Page 41 of Singled Out
“I trust my instincts. And I’ll be cautious.”
“I don’t like it.”
The way she raised her brows made me stop and realize I had no right to say whether I liked or disliked anything in her life. We’d barely known each other before last night, and we weren’t embarking on any kind of a relationship.
“When are you hoping to move out?” I asked.
“I’m actually looking at an apartment later today. Mrs. Karasinski’s, above her store. Any chance you could go with me as a second pair of eyes?”
“I need to pick up Danny.”
“Where is Danny?”
“I left him with my brother. I wasn’t sure what I’d find out here with Naomi’s brother.”
She nodded. “You could bring him along.”
“I could,” I allowed, fighting with myself. Because a part of me wanted to go with her. “But your dad would probably find out.”
“My dad doesn’t get a say in my life.”
“But he has a say in mine if I want to keep my job.”
“He wouldn’t fire you for looking at an apartment with me.” She rolled her eyes.
“Probably not, but he could make things uncomfortable.”
Harper grabbed my T-shirt in a bunch near my navel and pulled me closer. “You know saying my dad would be bothered by us spending time together only makes me want to do that even more, right?”
Her face was inches from mine, her eyes peering straight into my eyes. I could smell her scent, not the same spice from her perfume but more purely Harper, with a hint of feminine sweat that I found disturbingly alluring. I realized I was leaning into her and tried to get control of myself.
“Do you and your dad not get along anymore? It always seemed like you did from afar.”
“We get along. We love each other. But whenever he tries to control my life, I like to get under his skin. It’s sort of a hobby.” She shrugged unapologetically, grinning like the troublemaker she was.
Then her lips were on mine, and without thinking, I put my hand on her waist and pulled her closer. I reveled in the sweet-tinged taste of her, the softness of her curves against my hard angles, the feel of her delicate but talented fingers running through my hair.
When I could convince myself to pull away long enough to speak, I said, “I’d tell you you’re trouble, but I think you know that. I think you thrive on it.”
Her lids slowly opened halfway, and she peered up at me. “If trouble means I like kissing you, I can own it.”
“I like kissing you too. But we can’t keep doing this. I can’t do a relationship, Harper.”
“Same. I don’t do relationships. But if you keep chasing after me, I’m probably going to kiss you,” she said, her tone playful.
I growled. “Chasing after you?”
“First to the lake last night, then here.” She shrugged. “It’s like you have a hard time resisting me or something.”
“I have a hell of a hard time resisting you.” Which meant I needed to stay the fuck away from her after this. I couldn’t resist going in for one last kiss though. “I have to leave now,” I finally said, managing to end the kiss again, fighting to back away from her.
Harper seemed as reluctant to stop as I was, but she merely nodded, as if she knew we were about two heartbeats from taking things further.
“Bye, Harper,” I said. I walked toward the exit, stopped when I was almost there. “Keep your guard up around Naomi’s brother.”
“Yes, sir.” A smart-ass to the end.
I couldn’t deny I liked that about her. I liked a lot about her.