Under other circumstances, the soft spoken flattery would have gone straight to his head. But it was impossible to accept the compliment when she didn't know who he was. Doesn't she? She'd spent hours with him, enjoying his company and their chemistry. Okay, she had his name wrong, but was that more important than the connection they'd formed?
"So did you always know you wanted to be an architect?" she asked.
He flinched inwardly, her innocuous question destroying his attempt at rationalization. "Not exactly," he said. "I got started in my dad's roofing company. I guess my career evolved from there. You spend enough time working on people's houses you start to imagine how you would build them yourself. What you'd do differently. What your own dream home might be like." That was entirely true. He might not have Bryce's schooling, but Sean had consulted with friends and experts and was almost finished with blueprints for his eventual dream home.
"Sounds a little like my inspiration. Except I never worked as a roofer."
"Shame. You'd look cute in a hard hat."
"Dad and I moved a bunch of times when I was growing up, so I spent a lot of time daydreaming about my perfect home, too. In case you were wondering," she added in a wry voice, "this apartment isn't it. This was just a temporary stop that got extended when my relationship status changed. Anyway, even when Dad and I stayed in a place longer than usual, it was base housing. It was never truly ours. Helping clients find their perfect place makes me feel like a fairy godmother."
He tilted his head, unable to reconcile the sexy as hell woman whose towel only barely concealed her luscious breasts with a kindly old godmother. "Didn't you want to be the princess when you were a little girl?" Dani was certainly more beautiful than any fabled heroine with snowy skin or rosy lips.
She snorted. "Princesses hid out with dwarves or waited around in towers. The really unlucky ones waited around in comas. Fairy godmothers get shit done." She opened a drawer, pulling out a pizza cutter and brandishing it like a magic wand. "And I'd be effective, too. None of this spells wearing off at midnight nonsense."
That, he could believe. Because he felt as if he'd been bewitched since the moment she first smiled at him, and the spell she cast over him had been growing steadily stronger ever since.
* * *
WHEN DANI STOOD to refill her water, she caught a glance at the time. She blinked, startled by the numbers glowing above her microwave. Had she and Gray really just spent an hour and a half sitting on the floor of her kitchen? They'd wiped out the pizza amid conversation and far more laughter than she'd expected.
In some ways, being with him reminded her of hanging out with Meg. Her best friend was usually the only person who could bring out Dani's silly side. Major Yates had many excellent parenting qualities, but her childhood home hadn't been filled with carefree whimsy. One of the traits she found attractive in Gray was that he didn't take himself too seriously.
Apparently, though, it was true what they said about time flying when you were having fun.
"It's late," she told him.
He glanced up, his eyes searching. "Is that your way of suggesting it's time for me to leave?"
"No, I... Stay the night? I've got spare toothbrushes." A hot blush prickled her skin as she realized how that-coupled with propositioning him after three minutes of small talk today-might make her sound. "I bought a multipack because it was on sale. Not, uh, because I have guys sleeping over on a regular basis."
"I'd love to stay, Dani."
The way he said her name made her melt inside. But when she caught herself gazing adoringly at him, she gave herself a mental shake. Sappy wasn't her thing. "I'll, uh, just go find you that extra toothbrush."
She retreated to the bathroom, taking time to recover her composure. She ran a comb through her hair, brushed her teeth and finally exchanged the towel she'd been wearing for a robe from Meg's shop. The green material was filmy, almost but not quite see-through, and fell to midthigh. When she opened the door, she found Gray sitting on the edge of her bed in nothing but his boxer briefs. Since she'd had all evening to get used to the sight of his well-muscled torso, it was silly that her mouth went dry. It was equally silly that her stomach did a somersault at Gray and bed in the same thought. Didn't sexual tension fade after two people had been intimate? Shouldn't his magnetism have lessened?
No. Because now you know exactly how good he is. All her feverish speculation before had only been educated guesses.
She swallowed, struggling to find her voice. Although she hadn't wanted him to think she picked up a different man every night of the week, she didn't want him to deem her unsophisticated, either. Then again, considering her abysmal language whenever she missed a pool shot and the contents of her fridge, that ship had probably sailed.
"Um, all yours," she said, moving out of the doorway. While Gray took his turn in the bathroom, she sent one last check-in text to Meg.
He's staying over. Best date ever. Call you tomorrow.
When Gray rejoined her, she was in the process of turning down the comforter. "Two things you should know," she said with mock solemnity. "The right side of the bed is mine. Nonnegotiable. Also, I snore." She had no idea if that was true. But making the statement kept her from swooning over his body. Any man who ate pizza and had abs like that must've signed a deal with the devil.
"Hmm." He reached across the bed for her, eyes glinting with sensual promise. "Then maybe I should come up with ways to keep you awake, so the snoring won't be a problem."
A quiver of expectation rippled through her. She met him in the middle of the mattress. After only one night, his kiss was familiar, as if they were lovers with a shared past. And a future? It was a sweet thought, but fleeting, incinerated by the rush of fiery need as their tongues tangled. He tunneled his fingers through her hair, which had dried in wild ringlets that matched her mood. Untamed. Primitive.
Using the element of surprise as much as her own weight, she shoved him back onto the bed and sprawled across him as they kissed. He cupped her ass through the silky material, dragging her against him. She sat up, straddling him, so that she could control her movements better.
"I like this," he said. "But-"
"There's a but?" Was he one of those men who had a problem with a woman on top? Nah. He was rock hard beneath her, obviously sincere in his appreciation. She shifted her weight in a slow, deliberate gyration.
He closed his eyes momentarily, his grip on her tightening. "But," he continued, "we still have a theory to test." That was all the warning he gave before flipping her over and reversing their positions. "About my mouth on you."
His weight on top of her, wedged between her thighs as he pinned her to the crisp sheets below, was a new erotic delight. He caught the end of the sash belting her robe and tugged. The knot gave way immediately, and the fabric parted, sliding down either side of her body.
But he kept his eyes locked on hers as he whispered, "You are beautiful." Something about the reverence of his tone more than the actual words made her shiver.
Kissing her neck, he scraped his teeth lightly across the hollow of her throat and nuzzled his way downward. By the time he reached the tip of her breast, she was breathing hard. He flicked his tongue over her, then drew her into the heat of his mouth. It was as if there was a current that ran from his lips straight to the core of her.
Electric pleasure zinged through her body until she was shuddering with it. If he'd continued his attention to her breasts, it might have been enough to push her over the edge into climax. But he was moving lower, stopping to kiss her navel, both her inner thighs. And then finally, finally...
"Oh!" The soft exclamation was all she could manage.
Hands beneath her knees, he nudged gently, and she bent her legs, resting her feet against his shoulders. Coherent thought evaporated beneath the stroke of his tongue. Her head thrashed on the pillow, and her heels dug into the mattress. The neighbors could probably hear the sharp cries Gray wrung from her, but she was beyond caring.
Then it was as if all motion and sound stopped. Her body straightened, a silent gasp frozen on her lips, and spasms began deep within her, undulating through her in crashing waves. It took her a moment to register that Gray's sudden absence was because he was unrolling a condom. She was still experiencing tiny aftershocks when he braced himself above her and drove into her, hurtling her up another roller-coaster ascent toward free fall.