Forbidden Harmony (Harmony Falls #3) - Elizabeth Kelly Page 0,51

that promise.”

She walked the couple of steps to the kitchen. “Could I get a drink?”

He opened the fridge. It had beer, a few takeout boxes from a Chinese food restaurant, and a bottle of hot sauce.

“I’ve got beer or water,” he said.

“Water is fine.”

“It’s just from the tap,” he said as he grabbed one of his two glasses from the cupboard.

“That’s fine with me.” She studied the kitchen before saying, “You don’t have a stove or a microwave.”

He filled the glass with water and handed it to her. She took a few sips. “How do you cook your meals?”

“I eat out,” he said.

“Oh. Well, if you ever want a home-cooked meal I’m a pretty good cook. My mom taught me, and -”

“I don’t need or want you to be my girlfriend,” he said. “This is just fucking, remember?”

“I remember,” she said before drinking the rest of her water in three large gulps. “I was just trying to be nice.”

“Don’t bother.”

“Fine by me,” she said but he could hear the hurt in her voice.

“C’mon.” He walked to the bed and stripped off his shirt before yanking off his socks. He turned to see her standing behind him fully dressed and he raised his eyebrow at her. “Are you going to get naked?”

She flushed. “I thought you would, I mean…”

He unbuttoned his jeans. “You have two hands. You don’t need me to undress you.”

“Right,” she said.

He turned away from her and dropped his jeans and his briefs. He picked them both up and tossed his underwear in the hamper before folding his jeans and placing them on top of the dresser. When he turned around, she was still in her dress and struggling to pull the zipper down.

He rolled his eyes and she said, “The zipper is stuck.”

“Turn around.”

She turned around and he pushed her hair over her shoulder, resisting the urge to bury his face in the soft strands. The zipper was caught in the lining of her dress and he tried to pull the lining free. It refused to budge and with a grunt of effort, he yanked on the zipper. It broke off in his hand and he cursed. “I broke the zipper.”

“Oh, uh, that’s okay.” She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

Of course she is! You’re being a complete asshole. For fuck’s sake, she’s a lady – treat her like one!

Guilt coursed through him. He didn’t want her to think he was her goddamn boyfriend but that didn’t mean he should treat her like she was nothing. He took a deep breath and pulled on the edges of her dress. The broken zipper pulled apart easily and he eased her dress down her arms to her waist. She didn’t protest but she immediately crossed her arms over her breasts. Her entire body was trembling, and he didn’t think it was because she wanted him.

He leaned forward to brush a light kiss against her upper back. “You okay, Sunshine?”

Chapter Fourteen

She was making a mistake. Sure, she wanted Preacher a lot, but she couldn’t do this. He didn’t want to be her boyfriend and she was fine with that but the way he was treating her now was humiliating. She blinked back the tears as Preacher pulled on the stuck zipper. Maybe he hadn’t been romantic the first two times they’d had sex, but he’d been sweet at least. There was no sweetness in him at all now.

You said this was what you wanted. He laid out the rules and you agreed to them. Don’t go changing your mind now just because he isn’t sweet. Harrison was sweet and look what he was doing behind your back. You have a month to learn everything you can from Preacher. Pay attention, figure out how to be good in bed, and then you can forget all about him and move on with your life with a nice man who you can wow in bed so he won’t cheat on you.

Preacher spit out an expletive. “I broke the zipper.”

“Oh, uh, that’s okay.” She could hear the tears in her voice, and she tried to swallow past the boulder sized lump in her throat.

Get it together, you idiot!

Preacher pulled on her dress and she allowed him to ease it down her arms until it was bunched at her waist. She folded her arms across her small breasts. She was wearing a bra, but she was suddenly self-conscious.

God, what was she doing? She had to put a stop to this. She opened