And okay, she was stalling because it was going to be uncomfortable. But at some point tonight the two of them were going to talk.
When they finished, they did the dishes. She’d no more than hung up the dish towel when she turned around to find Garrett had disappeared. She flipped off the light and found him flopped on the couch channel surfing. Alicia hovered nearby, ready to crawl out of her skin. She made some notes about today’s pitching session until Garrett finally found a movie and stopped flipping channels.
She grabbed a glass of wine and fished a few pieces of chocolate from the bowl on the coffee table, all the while watching. And waiting. And waiting some more.
She didn’t want to interrupt his movie, but it was an old one, and she was certain he’d probably seen it before.
Now was the time.
“Garrett.”
He ignored her. She tried again. “Garrett.”
He frowned. “Yeah? What?”
“We need to talk.”
His gaze jerked from her to the television and back again. “Can it wait? I’m watching this movie.”
She sighed. “Sure.”
An hour and a half later, she’d polished off two glasses of wine and more chocolate than she’d intended. She’d also read half a book and the movie was over. Garrett grabbed a drink and resumed channel surfing.
Oh, no. This wasn’t happening. He couldn’t avoid her forever. She moved over and grabbed the remote from him.
“Hey. I was—”
“Avoiding having a conversation with me.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. What do you want to talk about?”
“What happened earlier. In the workout room.”
“Nothing happened. You made it clear you didn’t want anything to happen. I’m no rocket scientist, Alicia, but I hear the word no when it’s stated.”
“Okay. That’s good, and I appreciate it.”
“But you know as well as I do that the no from your lips isn’t what your body is telling you.”
She shuddered in a breath. “What I want and what I’m going to have don’t have to be mutually inclusive. I’m your therapist. This is my job. You’re my patient. Your recovery is paramount. Getting involved with each other would alter our client/patient relationship and might end up hurting both of us—professionally and personally.”
He stretched out on the sofa, looking lazily sexy. “We don’t have to get ‘involved,’” he said, using air quotes around the word. “But we can ease some tension and have fun at the same time.”
“I take sex very seriously, Garrett.”
He pushed off the sofa, coming over to her side. His breath was warm on her cheek as he tucked one of her curls behind her ear. “Oh, believe me, Alicia. So do I.”
Oh, God. She shouldn’t have said that. “That’s not what I meant.”
His gaze roamed over her face, his eyes meltingly sexy, his lips just a fraction of an inch from hers. “Then tell me what you meant.”
She swallowed, her throat so dry she could barely speak. Her heart pounded so hard she could barely hear, her carefully formed list obliterated by Garrett’s close proximity. She laid her hand on his chest to push him away, but the solid feel of him tempted her in ways she could no longer deny. She clutched his shirt in her hand instead, her nails digging into that solid wall, testing and teasing. She wanted to scrape her nails across his bare skin as he pounded relentlessly into her.
“Alicia.”
His voice, his breath, whispered across her cheek.
She lifted her head to look at him, moistened her lips, and like an animal tracking prey, his gaze followed.
“I love my job, Garrett. I won’t do anything to jeopardize it. You know what the risks are for both of us if we get involved.”
“I would never do anything to jeopardize your job. If this isn’t what you want, I’ll back away.”
“You have to think about your career, about your recovery.”
His gaze narrowed. “I’m so fucking tired of thinking about it. It’s all I’ve thought about for months. I want to shut it down for a while and think about something else, like holding a beautiful woman in my arms.”
Alicia shuddered. Torn between knowing she shouldn’t and wanting him so badly she vibrated with the need for him, she didn’t know what to do.
She swallowed, her whole body consumed with hunger for him. She was tired of this battle she had no hope of winning. The only option was surrender.
“Dammit, Garrett.”
He cocked a brow. “Is that a yes or a no?”
She fisted a handful of his shirt and hauled him closer. “Kiss me.”
FIFTEEN
“I’LL TAKE THAT AS A YES.”
Tight with tension, Garrett breathed a sigh of relief, then took her mouth in a kiss he felt like he’d been waiting months for.
Her lips were sweet and moist and he sank into the kiss, sliding his tongue between her lips to taste her.