Too late to adjust her bra, she shoved her shirt all the way down and hoped the bulkiness would hide her state of undress. Surely the room was dark enough to hide her enflamed cheeks.
"I'm fine. Your friend Mathew is here."
"He is? He's early."
"Yeah, that's what he said."
"You don't have to yell, I can hear you."
Hoping to heck Matt could too, she kept her voice raised. "Good to see you, Dad."
In the dim light, she saw his eyebrows raise. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Hey there. About time you got home."
Matt ambled down the stairs and to Sara's relief, from what she could see, the erection he'd had moments ago disappeared. The two men shook hands and guy-hugged.
"Why are you wearing my clothes?"
"I got drenched. That's my rental car with a flat tire you see down the road. Your daughter was kind enough to let me shower and loan me clothes."
"You've met Sara then."
"Sure have. We helped ourselves to pizza and drinks."
"Why didn't you tell me you had company coming?" Sara stood and put her hands on her hips. Her heart rate slowed a little, but she still had steam to blow off.
"Sorry, totally slipped my mind. I got called away for this last minute meeting. Glad you were here to let Matt in. Guys, I'm beat. Hate to be rude but I'm heading to bed. Maybe there's still some hot water left. There's extra blankets in the closet, if the heat doesn't come back on." Doug picked up the overnight bag he'd brought in. "I'll see you two in the morning."
When he'd disappeared up the stairs, Sara and Matt looked at each other.
"Um…"
"Guess we should smother the fire, close off the fireplace. I'll take care of that, if you'll put away the food stuff. Got your flashlight?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Well, good night then."
No, not hardly a good night. Sara wanted to talk further, to continue where they'd left off. But the magic had disappeared. She gathered the wine, plates and empty beer bottle and put the items on the tray. Moving slowly, still shaking, she took it to the kitchen.
Damn it! Why did her dad have to come in just now and ruin what was sure to be the best time she'd had for a while? Of course, it would have been worse if they'd already been naked and entwined. A shudder coursed through her as she pictured that. Her legs wrapped around Matt, heels digging into him.
Blowing out a breath, she put that image out of her mind and cleaned up in the kitchen. She'd take a shower, most likely cold. The hot water take in the house was large, but she suspected not big enough for a third steamy rinse. That would cool down her jets. Anyway, her and Matt, bad idea. He said he found her attractive, and his body sure responded, but after their one night together, he'd be gone. So what was the point, besides a little pleasure? She'd just get all goofy and sappy, start to like the guy. She didn't need her heart stomped on again.
But what a guy! A grin spread across her face as she shoved the pizza box in the trash. Funny, kind, generous. She could have sworn all those men were as extinct as the Tyrannosaurus rex.
Didn't matter. Matt wasn't for her. His interest was just horny-guy-in-a-romantic-situation attraction, that's all.
When she walked back to the living room, Matt was gone and the fire was out. Just like the one in her heart.
Chapter 3
In the Pink Room, Sara's bedroom of choice, she managed a quick, lukewarm shower before the water turned cold. She'd have to hunt down another blanket or two, wear her yoga pants to bed, if the electric stayed off. Rain continued to beat on the roof, though the thunder and lightning had stopped. Maybe she could coerce Daisy into the bed to snuggle.
"Don't you look delicious."
Sara almost dropped the candle she held. Two other candles burned in their holders, one on the dresser and one on the bedside table, joined by the bottle of wine and a glass. Matt sat on the edge of her bed, a mischievous smile in place.
"What are you doing here?" She clutched the towel to her body.
He stood, crossed the room, and came to stand a foot away. "Finishing what we started."
She backed up. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not a 'quickie' kind of girl."
"Oh, it won't be a quickie." He moved closer.
"I mean, I don't do one-night stands."
"Didn't plan on this being one of those." Closer.
"You said you've had a lot of lovers."
"I have." Now almost touching.
"I don't want to be another conquest. You don't live here. You'll be leaving soon. Right?"
"Wrong. That's one reason I want to get this project rolling. So I can put down roots somewhere for a while. Stop traveling so much."
His scent reached her now, that pine/orange, mixed with wood smoke. And a little man-sweat. Her pussy clenched and she gripped the candlestick to keep her hands from reaching out and grabbing him.