She blinked again. “Talk?”
Her awakening senses were lazy as hell, he knew. Terrie didn’t just jump out of the bed. She was like a kitten, drowsy, stretching, accustoming herself to reality before stepping into it.
“Come on, lazy bones. Coffee should be ready, and we can talk.” He patted her thigh. He wanted to pat something else instead.
She frowned slowly. “I thought I was angry with you?”
Yep, that was his Terrie. Bright-eyed and raring to go.
“You were?” He kept his tone deliberately casual. “Well, you might be madder before the morning’s out. Come on, darlin’, rise and shine.”
He rose to his feet as she thought about that for a minute. She rubbed her eyes then yawned softly behind her hand as she struggled to sit up. He gave her another minute then turned and headed quickly to the kitchen for the coffee.
“Hey,” her voice echoed through the house just seconds before she stomped into the kitchen.
He was waiting. He met her at the table, pressed her back into a chair then placed the mug before her. The scent of rich, addicting coffee steamed in temptation beneath the cute little twitch of her nose.
She was still buttoning the overlarge man’s shirt that had lain by the couch as she slept. His shirt. His body clenched in reaction at the thought of her lounging around in the shirts he had forgotten here. This one he had used while helping her paint one of the rooms. The paint still stained it.
“You’re still in trouble,” she muttered as she wrapped her fingers around the mug. “Why the hell are you here anyway?”
Disgruntled, drowsy and clearly remembering exactly why she was angry with him, Jesse thought as he hid his smile. He didn’t care much for the welling tenderness that tightened his chest, though. Damn if she couldn’t disarm him as quickly as she could arouse him.
“Because you’re so cheerful in the morning.” He grinned as he carried his own cup to the table and sat down across from her. “My little ray of sunshine.”
She shot him a look that was anything but light and uplifting. He hid his smile behind his cup, watching her carefully.
“Cut the crap, Jesse.” She pushed her fingers through her hair, sending strands of silk flowing behind her shoulders. “Tell me what the hell you want so I can go back to sleep.”
Yep, that was his Terrie. So sweet and gracious she could melt the hardest heart. She had his. Years ago. But it wasn’t his heart that needed relief at the moment; it was his cock. Through the long, sleepless night he had come to several decisions where Terrie was concerned. First and foremost being he was tired of waiting. He wanted her with an intensity that bordered on obsession and, by God, he was about to do something about it.
Chapter Four
Silence descended between them as Terrie slowly fought her way past the drowsiness that often made it difficult for her to wake up. She was not a morning person. And if she wasn’t mistaken, it wasn’t much past daylight right now. She could have sworn she had stated her dislike of early mornings.
She finished the first cup of coffee and rose from the table to get another. As she did, she was aware of Jesse coming to his feet as well. He paced to the doorway, sighed, turned back and watched her. She fought to ignore what his look did to her.
“I want to fuck the hell out of you, Terrie.”
The smooth, cultured voice broke through the silence of the early morning light and her drowsiness.
Terrie placed the coffee pot back on the counter and fought to still her trembling hands, certain that she couldn’t have heard him correctly.
She blinked, staring at Jesse in shock. Despite the confrontation in his office the day before, despite her knowledge that he did want her, she hadn’t expected this. Not this soon.
“How very romantic,” she snorted, her temper sizzling at his attitude. “Let me just bend over for you now.”
Jesse merely watched her coolly, though, with those deep green eyes.
“If you wanted romance, you picked the wrong way to bait me for it,” he said as he leaned against the doorway, watching her carefully. “It would be a beneficial arrangement for both of us. And it would sure as hell take care of this frustration we’re both fighting tooth and nail. It’s stupid to fight something we both want.”
She shook her head, aware that her expression must be comical with disbelief. After their confrontation the day before, this was the last thing she had expected.
“Jesse, are you drunk?” she finally asked, narrowing her eyes at him. He had shown up a few times, more than a little relaxed after some party or another he had gone to, but he had never said anything so shocking before and certainly not so early in the morning.