SevenSensuousDays by Tina Donahue Read Free Book Online

ideas? Sharing what was in my
heart?”
    “Yeah. The last. Sort of.”
    “Intimate conversation that’s not really intimate?”
    She clarified, “Like you’d do with a buddy. You know, share
stuff. Only with a woman.”
    “Who wasn’t a friend, or was she?”
    This was getting too complicated. “Do men like to talk to
women? Do they ever feel comfortable doing so—that is, if they’re not desperate
and simply can’t help themselves, or figure they have nothing to lose because
the woman will remain a stranger? Is that how men truly are, or do they really
want what they never voice…to be heard, understood, comforted? Rather than just
being told a bunch of BS they should know doesn’t mean squat.”
    “BS? How do you mean?”
    “The way some women come on to men. You know, the tired old
line—you’re so big, so strong, so handsome. Do men actually want to hear that
kind of junk rather than something more substantial?”
    Wallace took his attention from the road for a moment,
giving it to her.
    “Guess they do, huh?” Tessa asked.
    “I can’t speak for all men,” Wallace said, his focus back on
his driving. “However, I would think most would want what you first said. An
honest conversation, rather than being praised for no good reason, or because
the person shoveling the compliments wants something.”
    “Even young guys feel that way?”
    He rubbed his sagging neck. “It’s been a while for me, but
yeah, even when I was young, I liked to have someone who got me, so to speak,
which led to some pretty decent talks with women.”
    “And it’s what made your moments together pleasant, right? I
mean, it enriched your obvious, uh, physical attraction to her. Clearly, if she
was gorgeous, you would have been attracted anyway. But let’s say she was just
ordinary, not anywhere near beautiful or built like men want. You know, tall, slender.
If she wasn’t like that, there probably wouldn’t have been much continuing
attraction between the two of you if you hadn’t at least talked to her first,
gotten to know her even a little bit. Right?”
    He frowned slightly.
    Tessa wasn’t certain whether it was from confusion or dismay
at where their conversation was heading.
    She plowed on. “All I’d like to know is if men are really
that disconnected from their feelings, or if it’s just an act they put on to
protect themselves. Can they really have a good time, or what they consider a
good time for days on end, without any emotional involvement or conversation at
all?”
    He checked his rearview and sideview mirrors despite the
road being private and deserted.
    Tessa sighed.
    “As I’ve already said,” he answered at last, his words
measured, “I can only speak for myself. Connecting with a woman deeply has
always been far more frightening and, at times, downright painful, than just
having a good time.”
    She rubbed her forehead.
    “That said,” he continued, again cautiously, “I wouldn’t
trade those deep moments for anything. They’re what made my life worthwhile.
Any man who settles for less, for fling after fling, even if it’s with gorgeous
babes, is a damn fool in my opinion. Unless there’s something wrong with him,
every man needs exactly what a woman does. Someone to care and come home to.
Someone who’ll stand with him against the world. When you engage with people on
nothing but a superficial level, it leaves you wanting more. It also leaves you
alone. I can’t imagine anyone wanting that forever.” He paused to clear his
throat. “We’re here.”
    Tessa lowered her hand. To the side were numerous
outbuildings, a barn, what appeared to be a stable, acres and acres of cleared
land enclosed by brown rail fences that stretched to the horizon. In front
stood the main house. Consisting of two floors and sprawled between a copse of
myrtles and evergreens, it was all wood and glass, the front windows towering
at least thirty feet high to the A-frame roof. Sunlight glanced off the