Breaking Bailey's Rules(19)
“My men are in awe of you,” he added. “You impressed them.”
She frowned. “I didn’t do it to impress anyone, Walker. I did what I felt I had to do. I wasn’t going after accolades.”
That, he thought, was what made her different. Most of the women he knew would use anything to score brownie points. Hadn’t making a good impression meant everything to Kalyn?
“I think you’re the real hero, Walker. You risked your life getting that bear away from the shack before it got to Marcus.”
He shrugged. “Like you said, I did what I felt I had to do. I wasn’t going after accolades.” He blinked over at her and smiled. He was rewarded when she smiled back.
Just what was he doing flirting with her? He was pretty rusty at it. There hadn’t been a woman he’d really been attracted to since Kalyn. He’d had meaningless affairs solely for the purpose of quenching raging hormones, but he hadn’t been interested in a woman beyond sex...until now.
He bit into his sandwich. “This is good. I hope I didn’t get underfoot while you prepared lunch, but I couldn’t stay in my bedroom a minute longer.”
“Thanks, and no, you didn’t get underfoot.”
But he had made her nervous, he was sure of it. She’d been leaning over looking into the refrigerator when he’d walked into the kitchen. The sight of her sweats stretched over a curvy bottom had definitely increased his testosterone level. He had been happy just to stand there, leaning against the kitchen counter with an erection, and stare. After closing the refrigerator she’d nearly dropped the jars of mayo and mustard when she’d turned around to find him there. Of course she’d scolded him for coming down the stairs without her assistance, but he’d ignored all that. He wasn’t used to a woman fussing over him.
She’d made him sit down at the table and had given him a magazine that had been delivered by the mailman earlier. Instead of flipping through the pages, he’d preferred watching her move around the kitchen. More than once she’d caught him staring and he’d quickly glanced back down at the magazine.
Walker would be the first to admit he’d picked up on a difference in the atmosphere of his home. It now held the scent of a woman. Although the guest room she was using was on the opposite side of the house, the moment he’d walked out of his bedroom, the scent of jasmine had flowed through his nostrils. At first he’d been taken off guard by it but then he decided he preferred it to the woodsy smell he was used to. It was then that he realized someone other than himself occupied the house for the first time since his parents’ deaths. His privacy had been invaded, but, surprisingly, he didn’t have a problem with it. Bailey had a way of growing on a person.
“Will you be returning to your room after you finish lunch?” she asked.
He glanced over at her. “No. There’re a few things I need to do.”
“Like what?”
He lifted a brow. Did she think whatever he did was any of her business?
As if she read his mind, she said, “I hope you’re not planning to do anything that might cause a setback, Walker.”
He heard the concern in her voice and clearly saw it in her eyes. It reminded him of what had been missing in his life for almost ten years. A woman who cared.
A woman he desired.
Although they had never made love, they had come close. It didn’t take much to remember a pair of perfectly shaped breasts or the wetness of her femininity. Going down on a woman wasn’t part of his regular lovemaking routine, but Bailey’s scent had made him want to do it for her, and after that first time he’d found her flavor addictive.
So yes, he desired her. With a passion. Whenever he saw her, his mind filled with all the things he’d love to do to her. It had been a long time since he’d slept with a woman, but that wasn’t the issue. He desired Bailey simply because she was a woman worthy of desiring. There had been this attraction between them from the start, and they both knew it. The attraction was still alive and kicking, and they both knew that, as well.
How long were they planning to play the “try to ignore it” game?
“No setbacks for me. I intend to follow Dr. Witherspoon’s orders.”
“Good.”
Did Bailey realize she liked getting in the last word? “I need to go over my books, replenish my stock and order more branding equipment. I’ll be fine.”
She nodded before getting up from the table. She reached for his plate and he placed his hand on hers. He immediately felt a sizzle race up his spine and he fought to ignore it. “I can take care of my own plate. I appreciate you being here but I don’t want you to feel as if you have to wait on me. I’m doing better.”
What he didn’t add was that he was doing well enough for her to go back home to Westmoreland Country. However, for reasons he wasn’t ready to question, her leaving was not what he wanted.
“Fine,” she said, moving away from the table.
He tried concentrating on his cup of coffee, but couldn’t. He watched her move around the room, putting stuff away. He enjoyed watching how her body looked in sweats. Whenever she moved, so did his sex as it tingled with need.
“Any reason you’re staring?” she asked, turning to meet his gaze.
She looked younger today. Softer. It could be the way the daylight was coming in through the window. “You got eyes in the back of your head, Bailey?”
“No, but I could feel you staring.”
In that case there was no need to lie. “Yes, I was staring. You look good in that outfit.”
She looked down at herself. “In sweats? You’ve got to be kidding me. You must have taken an extra pill or two this morning.”
He smiled as his gaze raked over her. “No, I didn’t take an extra pill or two. Just stating the facts.”
He sensed she didn’t believe him. She brushed her fingers through her hair as if his comment had given her reason to wonder if she looked just the opposite. Possibly disheveled and unkempt. He found that interesting. How could she not know she looked good no matter what she wore? And she probably had no idea that her hot, lush scent filled the kitchen instead of the scent of what she’d prepared for lunch.
As if dismissing what he’d said, she turned back to the sink. “Are you going to sit there and stare or are you going to work in your office?” she asked over her shoulder a few moments later.
“I think I’ll just sit here and stare for a while.”
“It’s not nice to stare.”
“So I’ve heard.”
She swung around and frowned at him. “Then, stare at something else, Walker.”
A smile touched the corner of his lips. “There’s nothing else in this kitchen I would rather stare at than you.” And he meant it.
“Sounds as if you’ve got a case of cabin fever.”
“Possibly, but I doubt it.”
She placed the dish towel on the counter. “So what do you think it is?”
He placed his coffee cup down, thinking that was easy enough to answer. “Lust. I’m lusting after you, Bailey.”
A drugging urgency slammed into Bailey’s chest, making her nipples pucker and fire race through her veins. Now, more than before, she felt the weight of Walker’s gaze. She didn’t usually feel feminine in sweats, but he had a way of making her feel sexy even when she didn’t have a right to feel that way.
And while he sat there, watching her every move, she was fully aware of what was going through his mind. Because she was pretty certain it was the same thing going through hers. This seductive heat was beginning to affect her everywhere—in her breasts, deep in the juncture of her thighs and in the middle of her stomach. The memories of those two kisses they’d previously shared only intensified the hot, aching sensations overwhelming her common sense.
She heard him slide the chair back and watched as he slowly stood. “You can come here or I’m coming over there,” he said matter-of-factly in a deep voice.
She swallowed, knowing he was serious. As serious as she was hot for him. But was she ready for this? A meaningless affair with Walker? Hadn’t he told her that night in the truck at Bailey’s Bay that all he could offer was a meaningless affair? At the time, she’d responded by saying that kind of relationship didn’t bother her. Her future was tied to Westmoreland Country and not to any man. There wasn’t that much love in the world.
But there was that much passion. That much desire. To a degree she’d never encountered before. She couldn’t understand it, but there was no denying the way her body responded to him. It responded in a way it had never reacted to another man. A part of her believed this was no accident. What was taking place between them was meant to be. Not only was that thought a discovery, it was also an acceptance.
It was that acceptance that pushed her to say, “Meet me halfway.”
He nodded and moved toward her. She moved toward him. Bailey drew in a deep breath with every step, keeping her gaze fixed on his face. That strong, square chin, those gorgeous dark eyes, his delicious mouth. He was such a striking figure of a man whose looks alone could make a woman shiver. Toss in her nightly naughty dreams and it made her bold enough to turn those dreams into reality.