Pushed Too Far,
Chapter 10
He took a deep breath. "Mary, I... I don't know if I have it in me to give you that chance. You know what you want, and you go for it. Do you have any idea what it's like to be denied it over and over again, knowing it was there, just out of reach? I love you more than anything, and I know that I could not come back from this if... You've stood at this point before, Mary. How many times have you told yourself better to hurt a little now than a lot later and pushed someone away?"
She felt kicked in the gut. "Too many. But Marshall—"
"Don't. You don't get to interrupt me, not now. I've had a list of more than a hundred things that I've needed to say to you for over two years. I'm not going to get through all of them, but if you want this to work, then you have to listen to me," he told her firmly.
Damn. She liked when he took charge like that. It made her think of things that didn't help her focus on what he was saying. "Can we do this inside?"
He looked down and realized that she was shivering. So was he. "Yeah. We can do this inside. But on neutral ground."
"The hell does that mean?"
"That we're not going anywhere near a bedroom until we sort this out," he answered. "I know how you think. You think it would be easier to convince me by showing me, physically. That's not true. It's not how I work, and if we go that far now, we will ruin this."
She nodded grimly and took his hand, afraid for a moment that he wouldn't let her. But he said nothing as she led him back inside, he let her hold onto him, and she was more grateful for that than she cared to admit. The doors closed behind them, and they stood just inside, dripping onto the floor. She looked at him.
"I suppose another kiss is out of the question?"