Pleasures of the Night(40)
“Did you eat earlier like you promised?” he asked.
“Yep. Sure did. I had a sandwich.”
“That’s not enough. We both need to eat.”
She lifted her head to stare down at him. “I don’t eat at this time of night.”
“You do when I’m around,” he retorted with the arrogant note of command that was innate to him.
She wondered if anyone had every said no to him, and doubted it. She rose from the bed and went to fetch her robe, which hung from a hook on the back of the door. Shrugging into it as she turned around, she paused in mid-rotation, arrested by the sight of Aidan rolling out of her bed. Despite her recent series of toe-curling orgasms, her dry mouth watered.
She’d never in her life seen such golden masculine perfection. She could stare at him for hours, she loved the sight of him so much.
Lyssa grinned like an idiot; she couldn’t help it. “You didn’t bring a bag with you?”
“For what?”
“Clothes, toothbrush, razor?”
He shook his head. “Things were a bit…crazy.”
“Yeah, the airlines lose my sister’s luggage all the time. That’s why I only take carry-on bags.” She shrugged. “I suppose there are worse things than having naked yumminess wandering around.”
“Why don’t you stay naked, too?” he suggested with a wink.
“Oh no, don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” he purred, stepping closer.
“Like I’m dinner, and you’re hungry.”
“I’m starving,” he breathed softly, looming over her, the tip of his finger following the line of her collarbone.
“You’re dangerous,” she whispered, staring at his throat.
His touch burned where it coursed over her skin. “Not to you.”
“Oh yeah?” She set her hands on his hips. “Is this where you tell me why you’re here?”
“Almost.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Food first.”
Lyssa blew out her breath. “All right. Food first.” She thought of him wandering around her house naked, and shivered. Oh man, she’d go crazy. “I might have something you can wear.”
“If you insist.”
She narrowed her eyes, and Aidan stepped back with a laugh, allowing her room to move to the dresser. She felt him watching her, his gaze steady and hot.
Rummaging through her lower drawer, Lyssa searched for the pair of sweatpants her last boyfriend had left behind. They didn’t have much in the way of sentimental value and they were way too big, but they made great slob gear, which was why she kept them around.
She straightened and turned, taking a moment to study the man who stood waiting at the foot of her bed. In her room with its dark blue walls and baby blue comforter, the color intended to soothe her to sleep, Aidan looked both very much at home and very, very attractive. “Here you go.”
Lyssa swallowed hard, her gaze riveted while he tugged the gray sweats up and over the delicious package between his legs.
“You’re tempting me to forgo food and just snack on you,” he drawled, glancing at her with a wicked smile.
She wrinkled her nose. “Sorry. Why don’t you head on down to the kitchen? I need to use the bathroom.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can dig up.” He cupped her cheek with a large hand and stared at her with heartrending tenderness before heading down the stairs.
When she stepped into the bathroom, her eyes went straight to the soggy puddle of clothes on the floor of her shower and her mind flooded with memories of what they’d done there. How long had she been hoping for a man like him to come into her life?
Her eyes squeezed shut against the sudden flare of white-hot guilt. She did have someone—Chad—a guy who had been more than patient and understanding while she kept a large gulf between them. Lyssa flinched and reached out to grab the lip of her pedestal sink. Christ, how could she have forgotten about Chad?
Curling her hands around the cool porcelain, she looked at herself in the mirror and winced. Kiss-swollen lips, sexmussed hair, and an overall dazed appearance told her what she hadn’t wanted to admit. There had always been a disconnect with Chad. He was a great guy, and he was fun to spend time with. She was comfortable with him and enjoyed his company, but after a month of casual dating she still hadn’t slept with him. Was in fact trying to convince herself to have sex with him, when all Aidan had to do was walk in the door and she was ready to go. Not just with lust, but with deep tenderness and longing.
She should have handled things differently, but in the end, it wasn’t Aidan who had wedged between her and Chad. The gap had always been there.