“Morning.”
He turned to see Elizabeth leaning against the doorway. She’d helped herself to one of his T-shirts, and God help him, she looked so damn different. She was usually dressed to perfection in designer clothes and high heels, and wore her hair up. This . . . this was spectacular. The T-shirt was long on her, hit above her knees. It was gray and worn, and hugged her curves. Her hair spilled down around her shoulders, was all messed up and stuck up in places, and she had a sleepy look on her face, pillow marks on her left cheek, and her lips were swollen.
Goddamn, she made his dick hard.
“Morning.”
“I grabbed one of your shirts. And helped myself to a cup of coffee. I hope you don’t mind,” she said, lifting the cup to show him.
“I don’t mind. Come on out here and sit down.”
She sat in the swing this time and sipped her coffee, pulling her legs up on the seat. She inhaled and closed her eyes. “I can see why you like it here at the beach, Gavin. What a beautiful way to wake up in the morning. So relaxing to just sit and watch the ocean waves and the birds. You don’t get this kind of view in Saint Louis. Not that I’m at the office or at my condo all that often any way.”
Who was this person? He’d found out more about Elizabeth in the last twelve hours than in the seven years he’d known her. “You travel a lot. Me, too. It sucks. I come down here during the off-season a lot to go fishing and just to get away from the winter.”
She brushed her hair away from her face. “Understandable. It’s nice to have a place like this.”
“I’m sure you could buy a place down here. You can afford it.”
“Mmm,” was all she said, then put the cup to her lips. “I should get dressed and head out. Mind if I use your shower first?”
“You have somewhere you need to be?”
She shifted her gaze to his. “Not really.”
“Then why the hurry?”
“My stuff is at the hotel. I need to check out today.”
“Where are you going?”
“Back home.”
His lips lifted. “It’s February. Cold in Saint Louis.”
“Yes, it is.”
“You could hang out here for a while, soak up some sun.”
She rested the cup in her lap. “Are you inviting me to stay?”
Was he? He had no idea what the hell he was doing. All he knew was that he had fun with Elizabeth last night, and his dick wanted more of her. That was all he wanted.
“You’re not gonna deny we had great sex last night.”
She stared at him. “It was really great sex, Gavin.”
“Then hang out with me down here. We’ll have more of it.”
“So you’re not firing me.”
His lips curled. “Not yet.”
“Asshole.” She pushed off the swing and sauntered into the house. He went inside to refill his coffee. Elizabeth was in the kitchen refilling hers.
“So are you staying?”
“Right now I’m going to take a shower. I need to go get my bags and check out.”
“I’ll call the hotel. They can check you out, and I’ll have your things delivered here.”
She leaned against the counter, cup in hand. “Thinking of holding me prisoner here for the next month?”
He leaned his hip against the counter. “I don’t know. Think you’ve got what it takes to keep me interested that long?”
Her eyes sparkled. “That sounds like a challenge, Gavin.”
He sipped his coffee. “Can you cook?”
“Not at all. Can you?”
“You don’t grow up in my house without learning to fend for yourself. My mother didn’t want her children to be tossed out into the world as useless human beings.”
“So now you’re calling me useless?”
“You’re what, Elizabeth—thirty-four or something? One would think you would have learned to cook by now.”
“I’m thirty-two, and you’re a prick.”
He laughed. “Not the first time I’ve been called that.”
“I’m not home enough to cook, and who am I going to cook for? Myself?”
“Aww, poor Elizabeth. Single and alone. Am I supposed to feel sorry for you now?”
“You’re baiting me, trying to get a rise out of me.”
“Shouldn’t you be trying to get a rise out of me?”
She let her gaze drift down his body and linger at his crotch, then looked back up to his face. “Why? What’s in it for me?”
“Get my dick hard, and you get an orgasm out of it. After a two-year drought I figure you’re gonna wanna come as much as you can while you’re here.”
She snorted. “You think you’re that good, huh?”
He laid his coffee cup down and stalked over to her, pulled the cup from her hand and put it on the counter. He wrapped one arm around her waist, lifted her T-shirt, and laid his palm over her naked sex.
She was already wet, her eyes wide pools of green as he slid his finger inside her and rocked his hand against her, then took her mouth in a hard kiss.