One Foolish Night (Eternal Bachelors Club #4)

He took a few steps toward her and instinctively she stepped back. By the time he reached her, she’d backed herself against a wall. Paul placed his hands on either side of her head and leaned in.


“Holly, I’m sorry if I said something that bothers you. I wish I knew what it was so I could take it back.”

She looked at him, searching his eyes. Was he really trying to understand her? “It’s not something you said.”

Paul furrowed his forehead. Then he suddenly said, “So it’s something I didn’t say.” He came even closer, his chest now touching hers. “Baby, I think I told you yesterday morning when I apologized to you that I’m still attracted to you. That hasn’t changed. On the contrary. After what happened between us last night, and the things you just told me, I have an even harder time keeping my hands off you.”

He was saying all the right things, but could she allow herself to be with him, knowing that there was no future? She hadn’t forgotten what he’d told her about his sister—that she’d trapped Quentin with a pregnancy. Wouldn’t she, Holly, in fact be doing the same? And Paul’s comments about having a child so early in a relationship hadn’t escaped her either. It was a strain on any relationship, and on theirs it would be the iceberg that sank the ship.

“Holly,” he murmured seductively, and his voice sank into her cells. “Despite everything, I wanted to see you again. That’s why I made that ridiculous proposal. But I don’t want you to feel that you have to do anything just because I paid for your time. Our deal still stands: no sex for money.” He sighed and his breath ghosted over her face. “But by God, you can’t imagine how much I long to make love to you again. After last night I realized that it wasn’t enough. I’m starving here, Holly.”

Her heart hammered in her chest. “What you said last night—is it true that you haven’t slept with anybody else in two months?”

Paul closed his eyes for a moment, then blinked them open again. “I don’t want you to put too much stock in those words, though they are true.”

Holly smiled, inexplicably pleased that he appeared embarrassed about it. “Because you were busy with work, right?”

“Right.”

“So you took care of yourself.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Like you took care of yourself the night I stayed with you in New York.”

“You watched me?”

“I was thirsty and wanted to get a bottle of water from the kitchen. I saw you on the couch. The light from the city made it hard not to see you.” She remembered the sight only too well. “How you touched yourself. How hard your cock was.”

Paul pressed his groin against her. The hard outline of his cock was impossible to ignore.

“As hard as it is now,” she confirmed. “I wanted to go to you then and suck you into my mouth, but I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“You didn’t want me. You didn’t want to be touched by an e—”

He pressed a finger to her lips, preventing her from finishing the word. “Do you want to know what I was thinking of when I touched myself?” He paused for a moment. “You. I was thinking of making love to you. Just like all the other nights before that. I was imagining spreading you before me and licking your beautiful * and then, once you came, thrusting into you and riding you until we both came together. That’s what I was thinking of. Does that sound to you like I didn’t want you to touch me?”

Holly gently shook her head.

“Good. Then I think we understand each other, don’t we?”

Lifting her lashes, she looked into his eyes.

A smile formed on his lips. “In that case, why don’t we get rid of these clothes and get a little more comfortable on that couch over there? That is, if you want to make love to me too.”



They undressed each other without haste. Paul didn’t yet know what Holly’s revelation that she’d quit the escort business truly meant, but he knew it was a step in the right direction. Right now, though, he couldn’t even think as far into the future as the next day. It didn’t matter. He would try to jump any hurdle that appeared in front of him when it happened and not worry about it in advance. It was more important to enjoy the moment.

When he laid the naked Holly down on the broad sofa, slipped on a condom, and moved over her, positioning himself between her spread legs, he felt tenderness overwhelm him. He wasn’t looking for some frantic fucking, but for connecting with her on a deeper level. Gently, he brushed a strand of her beautiful hair to the side and caressed her cheek, then let his fingers trail to her neck.

“I feel very lucky that you allow me to touch you.”

“Don’t make me wait,” Holly whispered, and undulated her hips.