Bewitching You(19)

“Baby, you have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that. If I could change the past, you’d be damn certain I’d be lying here after a night of making love to you.”

But he wasn’t here. Just how long did she have with him now?

“How long can you stay? I mean, until you’re able to move on?” She turned toward him and ran her fingers over his chest and neck and face. She couldn’t see him this time, but she could feel every inch of him.

“I’m not positive, but everything’s in motion. It could be any minute, hour or day.” He kissed her forehead.

“Why can’t I see you?”

“All my energy is going into being able to touch you and have you touch me. I can’t do both, baby. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry anymore.” Rachel felt him wipe a tear from her nose. She wanted him closer. She wanted that night back.

“Can you make love to me?”

He chuckled and brushed his lips against hers. “It sure the hell feels like I can.”

~ * ~

Sofia beat the eggs in a mixing bowl and turned the gas burner on low this time. She wasn’t going to burn this batch. Nope. This one was going to be perfect. The bacon and sausage, however, were a little on the dark side and the pancakes, well, a couple of them were edible.

So what if she wasn’t the best cook? It wasn’t as if she were applying for wife-status. Not even girlfriend-ability. Because as soon as Gray got out of the shower and ate this breakfast—oh, yes, he was going to eat it after all the hard work she’d put into it—she was driving his fine butt out of here.

His nice, tight, athletic butt.

She’d had another dream of him. Just before dawn, she’d awakened in a sweat and couldn’t go back to sleep. Knowing he was down the hall when she’d reached orgasm, alone in her grandmother’s bed, was fairly humiliating. What if he’d heard? She was pretty vocal in her dreams, but had no idea if she revealed that in her sleep.

Thankfully, he was still fast asleep when she’d checked on him. He’d left his door wide open and was wrapped up in the white linens. Naked, with Sam the traitor cat curled up at his feet.

Not that she’d seen Gray’s...manly component, only his thigh. Calf. Ankle. Chest.

The muscle line that curved down his stomach to his... That she did not see.

Quit being such a prude, Sofe.

“Morning.” His deep voice rumbled over her shoulder, close enough for her to smell his minty breath.

She jumped and noticed the eggs needed to be stirred pronto. Focus!

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, and casually slipped his hand onto her waist.

Like she was his girlfriend. Darn, why did it have to feel so good? Make her feel so secure?

“You’ve been busy.” He settled his chin on her shoulder and eyed her most recent disaster. “It smells great.”

“You are a horrible liar, Grayson Phillips.”

“I would never lie to you, Sofia Good.”

She stifled the urge to turn her head and see the expression on his face. “Well, I guess I believe you, considering you only have a couple of hours tops to never lie to me.”

“Getting rid of me so fast?” The warmth of his body disappeared, and Sofia slumped her stiff shoulders.

She watched from the corner of her eye as he walked to the other side of the kitchen and stared out the window. Silent and somber.

His dark hair was damp and curly from showering. His wrinkled blue dress shirt was untucked from his dark jeans and his sleeves were rolled up. The white t-shirt with the stain was partially crammed into his back pocket. Even ruffled, he was a gorgeous man. The dreams didn’t do him justice.

Sighing, she plopped the eggs on a plate and carried them to the table she’d already set.

“This is kind of nice,” he said, still looking out at the cornfields.

“What is?” She stood next to him and tried to see exactly what he was seeing.

“This.” A cute grin pushed up the sides of his lips as he looked down at her. “I grew up in the city, so this is a treat for me. No noise. Just the sound of the grandfather clock ticking and you and me talking. It’s nice.”

“Oh.”

The man didn’t look like the country type, but who was she to argue? Maybe this was part of his recent crisis. What does a shrewd, controlling businessman with his whole big, glorious life planned out in front of him do when everything and everyone wilts away in such a short time span?

Well, he goes to see the desperate girl from his dreams and hopes she’ll make him feel better, that’s what he does.

“Hungry?” Sofia asked, suddenly realizing he hadn’t broken eye contact.

“Yes.” His gaze dipped down to her chest, making Sofia want to curb his hunger in a way that wasn’t prudish in any shape or form. “Nana pick that off the clearance rack too?” He smiled with his whole face as he read the words on her chest.

“What?” Good Lord. What had she put on this morning? She’d been in such a haze, she’d simply thrown on whatever she’d stuffed in her duffle bag. “Please don’t let it be the Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These shirt.” The one with the hot pink words that spread across her breasts.

“It most certainly is.”

“This is mortifying. Listen, I’m really not trying to lead you on. I saw a white t-shirt, so I grabbed it because white matches everything, right? My mom gave it to me as a practical joke. Honestly, I didn’t think it was very funny, but I kept the shirt because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Nana always teases my mom that the boob gene skipped a generation, but I never laugh. My mom is drop-dead gorgeous and she doesn’t need boobs, really. And I packed this shirt, thinking I won’t see another living soul for the next few days. Of course, now you’re here, but I wasn’t thinking this morning because of the dream I had of you last night. I just couldn’t think. Of anything. I was lucky to put two and two together and get dressed. I don’t even know if I remembered to put on underwear.” She finally stopped rambling and took a breath.

“You dreamed of me last night?”

Nice, Sofe. Of course he would pick that out of all the babbling mess that had left her lips. She heaved out a breath. “Yeah. It was really no big deal.” Her cheeks burned from the memory of how big a deal it actually was.

“No big deal? Am I not satisfying you in these dreams you’re having?” His smile disintegrated into an indignant frown.

“Um.” How was she going to get out of this one? He’d satisfied her completely, as always, but she didn’t want to tell him that.

“Was it just last night that I failed you? Because the reason could be I didn’t dream of you for the first time in over a month. Maybe there’s some sort of—” He waved his hands. “I don’t know what. Something’s missing. I mean, if I believe in this seeing the future…” He let his sentence fade, biting into his lip.

“It was fine, Gray. What do you mean you didn’t dream of me?” Could it be that her plan to get this guy out of her future was working? If so, why did it make her feel awful?

“Fine? I was fine?”

“You were brilliant, okay? Can we eat now?” Sofia slumped down into a chair. The food before her didn’t look so edible anymore.

Why couldn’t she have the hot guy?

Well, Sofe, because he’s only here to mend his wounds. Then he’d leave and break her heart. The dreams never guaranteed he’d love her forever, did they now?

“Brilliant?” His smile lit up again as he sat opposite her. “Are you saying that to appease me?”

“No,” Sofia said, solemnly. “You rocked my world. Again.”

“Why do you look upset about it then?”

“I’m not upset. I’m hungry.” She forked some cold eggs onto her plate, then into her mouth to prove her point.

He followed suit, filling his plate with everything she’d prepared. “So, you’re not wearing any underwear?”

~ * ~

Gray rinsed off his plate in the sink. He hadn’t had a full breakfast like that in a long time and he was stuffed. “Thanks for the grub, Sofia,” he said, as she stood next to him. “It was delicious.”

“A man who’s easy to please? Or a compulsive liar?” She reached over the sink and turned the water on.

“I’ll choose door number one. I didn’t complain about the hot water in the shower only lasting a minute and a half, did I?”

“Until now.” She smiled at him. “Sorry about that. I should’ve warned you. Nana’s water heater isn’t very powerful.”

“No worries. I needed a cold shower anyway, after the kiss we shared last night.”

Her cheeks stained bright red for the third time that morning. He liked that she was easy to read. The blushed cheeks were a dead giveaway to what she was really thinking. Obviously, kissing him had affected her on some level.