The Dangerous Curves Series

Chapter 23

“Ground rules?” she echoed.

“Yeah. Like… if we were together, I wouldn’t spend time with anyone else at all. No women in the crash rooms in the bar. No women in any rooms, anywhere.”

“Really?” Sarah said, the skepticism clear in her voice. “You’d do that? You could do that?”

“Of course I would, and of course I could. But here’s the thing, OK, and it may well be a deal-breaker for you. I can’t totally commit to you, not all the way, and maybe not the way you want or need.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’d never cheat on you. That’s a promise, and it’s not up for discussion of any kind, ‘cause you deserve a guy who’s faithful to you. I promise I’d never lay a hand on you in anger, and I’d never lie to you, and I wouldn’t force or guilt you into bed – anything we did there, I’d want it to be because you wanted it as much as I did. I know the kind of man I am, and I know what I can offer, and all those things are on the table.” Jax took her hand, ran his thumb over her palm in small circles. “But I also know damn good and well what I can’t do and what I’m not. What I can’t promise you is anything long-term. I’m not the marrying kind, and I have no f*****g interest in having a crib in my house. You get me? I’m – temporary.”

She looked up at him, silent.

“I can offer you exclusivity, and I can offer you damn good s*x, for as long as we decide we want to be together.” His eyes were hot. “But I can’t offer you forever and a future. I won’t. So, if you’re looking for a guy to marry and settle down with, you’re looking in the wrong place. But if you want a guy to show you a good time for a little while? I’m it, baby.” Jax stroked her hair away from her face. “I want to be it, for you.”

Sarah sat there, thinking. If she were being totally honest with herself, she knew that a permanent relationship wasn’t in the cards for her either, at least not at this point in her life. She didn’t have the time to invest in anything that serious, and she didn’t have the freedom to plan long-term. So why not cut loose for once?

All I do is what’s expected of me, what’s needed from me. What’s wrong with seeing Jax a few times a week and just – having some fun with him?

But do I really want the first guy I go to bed with to be temporary? Shouldn’t I hold out for the real thing? For a guy who wants me forever?

But I’ve been waiting for that guy for years, and so far, he’s nowhere in sight. What if he’s not just late - what if he never shows up?

Her continued silence unnerved him a bit. “This would be new for both of us, Sarah. If you want to give it a shot with me, we can figure it out. Together. OK?” He gave her that slow, sexy grin, and her traitorous heart leapt in her chest. “Maybe starting on Saturday night? With dinner?”

“I – I don’t know.”

“About which part? Dinner, or the rest of it?”

She took a deep breath. “Can I think about it?”

“You want to think about dinner? Or the rest of it?”

“All of it.” Sarah shrugged. “I want to think about all of it.”

Jax saw the prairie distance in her eyes, and his body clenched up tight when he realized that she wasn’t sure about any of what he’d just said. That was when he understood that there was a pretty damn good chance that, for the first time in his life, he wasn’t going to get what he wanted from a woman. Maybe he wasn’t going to be with her – not at all. Not in his bed, and not for dinner, and not up here on the overlook, talking and holding her close and looking at the stars.

Shit. She may well say no and I’d better get ready for that. Possible rejection sucks, man.

“Of course you can, doll.” He stood up and extended his hand to her. “You know where I am if you decide that you want what I’m offering. I’ll be waiting… just don’t leave me hanging too long, OK?”

“OK,” she said.

“Now, how about I get you home?” Jax said. “You have to be up early tomorrow morning for Noah.”