Page 310 of Under Her Skin

Chapter3

BLAINE

I can see by her expression that she’s pissed. “I don’t want tofight.”

“Well that’s just too damn bad,” she says as her hands go to her hips, the typical stance for her when she’s about to go off. “You said you were going to do that, Blaine. You told me you already had the whole thing set up, the plans just had to be finalized. So whathappened?”

“I changed my mind. I don’t see the point anymore. I don’t want you to be mad at me.It’s…”

She interrupts me as she holds out her hand, her palm near my face, “Just business! I know. Blaine, here’s the thing. You told me you were going to do something, and boom, just like that, you changed your mind without saying one word about it. That’s worse than never coming up with the idea in the first place. Don’t ever tell me you’re going to do something and then just never do it. I hatethat!”

“I just hurried into it. I don’t usually do things like that. As a matter of fact, this is really the first time I’ve ever told people I was going to do anything and changed my mind about it. You see, I’m not that guy I was for that short amount of time. That was a fake person. You don’t want to be involved with a fake person, doyou?”

Her eyes move up and down as she looks me over. “Blaine, I don’t want you to be anything you’re not. But I have to let you know that I need to be able to respect you if we’re to keep things like theyare.”

“That’s another thing I want to change,” I say and watch her perfect eyebrowsraise.

“What? Do you want to end this? You want to stop seeing me?” she asks, and I see the hurt in her green eyes and that makes me acheinside.

I pull her to me and hug her, leaning my chin on the top of her head. “No. Not at all. I want more. I want what we have out in the open, and I want you to move in with me. I need you. I need to have you around me. And I can’t go back to that hospital. I’ve had no idea how to ask you to do this. I also was afraid once you knew I’m not going to be making those big changes that you’d be the one who’d endthings.”

Her hand touches my chest, pushing me back gently as she looks up at me. “Blaine, I think this is too sudden. You’re telling me you won’t be the man I grew to care for. You’re telling me you want to be that all-business-no-emotion man. I can tell you I won’t be able to keep my mouth shut about how you dothings.”

“I can handle your mouth,” I tell her, then take it with a sweet kiss. She’s smiling when I end it and pull back to look at her. “And I’m not saying I don’t want your input. I’m just saying I most likely won’t act on any ofit.”

The frown that fills her face has my heart pounding with worry that she won’t accept my offer. This is exactly what I was afraid would happen when I told her about me deciding my old ways are the bestways.

She has my heart right in the palm of her hand. I knew it would come to this. I knew if I let myself feel anything, I’d end up on the shit end of the stick. Now, here I stand, waiting for her to either give me what I want or take it all away fromme.

The ball is in her court and I find her frown killing parts of me I didn’t even realize had been brought to life. She’s brought more out of me than I even knew. And, now, she may be about to kill all that shemade.

“Blaine, I think moving in with you might actually be a good idea. I was thinking it was too sudden, but on second thought, it might be just what you need. You need to know everything isn’t all bad. I know you truly enjoyed spending time with Terry, Colby, little Adam, and Tammy. You let the one negative, Meagan’s father, take all the good away from yourexperience.”

“It was more than just him,” I say as I let her go and feel the hardness emerging inside of me again as I think about how unfair it is that those children have to suffer. There’s not one of them who deserves what they’re going through. Our God, if there is one, allows this kind of thing to happen. “I just know I was a lot happier when my mind was just on business. I do have room for you, though. I have lots of room foryou.”

She reaches out for me and pulls me back to her. I wrap my arms around her and love the way she makes me feel. Now, if she could just leave the kids at that damn hospital out of things and out of mymind!

“I think I can accept that, for now,” she says, making me tense upagain.

“For now?” I ask as I hold her back and give her a look that hopefully lets her know I’m not the kind of man who takes too well to being nagged. “You should know I hate to be nagged aboutanything.”

“Nagged?” she asks, with yet another frown on her pretty little face. It seems I’m making her do that a lot today, and I don’t like that atall.

“Sorry.” I pull her back in close and hold her tight. “I’ll just shut up now. Where would you like to go to dinner thisevening?”

“It doesn’t matter to me. I have to work until eight to cover for the nurse who’s covering for me right now. It’s going to be kind of late to go anywhere nice. I’d have to change and that would take a little while. Plus, I want to get to sleep early. I’m pulling a doubletomorrow.”

Just like that, I realize that, if she and I are going to get to spend much time together, I’ll need to go to the hospital at leastsome.

And just like that, I think this will never workout.

Chapter4

DELANEY

Blaine has gone back and forth between being as tense as I’ve ever seen him to very relaxed and giving. It seems he’s dealing a bit with an inner struggle he’s not telling me everythingabout.

“I tell you what,” I say, as I sense he needs me more than he’s willing to tell me right now. “I’ll call the nurse who’s covering for me and work a deal out with her for the rest of today. I won’t be going back up there until tomorrow. I know you have something to do at four, but after you get done, I am all yours. Take me anywhere you want or just take me to your estate. I don’t care. The rest of the day and night is all about you, Blaine. Only you andme.”