05 Desperate Match by Lynne Silver Page A

she pressed.
    His hand paused for a second, then resumed its exploration of her back. “Yeah. I asked to be matched,” he said.
    “Does everyone want to be matched?”
    He hesitated. “Uh, not sure. Remember, I’m fairly new here.”
    There was something he wasn’t telling her, but she couldn’t imagine what it was. “Why did you want to be matched? Was it because you wanted kids?”
    “Sure. I want kids someday.”
    “Someday? Then why ask to be matched now?”
    His wide chest expanded and contracted under her cheek. His soft worn gray T–shirt brushed her skin. “I think we should go to sleep.” He tried to gently roll her off him, but she kept her arms around his neck. Then she realized what she’d done, and quickly backed off to her own bed.
    She wasn’t expecting Rowan to pluck her up from the bed using his arm and body to tug her back into his bed. She yelped. “What are you doing?”
    “Why did you jump off me?” He didn’t sound angry, only curious.
    “You said it was time for bed.”
    “And you always follow orders?”
    She hesitated.
    “You didn’t want to leave my bed. I felt your arms hook on. So why’d you jump out so fast?”
    Her lips locked.
    “Jill?”
    The gentleness in his question gave her the courage to answer. “I was scared,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to challenge you.”
    He was silent at her answer, and then he blew out a breath. “Trust, baby. I can’t order it, but you’ll get there. Challenge me all you want. I will never physically hurt you.”
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s going to take a while.”
    “I know. Take all the time you need.”
    “I’ll try, but…”
    “But what?”
    “You sounded annoyed. Like you didn’t want to talk anymore. I didn’t want to push.”
    His hand caressed her cheek, and she rubbed against him like a cat.
    “You can push me, Jill. I’ll try not to push back too hard at first, but we’re living together. For all intents and purposes, we are matched now. Maybe we should fake it till we make it.”
    “Do you think we could make it? You think we could be a match?” She was startled by how much she suddenly wanted that. When she’d stumbled on her crazy plan all those weeks ago, she’d seen only the safety The Program offered. She’d never thought about the real men behind the name. Rowan was quickly becoming very real to her.
    “We could be a match. You in my bed? Never felt nothing better.”
    “But we’re not doing anything. We’re just cuddling.” She and Jack had never snuggled in bed talking. They’d come together on the mattress for quick sex, then retreated to their own sides.
    “It’s all a precursor, baby. Don’t want to frighten you, but I’m ready for doing a lot more than snuggling right now. But no hurry. We take things slow. When you’re ready, we move forward.”
    It took her a minute to process his words, and then daringly, she shifted her hips and felt the hard evidence of his arousal against her body. An unfamiliar liquid heaviness melted throughout her body, and then she recognized it. Arousal. It was how she felt in high school during heated make out sessions in Jack’s car. She shifted again.
    Rowan groaned. “Jill. Stop wiggling. You’re not ready.”
    She wanted to argue, then realized he was right. She’d been out of her bad marriage less than three days. Sex with Rowan would be a very bad idea. “You’re right. I’ll go back to my bed now.” She slid out of the bed, accidentally brushing his swollen penis on her way out. His agonized moan thrilled her. For so long she’d been a beaten down creature, not a woman men would desire. She didn’t mistake Jack’s obsession with her for desire. It was desire for control, not about her as a sexual creature. Rowan wanted her as a man wanted a woman, and it was heady stuff.
     

Chapter Five
    J ack tried to ignore the knock at his door. Last night’s knock hadn’t brought anything good. But who the hell knew? Maybe it was