Call On Me (18 page)

“That’s where
you’re wrong.” He kept his eyes trained on her, keeping his words
quiet but putting a thread of steel into his tone. Going too soft
on Ali now would be worse. “I don’t know how or why, but something
happened at the river that night. One second I was comforting you
and the next I was wondering what you tasted like.” When her eyes
widened, he nodded, continuing huskily, “So I kissed you. That kiss
was magic. It was also not enough. I wanted you, Ali. I wanted to
make love to you, to have you.” His gaze dropped, skimming over her
breasts as he added with a low, heated rasp, “I wanted to be inside
you.” Lifting his gaze again, he ensnared hers. “Being inside you
was like nothing I could ever imagine. It was right.”

She shook her
head. “No, it was wrong.”

“Why?” he
demanded bluntly.

“We’re like
brother and sister, Ty, it
is
wrong.”

“Have you
forgotten that we’re
not
brother and sister?”

“We’re best
friends.”

“So?”

“Friends don’t
do…that.” She gestured with one hand.

“Lovers have
started before as friends,” Ghost stated.

“We’re not
lovers.”

“Yeah, we
are.”

At this bold
statement her mouth dropped open.

Bending his
elbows, Ghost leaned down towards her, gaining great satisfaction
from seeing her eyes widen further. “Friends to lovers. Friends and
lovers.”

“No.”

Time to push.
“What are you so afraid of?”

“I’m not…I
don’t…”

“You can’t even
answer that question.”

“I’m not
afraid.”

“So you don’t
like me?”

“Of course I
like you!”

“You loathed my
touch?”

Her cheeks
flamed, but gamely she held his gaze. “No.”

“So you liked
it.” At the flare of heat in her eyes, he smiled to himself.

“I don’t want
to talk about it.”

“I’m not going
anywhere until we hash this out.”

“There’s
nothing to hash out!”

He studied her
for several seconds, weighing his words. “Ali, I’ve developed
feelings for you that are definitely more than friendly.”

She
swallowed.

“I’m laying it
on the line here.” Removing one hand from the wall, he cupped her
chin, the movement both reassuring by his thumb rubbing gently
along her jawline while controlling by refusing to allow her to
shrug away. “I’m prepared to do what it takes to go further with
you, Ali. I want you, I won’t hide it. I know you felt something at
the river, too.”

“No, I
d-didn’t,” she stammered.

“I know you too
well.” There was no way he was going to let her go this easily.
“Your response to me then, the heat in your eyes now.” At her
gesture of denial, he leaned further down, narrowing his eyes,
refusing to give her an inch. “Really, Ali? Are you really going to
tell me that you felt nothing at the river? Was it just lust? You
don’t give yourself to men, I know you. Something happened that
night, at least admit that much.”

For a second he
thought she was going to continue denying it but then she did the
unexpected. Her lashes dropped, covering her eyes, a sudden tear
spilling down her cheek.

That reaction
stunned him. All he could do was stare at that tear, watch it slide
down until it was caught on the side of his hand. His heart
clenched, his gut tightened as he gently wiped it away with his
finger.

A sudden
horrible thought occurred to him. Was he wrong? Could he really be
wrong? Was he pushing her to admit something she didn’t feel? Had
it all been on his part only? Oh Jesus, was he harassing her? Did
she feel nothing? Was he just grasping at straws?

His heart fell
when she kept her gaze down. “Ali?”

When at first
she didn’t respond, he was almost convinced that she didn’t feel
anything, that it was all on his side, and he reached for her, even
in his horrified – and yes, chagrined state – wanting to comfort
her, but she lifted those thick eyelashes to look up at him, the
raw agony in her eyes making him freeze.

“No,” she
whispered. “I won’t deny it. But I don’t want it, either.”

Her answer both
stunned and hurt him, especially as the ring of truth was clear in
her tone.

Immediately she
was stricken, reaching out to touch his cheek, her movement
bringing her close to him.

He continued to
look down at her, unable to push away even though his heart lurched
sickeningly in his chest. “Why, Ali? I have to know. Why don’t you
want me?”

“You really
don’t know?” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you can be that
thick, Ty.”

Okay, that was
unexpected. He actually blinked. “The lovemaking was that bad?
I
was that bad?”

“No.” She
struggled to say something, then it rushed out. “It was wonderful.
Amazing, even.” Her cheeks were fiery red but she didn’t look away.
“But it can’t happen again.”

“I don’t
understand.” He so needed to understand.

“You’re my
friend, Ty. My best friend. You’ve been there for me through
everything. I could call on you for any reason.”

“Yes.”
Bewildered, he could only look at her.

“A relationship
like you’re talking about, it changes everything.”

“No, it
doesn’t,” he replied.

“Everything,”
she repeated. “We won’t be friends anymore, it brings
complications. I don’t want complications with you, Ty. I don’t
want things to change.”

Now he
understood. Seeing that same fear flare briefly in her eyes, the
way she twisted her fingers together, he finally realised what was
wrong. It was almost laughable, he couldn’t believe it.

Resting his
hand on the wall again, Ghost shook his head. “Only you, Ali.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t
have to change everything. Being lovers isn’t a bad thing.”

“Have you
thought what would happen if we broke up?” she challenged. “Lovers
who break up don’t remain friends. The relationship changes, they
become merely acquaintances.”

“Why would we
break up?”

“It happens all
the time. Couples break up. If we broke up we wouldn’t be friends
anymore.” Folding her arms beneath her breasts, she sighed sadly.
“We can’t do this, Ty. We can’t risk our friendship.” Dropping her
head forward, she stared at the floor. “So you see, that’s why it’s
wrong.”

Talk about
making obstacles. Ghost did a mental eye roll. “Kind of late to
back out of, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“Ali, things
have already changed a little. We’ve made love. That can’t be taken
back.”

“We can ignore
it. Forget about it.”

His mouth
actually fell open. “What?”

She
shrugged.

Astounding.
“I’m definitely not going to forget about it.”

“You could if
you tried.”

“Seriously? I
can’t believe you really think that.”

“It’s not that
hard.”

“Not that
hard?” Frustration warred with the desire to laugh. “Ali, I
couldn’t forget that night if you paid me a million dollars. That
memory is stuck in my brain.” Deliciously so.

“It’s going to
wreck our friendship.”

“Honey, I’ve
news for you.” Gently placing one finger beneath her chin, he
tipped her head back so she had to look at him. “Nothing is going
to wipe away what we shared. I don’t want to wipe that memory away.
I have no intention of wiping that memory away, I’m not even going
to try.”

She stared up
at him before a small frown marred her smooth brow. Angling her
head to the side, she studied him closely.

Curious as to
her thoughts, Ghost waited.

Finally, she
spoke. “This can’t happen overnight. When did it happen?”

He thought
about that carefully. No, it hadn’t happened overnight. It had
happened over several nights. Hadn’t it?

“When did it
happen?” she pressed.

To be truthful,
he didn’t really know. They’d just been having their usual
easy-going camaraderie, knocking around together, sharing fun
times. Then it had all escalated somehow. “Ali…” He searched for a
way to explain it without making it seem so trivial.

She waited
expectantly.

Taking a deep
breath, he tipped his head back, hunting for the right way to
respond, a way that wouldn’t have her scoffing at him, a way which
she’d understand.

“You can’t even
tell me,” she said with a touch of sadness that had him snapping
his head back down to look at her.

When she made
to push against his arm in an attempt to get him to release her, he
frowned. “Don’t.”

“This is
pointless.”

His hands went
from the wall to her upper arms, gripping them firmly but carefully
regardless of his frustration. “Damn it, Ali, this came as much a
surprise to me as it did to you. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t see it
coming. It just happened. Why is that so hard for you to
accept?”

“Because we’ve
been friends for years and not once have you ever looked at me in
any way except as a friend, that’s why.” She tried to tug away but
gave up when he refused to let go.

“I won’t argue
that,” he replied truthfully. “I can’t explain it, Ali. I just…we
were together, you were crying, I was concerned – and if you even
start to say that proves it was pity sex, you won’t sit down for a
week!” He glared at her.

“I didn’t say
anything!”

“The look on
your face was enough.”

She pursed her
lips but said nothing further.

“Look, it just
happened. One minute I saw you as a friend, the next I saw you as
someone more, someone who was desirable. It crept up without me
noticing, and you know what?” He gave her a little shake when she
gave another small shrug. “I don’t regret it. I also don’t intend
to let you just walk away.”

“I’m not
prepared to let it go further,” she insisted.

“And I’m not
prepared to allow you to stop it.”

“You can’t make
me pretend to feel anything.”

“You’ve already
admitted the lovemaking was amazing.” He couldn’t stop the little
curl of satisfaction from showing in his smile. Hey, call him
bigheaded, but he was still a man who knew he’d rocked his woman’s
world. What bloke couldn’t feel satisfaction in that?

Her eyes
narrowed.

“I can prove it
wasn’t a one-off,” he drawled.

Cheeks flushed
again, her breath caught, but the stubborn chit just wasn’t giving
in. “Not going to happen.”

“Yes, it
is.”

“Going to force
me?”

“No, honey, I
won’t need to force you. I guarantee one kiss will have you going
weak at the knees.”

“You
egotistical drongo.”

He smiled, slow
and sure. “Just saying it like it is.”

Folding her
arms under those bountiful breasts – man, he was starting to
appreciate that particular pose – she glared up at him. “Go home.
I’m not doing this.”

“We’re going
around in circles, Ali. I’m not prepared to lose what is between us
because you’re scared.”

“It’s common
sense.”

“It’s fear, and
you’re going to allow it to smother what we have.”

“
We
don’t have anything.” She lifted her chin. “I’m still certain it
was something that happened on the spur of the moment.”

“And I’m dead
sure it wasn’t.”

“How can you be
so sure, Ty?”

“Because I am.
Deep down in my gut, I know it’s more.”

“Oh, because
your gut feeling is so accurate.”

“It’s dead-on.
I found you every time you needed me and most of that was by gut
feeling.” He arched a brow at her. “How do you think I was able to
find you when no one else could? I always knew where you were, Ali.
I just knew.”

“Big difference
between finding me and…well, finding me.”

“No, there
isn’t. I found you when you needed me. Now I’ve
found
you.”
He tapped his chest. “I know deep inside me that you and I have
something special, Ali.”

“Yeah. Our
friendship.”

Geez, the woman
was like a dog with a done.

Before he could
argue anymore, a knock sounded on the door.

“Jesus!” He
shoved himself back. “If that’s Smith, I’ll rip his bloody head
off! And I mean it this time!”

Before he could
move more than two steps down the hallway, Ali shoved past him and
yanked the door open, saying as she did so, “You arrogant
arsehole!”

In the light of
the veranda, Adam looked down at her. “What did I do wrong?”

“What?
Nothing.” She flushed.

“Hmmm.” His
gaze lifted to study Ghost right behind her. “Evening, Ghost.”

“Adam.” Ghost
nodded to him, his hand automatically coming out to rest on Ali’s
shoulder.

Immediately she
shrugged it off, scowling. “Something you needed, Adam?”

That calm gaze
dropped to her face. “I received a phone call from a concerned
citizen.”

“About what?”
she asked.

Ghost knew
exactly what. He looked from Adam in his uniform to the cop car in
the driveway. Thank God the lights weren’t flashing. “Chris bloody
Smith.”

Adam continued
to look at Ali. “Someone felt you were being threatened, Ali, and
that your life might be in danger.”

Fury boiled
inside Ghost. “That lying coward! I’ll rip his head off-”

“Oh, geez, Ty,
give it a bloody rest!” Ali whirled to face him. “Go home!” She
swung back to look up at Adam. “Nothing is happening, I’m perfectly
bloody fine, I’m sick of men and just send this big lug home before
I kick his arse!” And then, quick as a pin, she spun past him and
shut the door behind her, the lock snicking into place.

“Huh,” Adam
said.

“Goddamn,”
Ghost snarled.

~*~

Leaning back
against the door, Ali closed her eyes. Her knees were shaking, her
palms were sweaty, and her heart was pounding a mile a minute. Not
to mention the fact that she was totally mortified.