Marriage Made on Paper(39)
“For my evil genius?”
He smiled, and her heart leapt. “Among other things.” He cupped her cheek and her leaping, traitorous heart compounded its sins by pounding harder when he brushed his thumb lightly over her skin. “I’m going to go and check my email. I’ll meet you afterward, for breakfast.”
She could only nod as he turned and walked back out of the room. She sank onto the bed, hand on her chest, and tried to catch her breath. When he’d smiled like that … it had made her feel as if her heart was too big for her chest.
It’s just the sex. Nothing more.
She walked over to the desk and sat at her laptop, determined to push all thoughts of Gage from her mind and focus on her work. After all, the fling with Gage would only last a few more days. Her job was the constant. It was what mattered and she wasn’t about to compromise that by trying to make more of their relationship than there could ever be. She didn’t want it anyway.
The new physical connection they had was enough. She had no desire to get in any deeper. Part of her still wondered what she’d been thinking to give in to the attraction that burned between them. Part of her wished she’d just walked away from the edge of the cliff instead of jumping into the unknown.
He was right about one thing. She hadn’t known. She’d thought sex would bring pleasure, but she hadn’t realized the connection it could forge between two people, not really.
Of course, she hadn’t been thinking when she’d agreed to the fling. She’d been following her most base desires instead of her intellect. Which had been her first mistake. But it was too late now. Now she knew. Now she felt like she had to let it reach a conclusion or it would always feel like it did now. Mysterious, almost too good to be real. Like she might cry just from thinking about the moment when Gage had joined his body to hers.
She finished dashing off the email and hit Send then leaned back in the chair, trying to breath deep enough to make the tightness in her chest go away.
She pushed away from the desk and stood. It was too late now. It was done. She’d made the decision, and she would accept everything that came with it. There was no point in regretting it. All she could do now was see it through. And when it was over she would be back to living like she always had, with the memory of how wonderful a few stolen moments in Gage Forrester’s arms could be.
She managed to hold the tears back the second time they were together, until she escaped to her room on the excuse that she wanted a shower, and that she didn’t want to share. Then she let it out. Tears tracked down her cheeks as she stood beneath the water.
She didn’t know what it was that made her emotions, always so under control, release completely in the aftermath of a climax with Gage. She shut the water off and dried quickly, wrapping the towel tightly around herself before returning to the dark bedroom.
He’d honored her request for darkness this time, too, pulling down the shades likely because he knew just how inexperienced she was now. But he’d been merciless in his pursuit of giving her pleasure. He’d driven her higher, further, than she’d ever imagined possible.
And when she’d reached the peak, she’d screamed her pleasure. She cringed at the memory of how completely she’d lost her control. He’d always been able to do that to her. Even if it was just by getting her to talk about things she normally kept to herself.
She tiptoed back into the bedroom, hoping that Gage was asleep.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, his voice husky and enticing in the darkness, proving that her hopes for sneaking back in unnoticed were in vain.
A lot of men had told her she was beautiful, but never while she was naked. Not that he could see her all that well with the lamp switched off, the only light in the room filtering in from behind the edges of the shades. She was used to men drooling over her looks, but being told she was attractive had never affected her in the slightest.
It didn’t matter what someone thought of her if she didn’t have any interest in them. But hearing it from Gage made new heat bloom in her belly, made her ache to have him again, despite the strength of her earlier release. Physically, she was ready anyway. Emotionally, she didn’t think she could go through it again.
She didn’t respond, she only slid back into bed, her heart hammering already, just from being near him. She rolled over to her side, facing away from him, her arms crossed tightly over her breasts.
“You don’t like to be told that you’re beautiful?” She felt the mattress dip as Gage shifted and moved nearer to her, putting his arms around her and drawing her against him.