Getting Rowdy

“No, but I assumed...” He shook his head. “I’ll drive you home.”

“Nooo, you will not.” It was difficult enough being with him in a break room; a closed car would be too much temptation. “Thanks anyway.”

Irritation honed his tone. “Damn it, Avery, this is a tricky situation for me.”

For him? “That has to be a joke, right?”

The muscles of his jaw flexed. “I wish you hadn’t walked in on me today.”

“That makes two of us!”

“But you did,” he stated, “and I think we should talk about it.”

Oh, no, she would not let that intimate tone and determined expression win her over. “I’m not your keeper, Rowdy. And believe me, even without the peep show today, I wasn’t ignorant about your...overactive sex drive. I just hadn’t expected to trip over it at work.”

“It was before work, and an isolated incident.”

Of all the nerve! “You’re saying it’s never happened before?”

“Sure it has.”

Her stomach cramped—until he continued.

“But not here.”

Sputtering, Avery snapped, “Here is what I was talking about!”

“Yeah?”

He left her so disconcerted, she could barely find words. “I wasn’t suggesting that you had never...that you hadn’t...” No, she couldn’t spell it out for his amusement. She squared her shoulders. “I’ve never met a more uninhibited person.”

Male arrogance curled his mouth. “So it was just the location that upset you?”

“I’m not upset!”

At her raised voice, he lifted a brow.

Inhaling in a bid to regain control, Avery said more calmly, “What you do in your own time is your own business.”

“That was my own time—time I wanted to spend with you, but you weren’t interested.”

Dropping the shirts, Avery propped her hands on her hips. “That’s your excuse?”

He eased closer. “Sorry, honey, but I don’t need an excuse.” Oh-so-gently, he smoothed back a curl that had escaped her ponytail. “I’m a grown man, it’s my bar and I wasn’t expecting anyone to show up so early, especially not you.”

“Perfect!” She snatched up the shirts again, anxious to be on her way. “I guess that’s settled then.”

Rowdy caught her arm. “Hold up.” She started to jerk free, until he said, “Come on, Avery, give me a chance to explain.”

It wasn’t the smartest move, because every second with him chipped away at her resistance, but she paused anyway.

“All right, let’s hear it.” This ought to be good.

But then again, maybe not.

* * *

TO GIVE HIMSELF a moment to think, Rowdy took the garments from Avery and tossed them back on the table. With her looking so mulish—and so damned cute—he would have preferred backing her up to the wall and following his instincts instead of talking.

But he could just imagine how she’d react to that.

Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he tried to figure out what to say, and how to say it.

Overflowing with belligerence, Avery crossed her arms. “Any day now.”

“Give me a second, will you?” He propped a hip on the tabletop and scrutinized her. “You might not know this, but I’ve never explained myself to a woman before. That is, a woman other than my sister. But even with Pepper, it was generalizations. Never anything detailed about when, where or with who I had sex.”

Avery bristled. “You don’t have to explain to me, either.”

“I think I do, but it’s complicated by the fact that you work for me.”

When he said no more, she lifted her chin. “How so?”

Rowdy had never had a problem with plain speaking. He saw no reason to start complicating things now. “I have a major jones for you, Avery. You know that.”

Her jaw loosened. “Oh, my God. You are so—”

“But as your employer,” he interrupted, “I could cross a line here if I’m not careful.”

She choked. “Seriously, Rowdy? This is you being careful?”

To hell with it. Brushing his knuckles over her cheek, down her throat, he said, “I want you. All the fucking time.” Even when I’m with other women. He opened his hand on her shoulder, urged her closer. “And it’s not going away anytime soon.”

She softened the tiniest bit, but still said, “Looked to me like it went away just fine this morning.”

Seeing the hurt she tried to hide with sarcasm, he shook his head. “No, honey, not even close.”

Her mouth tightened. “So your date was just—”

“You’re confusing things now. I don’t date. What you saw was sex, plain and simple.”

“Oh, my God.” She pressed her hands to his chest, but not with any real conviction at pushing him away. “I don’t want to hear this.”

“She knew what it was.” Rowdy easily held on to her. “I didn’t sugarcoat things, and she agreed one hundred percent.”

Anger darkened her blue eyes and lowered her voice to a rasp. “I can’t imagine why you’re telling me this.”

Because what you think of me matters. Rowdy slid his hand to the back of her neck, keeping her near. “I get the feeling you saw me with her and you took it personally.”