“Damn you feel good,” Jake muttered through his teeth, both hands at her hips again.
Since that was exactly what she’d been thinking, Nicole gave a breathless laugh and then began to move.
Much to Nicole’s surprise, she was the first to wake up again. This time, strong winter sunlight was glaring in through the sliding glass doors and onto them. Nicole automatically got up to close the blinds and then turned to peer at the now shadowed bed.
She eyed Jake curiously, as she realized that the light earlier and this time hadn’t seemed to disturb him . . . and he’d gone shopping with her in daylight. Obviously, that was another difference between vampires and immortals; sunlight didn’t bother immortals.
Nicole crossed the two feet to the bed, intending to climb back in, but she wasn’t really tired now. She was thirsty though . . . and her throat was a bit sore. It wasn’t the only place she was sore. It seemed that all this caressing and having sex after a year of abstinence was causing some tenderness. Interesting, she thought and then walked around the bed and through the en suite to the walk in closet. Her gaze slid to the shower as she passed through the en suite and Nicole briefly considered taking a shower, but suspected if Jake woke up to find her naked in the shower, she wouldn’t be leaving the room for another little while.
The idea held more than a little appeal, but Nicole was tender enough that she feared another round with Jake right now would just make it worse. Besides, she was thirsty . . . and hungry now too.
In the closet, Nicole pulled out a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a bra and T-shirt to don, deliberately avoiding underwear this time to give her lower half a break. She dressed in the walk-in closet, her gaze slipping over the seventeen-foot-long and seven-foot-wide room. Built-in drawers were at either side of the far end of the room and a washer and dryer sat against the wall behind her on the other side of the door from the bathroom. But the rest of the room was lined with both upper and lower hanging rods, each side partitioned into two parts along each wall . . . except directly beside her, where there was only an upper rod to allow for robes and dresses to hang.
Nicole grimaced as she peered at the mostly empty rods. It had been stuffed to brimming when Rodolfo had been there. The man was a clothes horse, with so many shirts and pants he’d had a whole selection that still had the tags on. He’d taken up all of one side and almost half of the other with his clothes when they’d lived together, but now her own clothes barely filled half of one side . . . and that was with the clothes spread out to prevent wrinkling. That had never bothered her before, but now Nicole was thinking maybe she should buy herself some nice outfits to wear out on dates and such and perhaps some nice nightgowns and sexy underwear and—
Nicole stilled. What the heck was she thinking? She’d just got out of a relationship. She was not ready to get into another one. And she’d promised herself another six months before she’d even consider dating, but here she was, a couple of rounds of bouncy bed with Jake and she was ready to go out and buy clothes? Including sexy underwear? God, she was such an idiot. And a ho’ too, Nicole told herself viciously. She’d slept with her cook/housekeeper after barely knowing him a couple days. What was the matter with her?
Nicole knew that was harsh. She knew too that lots of women saw nothing wrong with sleeping with someone they’d just met in a bar and didn’t know from Adam. And she’d agree . . . for others. But Nicole knew herself well enough to know that she couldn’t just have sex. She would get emotionally involved, and the last thing she needed right now was to get emotionally involved with anyone.
Angry at herself and grumpy now, Nicole finished dressing and slipped out of the closet. She practically tiptoed through the bedroom in an effort not to wake Jake. She wasn’t ready to see him just now. She needed some time to sort herself out and decide how to handle this situation with him.
That might include firing him as her cook/housekeeper, Nicole admitted to herself unhappily. But she knew it was the smartest thing to do . . . because she very much feared that as long as he was around, she wouldn’t be able to resist playing more bouncy bed with the man. The sex had been that good. Hell, if she weren’t sore, Nicole would probably be crawling on the man right now.
“Jake isn’t here to be a cook/housekeeper.”
Nicole nearly leapt out of her skin at that deep rumble as she entered the kitchen. Whirling, she stared at Dante Notte. The man stood two steps behind her, apparently having followed her from . . . well, somewhere. The living room, probably, she thought, but hadn’t noticed him.