“He said that he knew you wouldn’t stay forever and he knew that I was alone.”
“Son of a bitch,” Jonah whispered. “He’s been watching the place.”
Amanda rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she were cold. “That thought did occur to me.”
“Come here.” He eased her closer, running his palms over her shoulders and down her back. “Everything will be fine.”
She shrugged. “It’s not up to you, Jonah. All I can do is be cautious and hope the police catch him.” She sighed, her breath warm against his neck. “And besides, the caller was right. You can’t stay here forever.”
Jonah jerked back. “You asking me to leave, sugar?” He thought they’d settled this earlier today.
“No.” A fine blush settled on her cheeks, but she met his gaze straight on. “But our relationship is strange. We’re only supposed to be having an affair, but we’re practically living together.”
“Does it bother you that people might find out I’m staying with you?” It had occurred to him that a woman like Amanda might be upset by the situation. She wasn’t the type of woman to blithely have an affair. He was actually counting on that fact.
She’d been pulling away from him the past few days. Not in bed. No, there she was as passionate and giving as ever. But she was putting an emotional distance between them. Her not contacting him when this crank call occurred was just another example of her pulling away from him and he didn’t like it. Not one bit. Now that he’d decided he wanted more than an affair, he was afraid that she no longer did. At least not with him.
He might have done too good a job convincing her that a permanent relationship was something he would never want.
Still, she had allowed him to stay with her every night. That had to count for something. He shoved all those negative thoughts to the back of his mind. There would be plenty of time to straighten out the status of their relationship once the danger to her was over. His only priority right now was keeping her safe.
She shrugged and turned, heading to the kitchen. “I forgot all about supper. I was working until I heard your truck pull up out front.”
“Amanda?” She obviously wanted to change the subject, but he wasn’t about to let her. He followed her into the kitchen, waiting for her to answer his question.
She opened the refrigerator door and peeked inside. “Not too much here. I’ve got to make a grocery run again. I’m not used to buying for two.”
“If that’s a problem, I can chip in for food.” He hadn’t thought about her financial situation before. She’d just moved here, bought a house and had some major work done on the place. Her bank account had to be feeling the squeeze.
She whirled around, slamming the refrigerator door shut. “I don’t need your money.”
Jonah held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine.”
Amanda gave a huff and rubbed her hands over her face. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a strange day.”
“Your life hasn’t been very normal since you moved here.”
She gave a small chuckle. “It hasn’t been normal in months.”
Reaching out his hand, he tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Her hair was always escaping from her ponytail. She’d told him about her childhood and how she’d met and worked with Seymour Morton. Jonah knew the death of the older man had been a blow to Amanda. But he was glad she’d decided to move here for a fresh start, although it was proving to be anything but easy. She’d had one problem after another since she’d landed in Jamesville, including having him practically move in with her. He knew Amanda was fiercely independent and used to living alone. He had no idea how she really felt about him being here. Sure, she let him stay because she needed protection. But what would happen when the threat was no longer there?
Jonah’s gut clenched at the thought of never spending another night with Amanda.
He didn’t particularly like how quickly she’d changed his life. She made him want things he’d never wanted before—a home of his own and a wife. Just the thought of it made him break out in a cold sweat.
“How do you feel about me staying here?”
She patted his chest with her hand. That small touch had his blood pumping swiftly through his veins. He tried to ignore his growing erection.
“Honestly, I don’t think too many people have noticed.”
Jonah noticed that she’d avoided answering his question, not giving him any indication of how she really felt about him or the situation. He ignored the shaft of pain that speared his heart. He had time and he was good at planning. Once the threat to her was past, he’d have plenty of time to lay siege to her heart.
He shook his head at her naiveté. “I wouldn’t count on that, sugar.” Obviously, she was used to living in a larger center. Jonah could guarantee that all her neighbors had noted that his truck was parked out front all night long.
“It doesn’t matter.” She pushed out of his arms and went to the cupboard, opened the door and looked inside.
“Of course it matters.”
Closing the door, she leaned against the cupboard. “What do you want me to say, Jonah? Do I like people knowing my business? No, I don’t. Do I like the fact that I’ll be talked about when our affair is over and we’ve both moved on? No, I don’t. But there’s nothing I can do about it. People are going to talk no matter what.”
“I can pretend to leave, take my truck somewhere else and walk back.” He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of that before. He paused in mid-thought. He knew better, so why hadn’t he done it? The answer was simple. Instinct. In the beginning, he’d wanted people to know that she wasn’t alone at night, wanted her attacker to know she was no longer as vulnerable. Plus, the more primitive part of himself liked the idea of people knowing that Amanda belonged to him. He’d done it instinctually and without thought to her reputation.
“It’s too late for that now.” Leaning against the counter, she crossed her arms defensively over her chest. She tilted her chin up and got that stubborn look on her face he was beginning to recognize. “Folks will talk no matter what.”
“What about your store?” This was a small town after all and he didn’t want their relationship to affect her livelihood.
“What about it?” She lowered her arms and pushed away from the counter. “Most of my work is done through my online store and, truthfully, I expect most of my sales to come from tourists. I wasn’t lying to Hector when I told him that I wouldn’t cut into his business. Sure, some of the locals will shop my store, but they’re more likely to stop into the Buy and Sell if they want used books. Anyone who wants the latest best sellers is going to buy them new or check them out of the library.”
“You’re sure?” He walked over to stand in front of her. “I don’t want my being here to hurt you.”
She smiled at him then. It was a small, sad smile that made his heart ache. “You won’t hurt me by being here.”
Did that mean she would be hurt if he left? He knew she felt something for him, but he wasn’t certain how deep it went. He wasn’t about to push things either. He planned to spend all his time trying to insinuate his way deeper into her life and her heart so that when the problem with her unknown stalker was over, she wouldn’t want him to leave.
“Come here.” He needed to be closer to her, to reestablish the connection between them. And the quickest way to do that was with sex.
She came into his arms easily and once again, he marveled at how good she felt there and how well she fit. Her body molded against his, her breasts pillowed against his chest and her pelvis aligned with his. There is no way she could mistake his obvious erection.
“Amanda.” He cupped her behind in his hands and pulled her up tight against him.
“Yes?” Her eyes were glazing over with passion and her breath was coming faster.