Slow No Wake - By Dakota Madison Page 0,14

felt warm and cozy just thinking about him. My mind didn’t immediately go to sex when I thought about him, which was a change. The guys I had dated in the past seemed to all have that effect on me. And none of those relationships had turned out so well. Obviously, or I’d still be with them. Daniel made me think about cuddling on the couch watching a movie, or walking hand-in-hand on the beach, instead of just jumping into bed with him.

I got into my sweat pants and a tee shirt and relaxed on the couch with the book I had been dying to read, Fight Club. I adored the movie and couldn’t wait to read the source material. I’m a bit obsessed with violent books and films. I think I find violent entertainment so appealing because of my psychology background. As a therapist, I see a lot of violent people and hear a lot of stories of violence. Perhaps in some ways, I was trying to figure out what’s behind it all. Or maybe I just enjoy watching, or reading about, a good fight.

I could feel myself starting to fall asleep in my book when there was a knock on the door. I looked at my watch. It was nearly nine o’clock.

The knocking continued until I opened the door and Eddie waltzed in.

“Hey, neighbor,” he said. “Sorry, I’m late.”

“It’s nine at night,” I moaned. “What are you doing here?”

He flopped on the couch. “Just wanted to see what you were up to.”

“I’m getting ready to go to bed,” I said and immediately regretted it.

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Is that an invitation? I didn’t think you were that easy.”

I put my hands on my hips. “That was not an invitation.”

“Too bad. As much as I dig that sexy little tee shirt you’ve got on, I’d love to see it off.”

I could feel my face turning red and the heat spreading throughout my body. How could a man simultaneously disgust and excite me?

“If you sit down and talk to me for five minutes, I promise I’ll leave.”

“Fine,” I said as I sat down on the other side of the couch. I stared at Eddie and waited for him to speak.

“So, do you know much about kite surfing?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“Do you want to see how it’s done?”

“Not particularly,” I said.

I caught a glimmer of something in Eddie’s eyes. A challenge, perhaps?

“How about a walk on the beach then?”

“It’s awfully dark out,” I quipped.

He grinned. “I meant this weekend. Maybe Saturday at dusk. We can watch the sunset. It’s romantic.” He emphasized the word romantic as if he was making fun of it.

“I already have plans for Saturday,” I said matter-of-factly.

Eddie’s cool demeanor slipped for an instant but was back just as quickly. “You work fast,” he said. “You’ve haven’t even lived here a week yet. I thought it would take at least few weeks for all the sharks to come out of the water.”

“I certainly wouldn’t call my date a shark,” I said.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “All guys are sharks. Some are just better at hiding it.”

“Whatever. You don’t even know the guy.”

“But I am a guy and I know how guys are.”

I glared at Eddie. “No, you know how you are. Not all guys are like you.”

Eddie shrugged. “Believe what you want. At least I’m honest about what I want.”

“And what is that exactly?” I challenged.

Eddie slid over to me so our bodies were almost touching. He looked at me with such desire I could barely breathe. “You and I both know what I want, and I think you want it, too.”

I nearly leapt from the couch to stop myself from doing something really stupid. All it would have taken was for me to move one inch toward Eddie and we would have been making out on my couch and probably in my bed shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, when I jumped from the couch, my knees were weak and I nearly fell over. When I righted myself, I turned to Eddie and glared at him. “You have no idea what I want.”

Eddie got up from the couch and stood right next to me. He got close enough to whisper in my ear. Feeling his breath on my neck sent a wave of shivers down my body that were so intense, I nearly collapsed. The sexual tension between the two of us filled the small room.

“You think you know me, Alexandria,” he said softly in my ear. “But you