Third Chances (Men Of Manhattan #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,45

about. And now my insides were twisting in knots. Am I avoiding my family? Am I hiding in Newark? I prided myself on truly living. Maybe I wasn't living at all.

"So, you live in Newark and I live in New York. See? It would just be this one night."

One night isn't enough. "I come to New York all the time to bother James and Penny. I'm sure I could bother one more person on my trips."

"I like plans and structure. I wouldn't be able to handle you just showing up for booty calls or whatever you'd call them. That's not what I'm looking for. At all."

Me either. I wanted her to want me. Not just for a night. I wanted to be wanted. I wanted to be needed. No one really needed me. I had my family and my friends but it wasn't the same. I wanted someone to look at me the way Penny looked at James. Maybe I needed something real. Maybe I needed a change. I was sick of sleeping around. I wanted a little of that structure that she was apparently so into.

"So, how long term are we talking about?" I asked. What the fuck did I just say?

She laughed. A real one this time. The sadness was suddenly gone. What I had just asked was ridiculous, but why did she find it so humorous? I could do long term. If I made a decision I could stick to it. Now I just wanted to prove her wrong.

"I can't handle you," she said and lightly touched the center of my chest. "And I don't think you could handle me either."

"Baby, I can definitely handle you."

"I don't think so."

"Is that a challenge?"

She laughed.

"Challenge accepted."

"It's not a challenge."

"Mhm. Well, either way, how about we just see how this weekend goes?" If she was scared of the label of a one night stand, then I'd take that off the table. It could be more. At least a few nights. Just not one. "Like I said, I'm in New York all the time. Probably as much as I'm in Newark."

"I'm not having sex with you this weekend, Rob Hunter."

Yes you will. "Fine. Just kissing."

She laughed. "I think I should swim away and we should never see each other again."

I didn't like that thought at all. And there was something in her voice that made it seem like she didn't like the idea either. Like she almost said it as a question, wondering what I was thinking. "That's going to be hard. We already have plans tonight."

"We can cancel them."

"I'm sure your friend would be terribly disappointed if she didn't get to hang out with my brother tonight."

"Don't encourage that. Kristen is impossible. Actually, you two kind of have that in common. Maybe you should be hitting on her."

God this girl was stubborn. I just wanted to shake her. She could feel this heat. She said she wanted something tangible and I could feel this chemistry. It couldn't just be me. "What are you so scared of?"

"I'm not scared."

"Look. Here's the deal. I refuse to leave you alone for the rest of the time we're here. I refuse to let someone else remove your bracelets. I don't think you even realize how R-rated the cards get. And I can't not kiss you when I'm next to you. So you'll have to let me do that too. Okay? No one night stand. No sex." I cringed saying it aloud. All I wanted was to fuck her. "Just really borderline inappropriate make out sessions. We're going to see where the weekend takes us. We'll go from there. Deal?"

"Why is everything a negotiation to you? I feel like all I've done since we've met is make deals that always seem to sway in your favor..."

I silenced her complaint with a kiss. I was done talking. So what if I told her I wasn't going to put sex on the table? It just meant I'd have to get her to beg for it instead. And she wouldn't have to beg for long before I said yes. I grabbed her ass, lifting her legs around me again. If she didn't feel this electricity, I'd make her feel it. I'd make her feel it until she couldn't stand it. Until it shattered her. Until she opened her legs and guided my cock deep inside of her.

And she never had to worry about it being a onetime thing anyway. I fully intended to fuck her over and over