Rush Too Far (Rosemary Beach #4)(46)

“I want you to eat here. Please,” I said, watching her closely.

The small flare in her eyes told me she needed to hear that. Did she need reassurance? “OK,” she said. “I need to go to my room and get a shower.” She still looked nervous.

I wanted her to stay up here. I wanted her using my things. But . . . f**k. “I’m torn, because I want you to shower in there, but I don’t think I’ll be able to walk away knowing you’re naked and soapy in my shower. I’ll want to join you,” I admitted.

“As appealing as that sounds, I’d be late for work,” she said with a small smile.

“Right. You need to go to your room.” She looked around for her discarded clothes. I wanted her in my clothes this morning. When she walked out of my room looking like a rumpled angel, I wanted my shirt against her skin, covering up what belonged to me. “Put this on. Henrietta comes today. I’ll have her wash and press your clothes from last night,” I said, picking up the shirt I had worn last night and tossing it to her.

She didn’t argue. I couldn’t look away while she pulled my shirt over her head and let the sheet fall once she was sure I couldn’t see her tits. Guess the fact that I’d sucked on them and lapped at them like a man obsessed last night didn’t matter. She was covering up this morning.

“Now, stand up. I want to see you,” I told her, needing to see her in my shirt. It was an image I intended to burn into my brain for eternity.

She stood up, and the shirt hit her thighs. Knowing how naked she was underneath and how easily I could pick her up and spread her legs had me rethinking my plans for today.

“Can you call in sick?” I asked, looking up at her hopefully.

“I’m not sick,” she replied, with a frown between her brows.

“Are you sure? Because I think I have a fever,” I said playfully, stepping around the bed and pulling her into my arms. “Last night was amazing.” I pressed my nose into her hair.

Her arms came around my waist and held tightly. “I have to work today. They’re expecting me.”

That was Blaire. It was one of the many things that had attracted me to her. She wasn’t going to lie or ignore a responsibility. Letting her go, I stepped back and put distance between us. “I know. Run, Blaire. Run your cute little ass downstairs and get ready. I can’t promise you I will let you go if you stand here looking like that much longer.”

A grin broke out across her face, and she took off running for the stairs. Her laughter trailed behind her, and all I could do was stand there like a fool and smile.

I got showered and dressed quickly, then called Jace. I didn’t want to ask Blaire about her schedule, but I wanted an excuse to be at the club. I never went up there unless Nan wanted me to meet her for golf or dinner.

“Hello?” Jace said, sounding surprised that I was calling.

“Hey. Are y’all golfing today?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah. We golf every day. You know that.”

“I want in,” I said.

“You’re gonna golf?” he asked, shock in his voice.

I didn’t see what the big deal was. I had golfed with them before. I played with Nan and Grant on occasion. “Yeah, so?” I said.

Jace chuckled. “OK, sure. You haven’t played with us in forever. What gives today? Normally, you have to be dragged out onto the course by Nan or Grant.”

I wasn’t answering that. He didn’t need to get the wrong idea about Blaire. They would need to see me with her. I’d make sure they all knew how off-limits she was. “In the mood for golf,” I replied.

“All right, then. See you at eleven thirty. Woods has to be in a meeting this afternoon with his dad, so we’re playing early.”

I didn’t point out that most people thought an early tee time was six or seven in the morning. Not eleven thirty. “Thanks. See you then.”

I headed downstairs to see if Blaire had left yet. She couldn’t have had time to dress and eat. Not if she took a shower. I opened the door at the bottom of my stairs and looked to the right. Blaire’s door was open. She wasn’t in there. The lights were off.

I headed for the stairs and took them two at a time, hoping to catch her in time for a good-bye kiss. She was standing at the bar, with a bowl of cereal in her hands and a spoon lifted to her mouth. She was eating. Good.

“Don’t let me stop you,” I said, walking over to the coffee pot, not wanting to make her nervous. She seemed so jumpy. “Are you working inside today?” I asked. She shook her head no then swallowed.

“They need me outside today,” she said.

I turned back to the coffee pot before smiling. I would see her, then. I f**king loved golf. I noticed her cell phone lying on the counter and picked it up. She had forgotten it already.

I switched the pot on and watched her walk to the sink with her bowl. I stepped over and blocked her path and took the bowl from her, setting it in the sink behind me.

“Are you . . . is everything OK?” I asked, then slipped my hand down to gently cup the place between her legs, which I worried would bother her today. She had to work outside in the heat, and I didn’t want it to be painful.

She blushed and ducked her head. “I’m fine,” she said in a breathy voice.

“If you were staying here, I’d make it feel better,” I told her.