The Driven Snowe Read Free Page B

me,” Josh muttered. He tilted her chin up, looking her square in the eye. She closed them, anticipating another delicious onslaught.
    He chuckled, and her eyes flew open. “No, not yet,” he said. He pulled her against his chest and put an arm around her shoulders. He smelled good, like something spicy. A vague scent of sandalwood, maybe…
    â€œStill with me?”
    â€œHmm?” She looked up to see his blue eyes glowingdown at her. He’d obviously noticed she was paying attention to something other than his conversation. “Oh. Yes.”
    â€œWhy are you doing this now?”
    She tensed against him. “Why?”
    He frowned. “Nobody just decides to lose their virginity overnight, Angela. What set you off?”
    She shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t think you’d understand…”
    â€œTry me.”
    â€œI have a pretty good life,” she started, thinking quickly. “But I sort of…well, I realized I was going to be thirty. I’d kept putting off the big stuff I’d always meant to do. I’ve never been to Europe. I’ve never gone skinny-dipping, I’ve never eaten a seven-course meal…”
    â€œSo,” he said, grinning. “You’ve got a really full night ahead of you, huh?”
    â€œWell, I figured that I was the most nervous about sex, so I’d just start with that,” she said, with an embarrassed laugh. “If I can do this one, I can do anything.”
    It wasn’t the whole reason, but it was close enough. Even brushing past the true reason made her feel queasy.
    â€œDo you always make decisions this way?” She could feel the rumble of his voice under her ear. It tickled the side of her head, and she nuzzled him a little. He moved her so he could better look at her face. “Well, do you?” he repeated.
    â€œPretty much.”
    He laughed, and something in his eyes shifted. “Sex changes things. Even when it isn’t supposed to mean anything. Maybe especially when it isn’t supposed tomean anything,” he said. “Believe me, you should think a little more about all of this.”
    She’d come so far, her body protested. Was he going to send her home?
    She glanced around, and for a brief second glanced at an electrical cord that was draped by the fish tank. She then gave the arm of the sofa an appraising look.
    I could tie him up.
    She giggled. Oh, she was in trouble when ideas like that made even a modicum of sense.
    He smiled at her, stroking her side in what she guessed was supposed to be a comforting gesture. The feel of his broad hand moving down her body was anything but, and she felt warmth spreading up from her abdomen.
    â€œI mean it,” he repeated. “It’s not something you just want to rush into.”
    â€œJosh,” she said, “I’ve been ‘rushing into’ this for about twelve years or so now, don’t you think?”
    â€œYou know what I mean.”
    â€œNo, I don’t think I do.” How was she supposed to explain this? she wondered. “I’ve wanted this for a long time, and to be honest, I want you. I’m sure you think that I’m going to have all these regrets tomorrow—or worse, that I’m going to have this incredible night and then think that it’s going to mean happily ever after. I’m twenty-nine, not seventeen,” she chastised gently. “I know it’s not going to be like what I’m expecting, but I also know that I can live alone quite comfortably. I might be unhappy, but in a way, I’ve been unhappy for years already. I’d rather take the misery and the sex.”
    He laughed. “Angela, I don’t know who the hell youare,” he said, his voice gruff. “But I like you, you know that?”
    â€œI like you, too,” Angela said with a broad grin. “I wanted to do this—and when I first got here, it all hit me, the reality of