“Look at me, Sydney,” he whispered against her ear.

She shook her head.

Jack didn’t seem ready to accept defeat. He pressed his lips against the side of her neck, sending a jolt of pure passion racing up her spine. “Look at me.”

Sydney forced herself to raise her head. “There. Are you satisfied?”

“Not really, because I don’t understand why you’re fighting so hard. I believed you wanted us to happen. Why are you getting cold feet all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m scared this won’t last, that I’ll get so caught up in you I won’t be able to tell if I’m coming or going. What’s worse, if I let myself fall for you completely, something will happen.”

“Like what?”

“Perhaps you would stop caring for me.”

“Maybe I will, but I can say the same thing about you. But I’d rather find out firsthand than wonder what if.”

“You’re probably right, but I think we should slow down a little. Get to know each other better without sex.”

Jack scowled, his eyebrows flying together. “No sex? Are you serious?”

“Yes. I think sex only clouds the issue. Let’s give you and me a chance without it hanging over our heads.”

“Like hell I will.” He shifted her off his lap and stood to pace across the room. “You’re asking for a lot, Sydney.”

“Why? Don’t you want to make this work? Or are you too scared to find out where this is going? Maybe all we have is sex and that’s what I want to find out. I need to know for sure this could be a viable relationship without us constantly falling into each other’s arms.”

Jack didn’t look happy at all. In fact he was pissed. Anger seemed to radiate from his every pore and he clenched and unclenched his fists as if he wanted to hit something. Though Sydney instinctively knew he wouldn’t, she could tell by the expression on his face he was probably thinking of strangling her.

She was willing to stand her ground however.

“So you want things to remain strictly platonic between us?”

She shook her head. “That isn’t what I’m saying. Just no sex, so we can explore other aspects of the relationship.”

His nostrils flared and the muscle in his jaw twitched, underlining his annoyance. “Fine,” he bit out. “I’ll agree to this, but only for two weeks. After that all bets are off.”

“Make it four.”

“Three.”

Sydney wasn’t sure if that would be enough time, but it was better than none at all. “Okay, you have a deal.”

“I have one more condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I think we should have one more night together before you impose this sentence of abstinence on the both of us.”

“Can’t we just talk?”

Jack stalked toward the bed and pushed her down on it before falling on top of her. “We can talk afterward,” he groaned before covering her mouth with his.