If Ever(50)

I sit on the side of the bed, wishing I could let her sleep, but it's a busy day. Hell, what day isn't, but I've only got an hour before I've got to get back to the theatre. I could put her in a cab to her hotel, but it's her first time in the city and I'd rather see her there myself.

I lift a lock of honey-blond hair that's splayed over her shoulder and draw its feathery softness across her cheek. She twitches, but doesn't wake. I grin at the slumbering beauty and lie on my side facing her and run the hair across her forehead and down her slender nose. Her nose wrinkles in response and she pulls away.

"Good morning, sleepy head," I whisper as her shoulders draw up and she emits a little yawn. When she realizes where she is, she smiles, and I chuckle. "There you are."

Her eyes blink open. "Oh, no! Did I over sleep and miss your show?" She rolls on her side to face me and pushes her hair out of her face.

"No, but you've been snoozing like a bear.

"I'm sorry. I meant to be awake and ready when you got here. I don't want to miss anything, but I was so tired."

She stretches like a graceful cat. Her outstretched arms push the covers away revealing a gray T-shirt. I could swear she was wearing a blue dress earlier.

"What are you wearing?"

Chelsea is confused for a moment and looks down.

It looks like the T-shirt I wore yesterday. "Is that my shirt?"

Her eyes dart away and she swallows. "My dress was uncomfortable."

"But why are you wearing my old shirt? You should have grabbed a fresh one from my dresser." I have to admit, it's damn flattering that she's wearing my shirt.

Her face turns a shade of pink.

"What?"

"I like how it smells," she says and shrinks under the comforter covering her face.

I stare at the lump in my bed and tug the covers back, not sure I heard correctly. "You like how I smell?"

She nods and ducks back under. I laugh. "Well, that's a first."

And it's adorable as hell. I nudge the covers down to reveal her hiding behind a mass of hair. With my index finger I lift the tousled hair away and look into lovely amber eyes smiling back at me. I glance quickly at the clock and notice her dress draped across the chair next to the bed, and freeze.

"Chelsea, what else are you wearing under there?" She bites the edge of her lip. "You are wearing something other than my shirt, aren't you?" A rush of heat shoots south.

She nods. "Panties."

"Bloody hell." My eyebrows must hit my hairline as I picture her long bare legs sliding between the sheets of my bed. This fact pummels me in the chest.

I clear my throat. "A gorgeous woman is sleeping in my bed, wearing panties and my T-shirt." And then I add, "Because she likes how I smell." This image of her is blazoned in my mind never to be erased.

Her cheeks flush. "Oh God, you must think I'm throwing myself at you." She pushes up onto her elbows. "I wasn't. I mean, I'm not. I just wanted to be comfortable."

"I know you weren't." Which is another reason it's so hot. The power of her innocence is intoxicating. "So, what color?" I ask with a sly grin.

She's confused for a second. "Color? Oh!" She laughs when she realizes I'm asking the color of her panties. She concentrates for a second, her brow furrowed. "Lavender."

And now the vision of her beneath my sheets is complete. "I like lavender."

"Oh yeah?" she raises an eyebrow.

I can't resist her a second longer. I lean over and nuzzle her neck. She giggles. "You know every possible way to drive me crazy. Do you realize that?" She smells pretty damn good too.

She shakes her head.

"And, you have no idea you're doing it." I run my hands over the bedspread feeling her bare thighs beneath, but the downy filling won't let me close enough. "Oh God, you're killing me."

Chelsea giggles. Her eyes gaze into mine. "I'm sorry. I was only going for comfort."

I can't resist caressing her cheek, but I need to get a hold of myself before things get out of hand. "You can get comfortable in my bed anytime you want." But I roll to a sitting position with my back to her. "I'm giving you exactly five seconds to get out of bed. After that, I'm not sure I can control my actions."

She must believe me, because the bed dips as she gets up. Suddenly she whips past me with her dress in hand.

"Where are you going?"

"The bathroom."

She dashes to the door, distracting me with a great view of her long slender legs.

"Chelsea, wait!" I put up a hand to stop her.

But she's already opened the door. The talking in the living room halts. She freezes just outside my door. I step up behind her and imagine her shock to find three startled guys staring at her.

She takes a step back. "I'm sorry," she says with a squeak to the guys while tugging the front of my T-shirt lower and giving me a nice view of lavender in the back.

"No apologies necessary," says Justin from the couch with a guitar across his lap.

I lean against the doorframe and push a hand through my hair. Here we go.

"Hey, Tom, how long have you been hiding her?" Paul says, grabbing a beer out of a six-pack on the table.