Secretly Craving You(19)

"You never told me how you ended up in bed with me," she said.

He shrugged and kept his eyes on the road. "I needed some sleep. The sofa was too short. I thought if I slept on the bed, I'd wake up before you and slip away without you even knowing it."

Was he being honest? She'd known he would need some sleep. And she'd even offered him the whole bed. He'd refused, then changed his mind later.

"It didn't quite work out that way," she said.

He smirked. "No. When I woke up, you were right there."

"Is that so? Well, for your information, you were the one who was right there, mister, on my side. You slid over next to me," she accused.

"Maybe I got cold. Or…" He grinned, flicking a wicked glance her way. "Maybe my subconscious mind knew what I wanted."

He wanted her? So, why did he abandon her in bed? A blush seared her skin, head to toe. She refused to ask that burning question. Really, it wouldn't have been to her benefit to have more than he gave her. Who knew if he even had a condom?

"Well, I don't know what came over me," she said. "I don't normally do things like that."

"I know."

"You do? How?"

He shrugged again. Clearly that action was a big part of his communication skills. "Going by what I know about you. You don't strike me as a nympho slut."

She smacked his arm. Okay, maybe it was simply an excuse to touch his muscular, tattooed biceps.

"I meant that as a compliment." He had a playful way of glaring and grinning at the same time that made her want to smile. But she didn't. Instead, she huffed and stared out the window again.

"You want to be a nympho slut?" he inquired.

"No! But I'm not a prude either." Like Jared had labeled her. He'd called her vanilla in bed, which was one reason she'd experimented with a sex toy after the divorce. "I'm a woman with a normal, healthy sexual appetite."

"Ah hell," he muttered and scrubbed a hand against his beard stubble.

"What?" She'd give a twenty-dollar bill to know what he was thinking right now.

He shook his head. "Nothing."

But clearly he was lying. Maybe he was mulling over her healthy sexual appetite.

"I've never thought you were a prude. You're a hell of a sexy woman." Nick's words and his husky tone sent a flush of arousal over her, making her remember her scorching response to him in bed.

"You wouldn't have said that before this morning."

"Yeah, I would have." He sent her a dark, smoldering glance, but it was the sincerity she saw there that stole her breath. "What can I say? You're hot as hell. And I've thought you were from the first moment I met you."

Oh my god. How could he say such a thing? Her sweltering blush returned, intensified and her body flushed with arousal. "Oh. Well, thank you."

"You're welcome."

He was hot, too, but she couldn't tell him that. This couldn't turn into a mutual admiration society, or he might pull onto the shoulder and they'd get it on right there. She craved another kiss from him, yearned for the taste of him and the way his lips and tongue had taunted hers.

Her arousal escalated, making her body tingle and ache. She felt like using some of his frustrated curse words.

What he'd said about the first time they'd met brought back memories of the night she'd seen him nude, having sex with another woman. Emily would die of mortification if he ever learned she'd been watching like a naughty voyeur from behind the closet door. She hadn't been able to pull her gaze away from the delectable sight of him—his muscular chest and abs, when he'd stripped off his jacket and shirt. After he removed the kilt, his impressive cock had been jutting out while the bridesmaid licked it like an ice cream cone.

Naked, he'd been so primal and all-male she couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't look away. Definitely a human animal…one she craved with every instinctive urge inside her.

Emily's cell phone rang, the contemporary love song startling her out of her erotic memories. Her hands unsteady, she yanked the phone from her purse. The display told her it was Tia, her friend and business partner.

After tapping the screen, she placed it against her ear. "Hello, Tia."

"Where are you?"

"About halfway between Atlanta and Savannah." Emily went on to tell Tia about the nut-job who broke into her house and threatened her and how she went to Atlanta to ask for Nick's help. Her stomach ached as she remembered all the terrifying events.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" Tia asked.

"Yes. Nick's a cop and he's been a great help to me."

"I'm glad he's protecting you. I remember Nick from your wedding. The best man, right?"

"Yeah."