When Day Breaks (KGI #9)(33)

“If you’re okay with me wearing lingerie, then I’m certainly okay with you wearing just your boxers.”

His expression was priceless. He looked as though he’d just swallowed his tongue. Then he groaned.

“You’re torturing me. I hope you know that.”

She gave him an innocent look. “I’ll be more covered than you’ll be.”

He snorted. “I have a damn good imagination and believe me I’ll be imagining what’s underneath that sexy lingerie all night.”

“Good,” she murmured, a smile curving the corners of her mouth. “I like the idea that you’ll be thinking about me.”

On that note, she trotted off toward her bedroom, leaving Swanny sitting in his chair. She grinned and did a silly twirl as she gathered her nightclothes and headed for the bathroom.

Was this what falling in love felt like? She was certainly in lust with him. It was all so confusing. People didn’t just fall in love at first sight. Love was something you had to work at. Something that was earned over time. But she could so easily see herself falling and falling hard for Swanny. Maybe she was already well on her way.

She let out a sigh. There was little sense in overanalyzing it all. She’d just have to wait and let the cards fall where they may. Already she was getting way ahead of herself. Though Swanny might be attracted to her, she was still a job to him. And they both had careers that took them to the opposite ends of the earth.

Maybe all she needed was an affair. Get him out of her system and when it was done and over with they’d go their separate ways and she’d have the memory of the time they’d spent together. But even as she thought it, she knew she was lying to herself. Because she highly doubted that having a hot fling with him would ever get him out of her system. If anything, becoming sexually and emotionally involved with him, even for a short time, would confirm what she already knew.

Swanny wasn’t the type of man a woman ever forgot or ever willingly let go. The bigger question would be whether he wanted more than a temporary fling or if he would be the one to walk away when it was all over with.

CHAPTER 15

SWANNY found himself standing outside Eden’s door, which was cracked a few inches. Though he’d said he wore only boxers to sleep, he hadn’t considered the fact that there were more scars crisscrossing his torso, ones that weren’t visible underneath his clothing, and he was seized by discomfort and self-consciousness at the idea of Eden seeing more of the imperfections of his body.

So he’d pulled on a T-shirt, noting that it made him a coward, but he couldn’t face her yet. Maybe he’d turn the lights off when he entered if she was already in bed and then he could strip out of his shirt before getting into bed, although that didn’t solve the problem of when they woke up because she’s most assuredly get an eyeful then.

But she’d asked him to trust her. It was a lot to ask even though he knew she was utterly sincere. But still, it made him uncomfortable to bare himself when he hadn’t ever let anyone else see the extent of the damage to his body from months of torture and degradation.

The psychological scars were every bit as bright in his mind as the daily reminder of his physical scars. In some ways the scars on his soul were more painful than the ones on his body, the ones that were visible. Those would take longer to heal. And maybe he’d never truly heal in heart and mind. But Eden gave him hope. Hope that he was afraid to allow himself to feel. She could so easily slip into his heart, and it would devastate him to see her expression change to one of pity or disgust, though he knew he was doing her a huge disservice by thinking she’d react that way. She’d shown him nothing but acceptance, had gone out of her way to convince him that his scars didn’t matter to her. And still, he found himself holding back, not wanting to give her any reason to back away.

He finally pushed hesitantly into her bedroom to see her propped in bed, covers to her belly. She presented such a beautiful sight that it took his breath away and he found himself momentarily unable to draw air into his lungs.

“Care if I get the lights?” he asked gruffly, trying hard not to allow his self-consciousness to be too evident.

She stared thoughtfully at him a moment. “Why are you wearing a shirt, Swanny? What are you afraid of me seeing?”

The way she seemed to be able to read his thoughts, had instantly picked up on his mood, rendered him unable to form a response. What could he say to that anyway?

She pushed away the covers and slid from the bed wearing the sexy but modest sleepwear. She had a pair of silky shorts that rode high, displaying the long expanse of those gorgeous legs. And the top covered her but had little strings over her shoulders that would be so easy to slip down, baring her br**sts. His need was a physical ache. Not want her? That she’d even questioned his wanting her? He’d have to be dead not to react to the sexy image directly in front of him and getting closer with every second as she walked toward him.

She placed her hands on his chest and looked up at him, such sweetness and understanding in her eyes that his throat swelled with emotion. She saw to the heart of him. What no one else ever saw. She saw past the front he displayed to others and he didn’t know if that contented him or scared the holy hell out of him. Maybe some f**ked-up combination of both.

Then she slid her hands underneath his shirt, pressing her palms to his bare skin. His breath quickened as did his pulse. His dick surged painfully and there was nothing to disguise it in the thin boxers he wore.