Sleeping with the Boss (Anderson Brothers, #1)(39)
Claire made no attempt to hide her enthusiasm over the house and it made him want to kiss her right there under the porch lights in view of the neighbors. But he didn’t. He planned to take it slow this time.
“I love this, Will. No wonder you don’t like coming into the office.”
“Want to see the inside?”
She bounced on her toes and nodded. Claire was excited, and it made him feel alive for the first time in years.
She ran her fingers over everything she passed as if committing it to memory—counters, furniture, cabinets—as he gave her a tour of the house including the kitchen, dining area, living room, office, guest room, and his bedroom. Only, she didn’t run her fingers over anything in his bedroom. She clasped her hands in front of her as if resisting the urge, but her eyes kept straying to his big king-size bed. So did his. Time to change the unspoken subject screaming at them through libido-powered speakers.
“There are swans in the pond out back,” he said.
“Swans?” she squealed.
That broke the bedroom spell, he thought with a smile, pleased by her enthusiasm. “My lot backs up to a big neighborhood pond, and a family of swans has set up camp in my yard. A grown pair and three cygnets.”
“Can I see?” She charged out of the bedroom and headed straight for the back porch door.
He caught up with her before she opened it. “Not at night. It upsets them, but you can see them sometime in the daytime.”
She turned to face him and stood very still. “Maybe I can see them in the morning…”
There was nothing in the world he wanted more than to have her spend the night. Nothing. The problem was that he had decided to take it slow this time. “I didn’t bring you here to have sex. I’m interested in more than that. I want us to be friends. To get to know each other better. We’ve been given a do-over. I want to play it differently this time.”
“You can’t be serious,” she said, arms crossed over her ribs.
Part of him wanted to deny it. To carry her straight to his bed, rip off her clothes, warm her up until she screamed, then bury himself inside her until the world went away. But he couldn’t. She needed time. “I’m dead serious. If you feel the same tomorrow, we’ll renegotiate.”
“Well, negotiations are my forte, Mr. Anderson. You’ve met your match. Come tomorrow, I’ll show no mercy.”
He grinned. “I’m counting on it, Miss Maddox. I’ll take you home now.” He pulled the motorcycle key out and gestured for her to lead the way, but she didn’t budge.
“Oh, come on. It’s late and we’re tired. I’d really like to stay.”
It was a long drive, and the round trip would be miserable. Still, he wanted to prove his sincerity in taking it slow, and having her here all night would make that close to impossible. Maybe he’d drop her off and then sleep at the office. “You staying is a terrible idea.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Why? Do you think you can’t control yourself?”
Pretty much, yeah. “Of course I can. It’s your self-control I worry about,” he teased.
She walked past him to the bedroom, wandered over to his bed, sat on the edge, and slipped off her shoes. “I have an iron resolve. Do your best.”
He sat next to her. “Really, Claire. It’s a bad idea.”
“Going home is a bad idea. Even if it were only a block away, I wouldn’t want to go back there tonight. I want to stay here with you, surrounded by your arms rather than my grandparents’ stuff and the memories of their suffering. I’m leaving soon.” She took a deep breath and gave a helpless shrug. “We don’t have to mess around, I just don’t want to be alone.”
Neither did he. He’d been alone way too long. “Deal.”
Her grin was worth the self-restraint he was going to have to summon to make it through this.
After digging up an extra toothbrush from his cabinet for her, checking into the security status of the other Anderson properties, and rolling his bike into the garage, Will changed into gym shorts in the bathroom as a layer of insurance. Sleeping in the nude like he usually did would not help at all. Hell, the shorts wouldn’t really help either, he realized, staring down at the woman he’d dreamed about sharing this bed with since he’d met her. Only in his dreams, she wasn’t wearing warm-up pants and a T-shirt. And she wasn’t sound asleep, like she was now.
Part of him was glad she’d drifted off before he joined her. It made her easier to resist, which was getting harder to do; the reasons to resist made less sense every minute.
In the blue moonlight coming through his window, he studied her beautiful face. She’d curled up on her side near the far edge of the bed, facing out. Her hand was tucked under her chin and her gold hair was fanned out on her pillow, spilling onto the mattress. He quelled the urge to run his fingers through it.
Calm, easy breaths came through her parted lips, which he wanted to kiss as much as anything he’d ever wanted in his life. But he didn’t. He needed to earn her trust back. And going back on his word wasn’t the way to do that.
He slid under the covers on the opposite side of the bed, focusing on her even, relaxed breathing. “You’re a rainbow, Claire,” he whispered right before he drifted off to sleep himself.