Scrunching his nose, he said, “I have no idea why you would.”
“I think it’s cute. And sexy.” Anna sat down on his rumpled bed, looking far too at home in the spot where he slept, and started setting up a makeshift picnic. “I know you don’t really drink wine coolers, but it seemed too perfect to resist. I had to re-create your birthday night, only without ruining it this time.”
He shook his head but didn’t move. If he took a step toward her, it was over. If he so much as sat down next to her, all would be lost. He couldn’t. Shouldn’t. “You didn’t ruin it. It’s still one of the best memories I have.”
“Well, I’m hoping this one will be even better.” She smiled at him, but the smile melted away, and her forehead knit. “Are you coming, or are you going to stand over there the whole time?”
“Why are you here?” he asked, his voice raspy. “Why did you really knock?”
She hesitated. “I told you. I wanted to retry your birthday feast.”
“It’s been years.” He dragged a hand down his face and tried to remind himself he couldn’t touch her. Couldn’t have her. She deserved more. “Why now? Why tonight?”
“I just wanted to bring you cookies,” she said softly. “Do I need a better reason?”
“To come in my room practically naked at night? To continue tempting me to touch you, when I know I shouldn’t?” He dropped his arms to his sides, fisting his hands. “Yes. I think you need a better reason.”
“I’m not trying to get you to touch me, damn it.” Her face red, she stood up and shoved her robe off. Underneath she wore a pink concoction that was held on her shoulders by two bare wisps of fabric secured together. The nightgown was far from naughty or even sexy, but on her it screamed of seduction. She lifted her chin and stared him down. “If I wanted to seduce you, I would have come in like this. Not in my robe.”
Staring at all the skin she’d just bared, he swallowed hard and gritted his teeth, because he was seconds from showing her just how easy it would be to seduce him. “Put that back on,” he said, his voice raspy. “Now.”
She advanced on him, her eyes shining with fury. “And if I came here to seduce you, then I wouldn’t be all the way over here while you’re all the way over there. I would be holding on to your neck, tugging you down for a kiss. My legs would be wrapped around your waist, and you’d be deep inside me within minutes. And I certainly wouldn’t be so damn cold, because you’d be making me all hot and sweaty.”
Her words branded the images of everything she mentioned and more into his brain. Her writhing beneath him, a sheen of sweat making her porcelain skin shimmer. Her nails scraping his back as he drove deep inside her, finally making her his in every way. Driving so deep inside her, he would never want to leave.
And she’d never want him to, either.
“Anna, stop it,” he rasped.
“Stop what? What did I do that was so freaking wrong, Brett?” she asked, throwing her hands out to the sides. “All I did is tell you the difference between seduction and a snack shared between friends.”
Her perfect breasts heaved. His fingers itched to touch them, which made his cock harden, which made him grit his teeth and stiffen in an attempt to stay the hell where he was, which was a losing battle. Did she even realize how close he was to snapping right now?
Yeah, and she wants you to.
“Get dressed,” he ground out. “If you’re not here to seduce me, then why are you here?”
She didn’t pick up her robe. Instead, her cheeks flushed and she stepped closer, her nose tipped up in the air. “Did it ever occur to you that I’m here because I’m your friend, or that I wanted to give you another happy memory because I care about you?”
He clenched his jaw. There she went saying something perfect again.
She stalked across the room, her eyes on him the whole time. “You can send me away tonight, and I’ll still care. You can tell me to screw off and never talk to me again, and I’ll still care. There’s nothing you can do that’ll make me stop.”
“Anna…” he said through a strangled groan, watching as she got closer and his determination to keep his hands to himself got further away. “Stop.”
She shot him a glare and continued on, stopping just short of arm’s reach. She’d left the final decision up to him. If he wanted her, he would have to take that damn step. “I know you don’t feel the same way about me. I know you never will.”