender.
    “Why bother? You’ve already made up your mind
about what I think.” He shrugged. “Why would you listen to what I’m
saying when you clearly know me so well?” he mocked.
    Erin hesitated. “If I offended you, I
ap—”
    “I don’t want another apology,” he said in
almost a snarl.
    She frowned. “What do you want?”
    “You. I want you to stop pretending like
there’s no attraction between us, that you don’t want me to take
you into my bedroom and touch every inch of you. I want you to stop
running away.”
    Erin blinked, unable to find artifice in his
impassioned speech. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    Blake shrugged. “Probably not, but you’re a
fool if you walk away without exploring this thing between us.” His
voice dropped an octave. “I can guarantee you’ll have no regrets,
physically.”
    “Emotionally?”
    He shrugged. “I hope not, but I can’t make
that promise.”
    That was her undoing, his too-honest answer.
If he’d tried to bluff her, or convince her she’d have no regrets
about acting on their attraction, she would have been able to get
up and leave. Having him acknowledge the real possibility that she
might wish she hadn’t done it afterward breached the wall she’d had
keeping him out.
    With a soft whimper of defeat, she turned to
face him, leaning closer. He met her halfway, their mouths tangling
hungrily, each desperate for a taste of the other. Her heart raced
in her ears, and warmth moved from