A Little Harmless Addiction by Melissa Schroeder

the feel of his body against hers. He slanted his head to deepen the kiss, slipped his arms to her waist and pulled her against him. The heat of him, the feel of his long, hard muscles against her, had her responding. She wanted, wanted him like nothing she had ever wanted before. Her body shimmered with need. She slipped her hands up his arms and over his shoulders, and just like the night fell into the kiss.
    He was exotic to the taste, but so normal, so what she needed. She was trying to figure out a way to get him back to her house when a passing car honked their horn.
    “Get a room, Kai.”
    He pulled back then, gently and with a regretful smile. “I guess we gave the neighbors a show.”
    Left unfulfilled again. “Not as good a one if that idiot hadn’t beeped his horn.” She couldn’t keep the irritation out of her voice. It had been over a year since she’d had sex and months since she had wanted a man to touch her. And every time she got close, something happened. From the look on his face, he was going to go all hero on her. Dammit. God save her from men trying to protect her.
    He stepped back, releasing her.
    She said nothing for a moment, then, “You’re not doing this because of my brother.”
    “No. I want to make sure you really want me.”
    Annoyance mingled with the unrelieved arousal. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “I want to make sure you aren’t trying to prove to the world that you’re okay.”
    Embarrassment hit first. She knew that her brother’s friends would have some kind of idea of what had happened to her, but if he knew this much, he knew. And he had been playing along to make her feel better. Dammit, it wasn’t what she deserved. She deserved someone who actually wanted to go out with her. Anger simmered, and as usual with her, she opened her mouth before she could keep herself from doing it.
    “Fine. Don’t worry. I won’t bug you again, Kai. I understand that you were doing this out of the kindness of your heart, but you’re free. I don’t need someone who would be doing it as a pity fuck.”
    “Jocelyn—”
    She held up her hand and marched around the hood of her car. He stood on the sidewalk, his facial expression blank.
    When she reached her door, she drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
    He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Goodnight, Jocelyn.”
    She wanted to say more, needed to, but she didn’t. She had already said too much. Instead, she got into her vehicle and slammed the door. As she started the car, Kai walked around to the driver’s side.
    “I don’t want you to go away mad.”
    She blew out a breath, trying to calm her irritation. She’d had a bad temper once upon a time. The meds she’d been taking had evened everything out, cooled any anger she’d once had to fight on a daily basis. It had been good for her for awhile. After the attack, she couldn’t handle the myriad of emotions that had crashed in on her. Finally, when she was ready to handle her life again, she’d been weaned off them. The deeper emotions had surfaced and controlling them was sometimes hard. Most of the time, she came out looking like an ass.
    “No. I’m not mad. I’m frustrated.”
    “Believe me, I know the feeling.”
    She glanced at him then. “Why then?”
    “I meant what I said. I want to make sure I’m what you want.”
    She nodded. “I’ll let you know.”
    And with that, she threw the car into drive and took off. She couldn’t deal with Kai or her need for him. Not tonight.
     
    Jocelyn bit into the sugary dough and hummed. When she opened her eyes, she found Cynthia smiling at her.
    “I told ya. They are heaven.”
    Jocelyn chewed it, then swallowed before answering.
    “Lord, that is good. You said they sell them with fillings?”
    Cynthia nodded. “Not here, but some of the places around here have fillings, like you would in a donut.”
    Jocelyn sighed. “God, like I need another tempting morsel to make my hips