Out Of The Blue (The Wrong Bed #12)(23)

With a great deal of trepidation, he knocked at Hannah's door.

He would have given anything to avoid this, but he couldn't. He needed his duffel bag.

Hannah opened the door. She'd been sleeping, he could see that now, and he made a sound of remorse that she waved away. "No, it's okay. I'm … glad you're here." Her voice was husky. She wore another T-shirt. It fell off one creamy shoulder and his mouth actually watered.

With the light behind her, she was perfectly silhouetted. Beneath the soft, worn material of her shirt he could see the outline of her lush breasts, the darker tips of her nipples. As he watched, they tightened, puckered, pressing against the cotton as if begging for attention.

Swallowing his groan, he met her gaze. "I just needed some clothes."

"For the couch in the office."

"Yes."

"Oh, Zach, stay here."

"I can't." At just the thought, his body surged to attention.

"My couch is far more comfortable. Really," she said.

"I don't want the couch. I want you. And I don't want to want you." To torture himself, he came closer, leaning in to softly kiss her. "Good night, Hannah."

With one last longing glimpse of what he couldn't have, all those long limbs and sweet, warm body, he brushed another kiss along her temple.

Oh yeah, there was the way to maintain his distance. "Sleep tight," he whispered and grabbed his bag.

"Zach… This is silly. Stay. I promise to behave."

He looked at her, all warm and cozy and flushed. With all he had, he wanted to stay too, wanted to bury himself deep in her warm, giving body, wanted to love her until…

And wasn't that the kicker? The true problem? He could imagine himself loving her, not just for one night, but forever.

He couldn't.

She wouldn't.

"Stay."

She could have no idea how much he wanted to do that. Or maybe she did. Maybe she felt the same and was too afraid to admit it, as was he. Two lost, lonely, uncertain souls.

God, he was so tired. It was all catching up to him, resulting in an exhaustion he couldn't seem to shake. "Why, Hannah? Why should I stay?"

She seemed startled. "Because I think you'll be more comfortable—"

"Truth."

"Okay, because I want you near me." Her voice lowered to a whisper as she repeated it. "I want you near me."

Damn. He couldn't resist that. He wanted to be near her too.

He made his way to the couch, waited while she went back to bed and shut her bedroom door.

He wished it had a lock on it. With a hard-on to end all hard-ons, he lay down and stared at the ceiling, willing sleep to come.

It took a long time.

*

Much later Zach came suddenly awake.

In the dark room, Hannah stood there, watching him. He stretched and rolled over to look at the clock. Three in the morning.

"Couldn't sleep," she said, holding something behind her back.

Oh, boy. She had those huge, expressive eyes and wild hair, looking vulnerable and a whole lot sexy, and she was going to try to seduce him again, he could feel it. He was certain she had absolutely no idea how her fumbling, bumbling attempts were doing exactly that.

"Candles in here would be a bad idea," he said quickly. "The desk over there is so loaded with stuff, you'll start a fire."

"I don't have candles."

"And music will wake up the guests."

"No music, either, not this time." She smiled.

His heart tipped right on its side. Dammit. "Luckily enough it's so dark in here, dark enough I can't see anything. So…" Just thinking the words had him hard. "Flashing skin won't work, either."

"I know."

Something new then. Terrific. It wouldn't take much. And he was so exhausted he knew if he didn't get her out of here, now, his own control wasn't going to hold.

From behind her back, she pulled out a book. "I thought maybe this would help."

How To Seduce A Man And Keep Him Seduced.

His body jerked. "Hannah—"

"Yeah. It was stupid."

Dammit, she sounded defeated. So certain no man could ever find her attractive. "Hannah … it's not what you think."

"I know. I just thought I'd try one last time."

"I told you why we couldn't," he said desperately.

"Yes," she repeated dutifully. "You're my best friend's brother. You're my brother's best friend. Oh, and you're leaving in a few days."

"Yes." Not daring to touch her, he willed her to understand.

"And while with another woman you'd most definitely go for a quickie affair," she added. "You won't with me because I'm not the type to inspire such passion."

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to."

Forget not touching her. He grabbed her hand, and nearly shoved it down the front of his sweat bottoms to show her exactly what kind of passion she evoked in him.

But that would be a bad idea, very bad.

Instead, he tugged her down on the couch beside him, a mistake he realized instantly because she wasn't wearing anything beneath her T-shirt, so that all those warm, soft curves snuggling up to him made him want to wrap himself around her and never let go.