“You know . . . you’re all tough and cynical on the outside . . .” He still hadn’t touched her, though she could feel his wanting. Or maybe that was her own. All she knew was that the anticipation was going to kill her.
Leaning in, he exhaled softly over her neck, making her shiver. “But so soft and sweet on the inside.”#p#分页标题#e#
“I’m just as tough on the inside,” she assured him.
“I don’t think so.”
She really, really wished he didn’t smell so orgasmically good, or that he didn’t radiate such confidence, such intensity. Or that he didn’t look like he did, which was too amazing for her fragile state of mind.
For something to do, she grabbed her bag from him and strode toward a chair. There she pulled out her Palm Pilot.
“What are you doing?”
“I have to write something down.” She brought up her journal and entered: Either learn self-defense or start carrying a baseball bat. Do not—repeat, do not—ever ask a man to protect you again.
There. She felt better already. Sort of. She flipped through the files and reread her earlier words:
No more failures.
No more men.
She underscored both two times and then repeated them in her head like a mantra until they blurred.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing, I’m—Hey!”
He’d snatched the Palm Pilot from her hand. “No more failures,” he read. “No more men.” He eyed her over the digital unit. “Interesting.”
“I always make myself notes,” she said defensively, reaching for the Palm Pilot, but he lifted it over his head, and by the full-on, knock-’em-out smile he flashed, he was enjoying her efforts to grab it from him.
“What else do you have in here, I wonder.” Turning his back to her, he began to poke at her files.
“Stop that.” She shoved at him, but he was immovable, the ape. “Those entries are private.”
“Whoa,” he said with interest. “This one’s good. ‘Don’t expect a man with a hard-on to be able to think. He doesn’t have enough blood to run both heads.’ Hmmm.” He shot her a wicked grin over his shoulder. “I do. Want to see?”
“You are impossible! Give me the damn thing!”
But he was still busy having fun reading her private thoughts. “‘Never agree to marry a man because he has potential, ’” he read. “ ‘Men are not like houses, they do not make good fixer-uppers.’ ” His gaze met hers. “You know I’m finding this insight into your psyche absolutely fascinating.”
She was still struggling to nab her journal, her fingers touching his warm, hard chest and those yummy abs. She refused to let them do anything for her. “This is serious for me, okay? Someone was leaning over me while I slept tonight.” Just remembering had a shiver running up her spine, and she hugged herself again. “It gave me the creeps. I know it’s silly, but writing things in my journal calms me.”
He went still, then sighed, the grin vanishing from his face as he handed her back the Palm Pilot.
“I know,” she said, embarrassed. “I’m being such a wuss—”
“No.” He looked disgusted with himself. “Fuck, no. Anyone would have been spooked, given what you saw, and I’m an ass for trying to tease you right now. Come here.”
In the act of putting away the Palm Pilot, Breanne lifted her head. His eyes were dark, opaque, and filled with things that made her swallow hard. He was half-naked, she in nearly the same condition. Moving any closer to him would be like lighting the fuse and begging to get burned.
He simply took the matter into his own hands and stepped into her personal space again, stroking a finger over her cheek before settling his hand on her arm. “Could it have been Patrick?”
“I don’t think so.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. What do you suppose he was looking for?”#p#分页标题#e#
Their eyes held, and all the possibilities floated through her mind, none of which was exactly comforting. His other hand came up to cup her jaw. “You’re safe now,” he said. “With me. You know that, right?”
She thought of sleeping in here tonight and knew that safe was relative. “Sure.”
“We could sit around and talk if you’d like.”
“Okay.” She crossed her arms and tried to look casual. “So what’s up?”
“Considering what you’re wearing beneath that sheet, and what we just heard in the hallway, you might want to rephrase that particular statement.”