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His expression was stony, and this time, the hardness I’d grown accustomed to slid into place over his eyes. I saw more in that expression, though. Almost a vulnerability. Like he was hiding something.
He wiped his face with the towel. “Any reason you’re asking?”
“Hm?”
Duncan let the towel slip to the dumbbells once more and strode in my direction. For some reason, his nearness rendered any movement from me impossible.
“Maybe you wanted to hear something else,” he said, his head angled low like a wolf on the prowl.
I retreated away from the punching bag. “Like what?”
“Maybe you wanted more of a confession from me.”
My heels hit the wall. There was nowhere else to go, and he was getting closer with every step.
“You’re dreaming,” I said, the words echoing past the cotton in my ears.
He was turning this on me?
His jaw ticked. He tilted his head to one side, a playful glint in his hazel eyes that looked browner in this moment. “Maybe. You liked that I asked you to date me, though. Is that why you wanted to know? You’re considering it?”
“No,” I said with a breathy laugh.
He closed in, way into my personal space now. Energy pulsed from his body, filling what little air there was between us with heat. “Come on. Don’t tell me the thought hasn’t crossed your mind before. Dating me. Being with me.”
“Not once. Not since you brought it up.”
This amused him. “So youhavethought about it? Might be worth exploring.”
“I don’t think so,” I said, my chest spurring from the charge between us.
“Why not?”
“I—don’t?—”
“I’m reliable, Rosabel.”
“In the workplace, yes. With your friends? I’m sure you are. But in love?”
His mouth twitched at the L-word. “Love is no different.”
“It’s totally different,” I said with a laugh.
I needed space from him. I needed distance.
Scratch that. I needed him to pull me closer.
“How so?”
“Because there’s so much more to it. It’s more than attraction. Loving someone means giving yourself to her. Loving someone means honoring her, being honest, putting her needs above yours. I just can’t see you giving yourself to someone like that.”
I could tell the words were too much the instant they left my mouth.
Duncan’s body radiated with energy. His chest heaved. His eyes closed to half mast, and he lowered his head toward mine, lifting his arm to place it on the wall behind my head and catching me so off guard, I planted my hands on the wall behind me, my heart drumming against my ribs.
Heat thrummed from his body so close to mine.
The edges of my vision blurred. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Duncan was beautiful on a regular basis, but close up? He was brutal.
