He returned and handed her a glass, but instead of pouring one for himself, he set the bottle of wine on the counter. “I even got her to eat some salad, which wasn’t easy. Turn around.”
“Casey ate salad? Now I am impressed.” When she didn’t immediately obey, he turned her and she sighed as he went to work on her shoulders. His hands were so much better than wine, and she stared at her glass through tired eyes. In seconds, her eyelids fell closed and her chin dipped to her chest. “If I drink this, I won’t be able to drive home.”
“So don’t drive home.”
Tempting, so tempting. “How did you really make out today? Casey’s rarely quiet.”
“It was fine. Better than fine and she had fun. We did the scans and she watched the machine make the 3-D mold. She thinks I’m magic now.”
“Mmm.” His hands certainly felt like magic. “I think I may be too tired to eat.”
“You work too hard.”
She didn’t have the energy to argue and nearly whimpered when he pressed his thumbs deeper, slid them up the column of her neck. She couldn’t get used to this either, being taken care of. “Mmm.” A sound of ecstasy hummed through her.
“I’ll be off in a couple of weekends.”
He continued to rub and her head lolled. “I should get Casey home. I’m too tired to be productive.”
“She’s asleep. It’s late.” He kissed the back of her head. “Stay. Let me feed you.”
It would be nice to stay, too nice, but how many meals had he already provided? She had her budget worked down to the penny. She wouldn’t use him, depend on him. But she wanted to be here. “I feel icky. I’m sure I smell like the diner.”
“You don’t look icky.” His hands moved down her arms, then back to her shoulders before he nuzzled her neck, then up her throat. “You don’t smell icky.” He kissed her behind her ear, nibbled on her earlobe, and her body zinged to life. “But why don’t you take a shower before you eat if it’ll make you feel better? Use my bathroom so you don’t wake Casey.”
Just because she stayed didn’t mean anything was going to happen. She’d be smart not to let it. Smarter if she left now and made sure of it.
He pressed a soft kiss to her head again. “Stay.”
“Okay.” It was impossible to say no. She didn’t want to say no.
Jake’s bathroom smelled like him, fresh and male and woodsy with a lingering scent of his aftershave. That scent reminded her of those minutes in her kitchen and just the memory made the blood pulse hard between her legs.
The hot spray reminded her of his massaging fingers, and when she closed her eyes, breathed in the scent of his shampoo, she could almost imagine him there with her. Both of them naked, both of them wet.
Like she was naked now, in his shower, with Jake just a room away.
After ten minutes under the pounding, high-pressure showerhead, she stepped out, warm and loose, a little tingly and a lot nervous. She towel-dried her hair, ran her fingers through it. Thinking to slip out to her car for a T-shirt and shorts, she wrapped the towel around her body and opened the door into Jake’s bedroom. And came face-to-face with the object of her fantasies.
Chapter 16
They both froze and the sound of her own blood pulsed in her ears.
“Sorry. I wanted to make sure you had a towel, but…” Hot, appraising eyes took in her bare shoulders and barely covered body. “I can see that you do.”
A drop of water fell from her hair and slipped beneath the edge of the towel between her breasts. Jake watched it disappear.
“Feel better?” His voice was thick and raspy and his eyes came back to hers.
“Yes.” The word came out a breathless whisper because she couldn’t breathe. The man was large, intense, and his brown eyes burning into hers made it hard to swallow, impossible to move. He exuded sex but for long, silent seconds he just looked at her while her heart raced, unsure what he would do next.
She wanted his lips on hers, his hands running over bare skin. She wanted this, wanted to be touched, to feel alive and free, and not full of worry and fear and guilt. Mostly she wanted Jake.
The muscles in his jaw tensed with barely contained restraint and he looked down at her from hot and heavy eyes. Finally, he raised his hand and traced one rough finger along her collarbone, making every nerve fire as he went.
“Tell me to stop.”
“No.”
He continued along the edge of the towel, his knuckles just brushing the top of each breast. “Paige. You’re tired.”
“I’m not that tired. Please. Just this once.” She needed him, right now. Needed his kiss, needed the way she felt in his arms. Like for once she wasn’t racing toward something wonderful that always seemed to move farther away, but was already grasping it.
With a simple tug, she untucked the edge of the towel where it wrapped around and let it drop to the floor at her feet.