“You know me. I know you. We know the deal. Don’t kid yourself. I’m certainly not.”

“Explain the deal. What you think you know.”

“No strings. All fun. Zero feelings.”

He belly-laughed without releasing her. “You think I’d be lying on top of you, asking you all this crap if that was the case?”

“Yeah.” She tried to elbow out but failed. “I think you’re having a fucking great time.”

“Oh, Sugar. Fucking you was a great time. I plan on doing it again.”

She plowed a fist into his chest. He laughed again.

“God, Jared—” She tried to pull from under him. No luck. “You want to know my problem? I hate the way I feel about you. I don’t like it, and I don’t want it.” She shook her head against the cushion, angry that things had come to this point. He’d won, like he always did.

“Why the hell not?”

She stopped thrashing. “Simple. I don’t trust it.”

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “It or me?”

“Both.”

Dissolving the distance, Jared covered her mouth with his. Slow and sensual, the licks and kisses defined bliss. Her head swam; she’d never been kissed like that before. He was communicating his feelings and his desires. He rolled his warm body against hers, and everything spun. The room. Her mind. All scrambling her stronghold against him.

Her senses were alive, and she loved the touch of his corded muscles and growing hard-on. A tangible quality inhabited their kiss.

Words weren’t necessary. The hot spear of his tongue conveyed his thoughts and emotions. If he wanted to pass along his interest in her, then he could mark that item with a red checkmark. Job well done. Applause for Boss Man.

Jared delved his tongue again, sending a wave of need through her. Her nipples tightened. Her legs melted, allowing him to nestle closer.

The man could kiss like he wrote the how-to book. Maybe the kiss would never end. Her fingers knotted into his shirt. If she held him close enough, maybe her fears would float away, and reality would never set in.

His lips closed over hers, extinguishing her impossible wish. “Nothing about that kiss said stop.” The deep baritone of his words flittered over her skin.

“Let’s not do that again,” Sugar whispered. Her mind and heart were at war, and she needed to escape. She couldn’t give in to him. Her heart would break within a second, and she would be a fool. She didn’t believe in monogamy. Neither did he. She didn’t understand why her body and mind were betraying what she knew at an instinctual level.

Jared sat up, giving her distance. Cool air rushed over her, and the awful abandonment hurt. What? She was a basket case. She had all the makings of a crazy, needy woman. At least she’d been kind enough to warn him. Thank God he was smart enough to heed caution.