Straight Flushed (Hot Pursuit #1)(46)
He grinned. “You sure I can’t pay you for this? I know this is an inconvenience.”
“Hold onto your money for now. I’m sure my boss wouldn’t appreciate me taking a job outside of the company without sharing it with him.”
He nodded, and we finished eating. I took our plates to the sink and tidied up the kitchen. When I turned to face him again, I was shrouded in the invisible warmth of his gaze. I was overcome with a crippling sense of longing and found myself nervously clenching and unclenching my hands at my side trying to push away the feeling.
I cleared my throat “You wanna take a shower?” The words echoed off the walls, and my skin flushed. In my mind it sounded like a blaring invitation. “Uh…um…and I have some clothes here that should fit you.”
He rested his chin in his palm and smiled slowly, studying me for a moment. He pushed back his chair and walked around the table, stopping in front of me. “That’d be great. Thanks.”
“It’s back here.” I brushed past him and led him back through my bedroom to the bathroom. I stopped abruptly when I passed my closet door, and he caught my shoulders. “Oh, sorry, the extra towels are in here.”
“Sure,” he said.
I opened my closet door and reached for a fresh towel then grabbed a T-shirt of Gabe’s and shorts for him to put on after. He was out of luck as far as underwear went. I was no expert but wearing another man’s undergarments probably violated some unspoken guy code. I handed everything to him in a neat stack.
“If you need anything else, just give me a shout. I’ll be out in the other room.”
He tucked everything under one arm and rooted himself in front of me. “I don’t know how to thank you for doing this, Di.” His voice dripped like honey, and I licked my lips. “Not everyone would be this forgiving and understanding. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t said yes.”
My heart throbbed so loudly in my chest I was sure he could hear it. “It’s nothing really.” I looked down to avoid being sucked into the world waiting to be discovered in his eyes. “Go get cleaned up, and I’ll set your bed up on the couch.”
He tipped my chin up, and I couldn’t keep my eyes from meeting his. “I didn’t mean to get you involved in this.”
I took a small step back, and he dropped his hand to my shoulder. “You couldn’t have known this was going to happen. We both should get some rest. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
He squeezed my shoulder, keeping me in place. “That’s just it, I should have known. I sensed something was wrong, but instead of leaving you alone, I was selfish and came after you.” He shook his head. “I’ve wondered how different things might be if I’d never gone for a walk on the beach that day.”
I smiled. “I’m glad you did, otherwise I would have been eaten alive by ants. Maybe it was fate.”
“Maybe.” He raised his brows and smiled. He reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear, and I was momentarily lost in his gaze. I remembered the feel of his lips and the taste of his breath. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, leaning in.
A kiss layered with a thousand apologies was on the horizon. I pictured it—I may have even wanted it—but I couldn’t let it happen. My hands shot to his chest, and I pushed him gently. “No.”
He stepped back. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what it is about you. I promise I won’t do it again.” He grinned then walked past me into the bathroom. He glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
I nodded then he shut himself in. I crept toward the door and stood there, listening to him undress, tracing my lips. I saw him in my mind: the smooth lines of his arms when wrapped around me, the confidence as he stood naked before me, the weight of his body on top of mine. I had no business standing where I was but I couldn’t move.
The water started, and I listened to it splash. A bottle snapped open followed by the sounds of heavy suds splattering in thick plops seconds later. I imagined the soap sluicing down his legs and pooling at his feet. Then, he moaned. I remembered that moan close to my ear.
Steam from the shower began seeping out from underneath the door; the dense air floating upward heated my skin. The scent of my soaps blended with him created an intoxicating perfume. I inhaled, long and deep. I found my hand flat against the cool wood, and I didn’t remember putting it there. It drifted downward, wrapping itself around the knob. I wasn’t thinking, I was doing—lost in a moment of wanton lust.
I twisted the brushed nickel handle but before I finished the rotation, the water shut off, and the noise sobered me in an instant. I blinked a few times then trotted with tiny, light steps toward the couch. I rearranged the pillows but I’d forgotten the sheets and extra pillows back in my bedroom. I needed to go back where he would be naked only feet from me again, separated by a thin piece of wood and deliciously scented air. But, I had to go.
I walked briskly into the bedroom and briefly looked at the bathroom but turned away before the licentious thoughts had time to return. I grabbed a flat sheet from the bottom drawer in my dresser. I shut it. Then, as if on the opposite ends of a pendulum, the bathroom door opened.
I glanced over at Stephen standing in the frame of the door, veiled in thick billows of steam, wearing Gabe’s old, gray college T-shirt. My brain couldn’t make sense of the word “Stanford” printed across his chest. Gabe had worn that shirt a hundred times and seeing on another man was strange—wrong.