Page 68 of Craig

"Much to my regret."

"I can't do this. You have no right to…"

When she stopped, he filled in the rest.

"To fall in love with you?" he asked gently.

"I could no more stop myself than I could stop the sun from rising. I fell in love with you when we first met."

That new revelation had her eyes snapping to his, her mouth dropping open.

"What? You- you said you were fine with the arrangement. Was that why you wanted something more permanent?"

"And why you drove me away." He smiled grimly as he recalled the heated argument.

"That was then and this is now. I let you go before; there's no way in hell; I'm going to do so again."

His eyes glinted with a determination that shoved at her.

"I'm not in love with you." She lifted her chin up, her gaze lofty.

"If that's what you're hoping for, you're doomed to disappointment and you're wasting your time."

"It's my time to waste and I don't think I'll be disappointed." His hand drifted down to curve at the back of her neck.

His thumb felt the pulse that was beating like a wild thing.

"It's just sex," she insisted.

"Then we go from there."

"You're insane."

He inclined his head with a wry grin. "I might just be that."

Shoving at him, she tried to get some space, but he was an immovable wall. Giving up in frustration, she curled her fingers in the material of his shirt.

"Look…" She heaved out a breath to try and calm herself.

"We have an arrangement and I would appreciate you sticking to it."

"Isn't it too late for that now?" he asked her gently.

"The original arrangement was based on the fact that we didn't have a physical relationship. That has been shot to hell. We do have a physical relationship. And if you're going to stand here and tell me you want it to end and you feel nothing, then I'm going to call you a liar."

Her eyes sparkled dangerously.

"We're attracted to each other, and I don't have a problem with us having something physical going on. But I have no intention of taking it further. I don't want anything more than what we have and I want you to accept that."

"And if I won't?" he asked with raised brows.

"Then that's your problem. Please let go of me."

"No."

"What? Craig, you can see that this is ridiculous. What do you hope to accomplish by keeping me hostage?"

"I want to hold you. I like holding you."