Delusive by Courtney Lane Page B

“On second thought, you don’t need to answer. You only know one other person in this town, and I’m sure she gave me a less than glowing recommendation.”  
    The thought of him having me watched, or watching me, and collecting information sent me into an uneasy state. How else could he have easily, and correctly, assumed Skylar was my only friend in town, and know about my issues with getting my car fixed? The layers to Elias seemed to become more plentiful. I was on the brink of thinking I was in over my head.  
    “Skylar told me you were only after sex. It made sense to me because of the way you carry yourself. I’m not blaming you or anything. I understand. You’re a hot commodity and why shouldn’t you be that way?”
    “A hot commodity?” he questioned, his tone lightening up from the more severe one he’d adopted when speaking to me only seconds earlier.
    “I’m sure you know. You’re a very, very attractive man, Elias.” Catching sight of his mischievous grin, making my stomach flutter, I continued, “What I’m annoyed with is the feeling that I’m a conquest. I can’t work out in my mind how it could be anything else. I don’t believe in instant love, or instant attraction.”
    “Because you don’t believe in it, I shouldn’t?” He continued without expecting or allowing space for an answer, “I’m infatuated with you, Ley. What I want beyond that, I guess we’ll find out once you stop pretending you’re not curious about where this could go. I’m very straightforward. If I want you in my bed, I’ll say so. When I’m done with you, I will say so. I’m not going to string you along or make you think this is more than it is. I will be brutally honest with you. Right now, I’m not sure what I want beyond getting to know you.”  
    Feeling it burn with a familiar pain, I touched my neck. I wished my body would stop reacting this way. It had become a dead giveaway.
    “Oh, minha amada ,” he snickered, showing his heart-melting dimples again. A slight hint of an accent he hadn’t shown before seeped in. “I’ve barely started. You’re making me think I might break you if I stop holding back.”
    “I’m not fragile,” I said, showing my blindingly apparent uneasiness. “My body just doesn’t do what my mind wants it to do.”
    His smile transformed into something sinister enough to give me chills. “You’re separating the two because of your denial. In full disclosure, have I thought about you sexually? Yes. Did I think about the millions of ways I wanted to take you inside the dressing room and make you realize why you shouldn’t be underdressed in public—because of what it does to me? Yes. That is what you always get from me, Ley. The truth.”
    I looked between my thighs, because he’d awakened a desire there.  
    “With that said, if the rumors about me were true, I would’ve given up my pursuit the moment you turned me down.”
    “I’m embarrassed to say this.”  
    “Don’t be. We’re at the very least friends, correct?”
    “I haven’t had the best experiences with dating. I’m taking a break right now, because I’m not sure if I want to thrust myself into a serious relationship so soon. My previous one was toxic. Very, very toxic.” It was the truth, I simply didn’t disclose who was toxic to whom. I knew starting a relationship with Elias was important to a goal, but it was very obvious I wasn’t mentally ready. “ Minha amada ? Can you tell me what it means?”
    “It’s Portuguese, and someday I will. That is, if you have the patience to wait.”
    “Are you a second-generation American?”
    “Third on my father's side,” he answered, his tone clipped, “second on my mother's side.”
    Easily persuaded into changing the subject, I switched gears. “There is this thing in the back of my mind. It tells me you’re a very dangerous man.”
    “Depends on what you’d consider as dangerous.” He glimpsed at me, so rapt with me he could barely