“You’re such a bore.” Maddie staggered ahead and then stopped, tilting her head back on her long, graceful neck. When her hair was loose, it hung clear to her hips when she did that. “The moon is so big.”
There was something big growing in his pants. And he was pretty sure that made him the worst kind of bastard. But he couldn’t help it. Chase was still a man and, off limits or not, Maddie was…she was just Maddie.
Looking over her shoulder, she smiled. “I’m really happy for my brother,” she rambled on. “They’re going to have babies, and I’ll get to be an aunt. I can take them to the Smithsonian, teach them about history and…and stuff.”
“You’re going to turn those kids that don’t exist yet into nerds.”
She held up her finger, placing it an inch from his face, and he had an urge to lick it. “Nerds are cool. You are not.”
Chase laughed as he took her hand, gently pulling her down the pathway. “What kind of stuff will you teach them?”
“Oh, you know, stuff…like the Civil War and how important it is to take care of our battlefields, preserve history…and I’ll get them to volunteer.”
“Will you?” They were almost to the door. Just a few more steps.
She pulled her hand free and pushed him lightly. “Yes, I will. I’m good at my job.”
“I have no doubt.” And he didn’t. Granted, he’d never told Maddie he was proud of all she’d accomplished or how in college she’d always been on the dean’s list.
Maybe he should’ve.
Confused by that, he followed her to the door. Once inside, she made her way to the edge of the bed and sat down heavily.
He turned on a small lamp with a fuchsia shade in the corner and then flipped the switch off on the wall. Less light was probably a good thing.
“So how are we going to do this?” She glanced at the bed and then at him. “Are we having a real sleepover?”
Chase hardened painfully at the thought of just being in bed beside her. “I’ll be taking the couch.”
She stared at him but said nothing. Needing to distance himself, he went over to his luggage, pulled out a pair of lightweight lounge pants and a shirt. “I’ll get changed in the bathroom.”
“Why?”
Was he seriously going to have to explain this to her? By her wide eyes, that would be a yes. “Get changed while I’m in there, Maddie.”
Her lips thinned. “I might have drunk one…or four…too many glasses of wine, but I’m not drunk or stupid.”
Chase was on the fence about the first. Sending her one last meaningful glance, he went into the bathroom, closed the door, and quickly changed. That was when he noticed her little bag of personal items open on the sink.
Toothpaste, hairbrush, a few items of makeup. Little stuff, but all hers. He reached out, running his fingers over the handle of the brush. A weird, totally inappropriate image of her stuff spread across the sink in his condo filled his head. An ache sprung in his chest, tight and familiar.
Man, he needed meds or something. It was a nice fantasy, but it was only a fantasy.
When enough time had passed, he went back into the main room. Maddie was still on the bed where he’d left her, staring at the bear rug on the floor.
He sighed. “Maddie, what are you doing?”
“That rug is really creepy, don’t you think?”
Moving to the center of the room, he folded his arms over his chest. “It’s not something I’d put in my place.”
She winced. “I’m going to have nightmares about the thing coming alive and gnawing on my foot while I sleep. Totally ruin my pedi.”
His gaze dropped to her dainty feet. He wouldn’t mind gnawing on one himself. “Maddie, you should get changed for bed.”
Standing up, she picked at the edge of her dress. When he’d seen her earlier, he had thought that shade of the blue had been the perfect color on her.
Maddie sighed. “I sleep naked, so I didn’t bring any night clothes. Didn’t think it would be a problem…”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
Images of her glistening skin, flushed and smooth like satin, sliding under the sheets, filled his head. His body had been strung taut as a bow all night, but now his cock was throbbing. He hungered for her on a primitive, raw level. The things he’d do to her…
And that was why he wouldn’t do anything. Not to Maddie. She was too good.
Turning away from her, he frantically searched for a resolution. “I have some shirts that will be long enough for you to wear.” He started toward his luggage, the swollen member between his thighs making it hard to concentrate on anything other than what it wanted, which was to spread those pretty thighs and plunge deep inside her, over and over again. Not gonna happen, boy, so just settle down. He grabbed a dark shirt and turned.