The Billionaire Next Door(25)

She felt the sofa wiggle as he stood up. Heard the shift of cloth as he took off his boxers. Then there was a soft tearing sound.



He stretched out on top of her, splitting her thighs with his knees. His skin was griddle hot, his body flexed and straining with his need to finish.



At the first blunt brush of his arousal, her eyes popped wide.



“You’re protected,” he said. “I took care of it.”



Her lids settled and she ran her hands up his thick shoulders. As his hips began rocking against her, he stared over her head, his face dark with concentration and barely leashed energy.



He went slowly, but even still she had to wince. In spite of how careful he was, and even though her body wanted him, the discomfort made her stiffen beneath him.



He stopped. Retreated a little. “Lizzie?”



Before he could say anything else, she blurted, “It’s been a while for me.”



As he looked down at her, his eyes became remote. “How long?”



“A while.” When he just stared at her, she whispered, “A year or two.”



Now he was the one wincing.



With an abrupt shift, he lifted off her body, pulled a throw blanket over her and sat down at the far end of the couch. Putting his elbows on his knees, he rubbed his face then reached between his legs. There was a snapping sound as he pulled off the protection.



In the silence that followed, Lizzie tucked the blanket in tight to her neck and stared at him. She was pretty sure why he’d stopped. The question was whether he’d be honest.



“I’m sorry.” He rubbed his face some more. “I don’t want to use you for sex, just to get rid of that dream.”



As if that was the only reason he’d wanted to be with her.Ouch .



And damn, she hated being right. Good thing they’d stopped when they had.



She sat up, holding the blanket to her breasts and thinking she had to get out of this apartment fast. Thank heavens her T-shirt was right on the floor next to the couch. She picked it up and managed to get it on even though her hands were shaking. Where were her panties—oh. They were unwearable.



She got to her feet and wrapped the blanket around her hips, prepared to leave without another word.



Except then he said, “Can I come with you?”



She looked over at him. “What do you mean?”



“Can I, ah…Can I sleep with you? As in sleep, sleep with you?” He glanced up at her. “God, that sounds lame.”#p#分页标题#e#



Her first and only thought was…she would love to have him in her bed like that.



He cursed and muttered, “Forget—”



“Yes.” She held out her hand. “Yes, you can.”





***




As Sean settled into Lizzie’s bed, he let out a deep sigh. Man, this was good. The sheets smelled like her and so did the pillow his head was on. From over on the left, the rain softly hitting the window made him think of cats padding over hardwood floors. Lightning still flashed and thunder still rolled, but the storm was winding down.



This was better than good.



Lizzie came in with two glasses of water. She put one on the bedside table next to him and took the other around to her side. She was awkward and lovely as she dropped the throw blanket and scooted under the covers with him. Then the lights went off and they were together in the dark.



He turned toward her, feeling needy and hating himself. “Can I hold you?”



She rolled right into him and he fit her warmth to his body, tucking her head under his chin, intertwining his legs with hers.



“What sort of nightmare was it?” she asked.



“The old kind.” Yeah, the really old kind. The one where his father came into his room after he’d finished off with Mac. Mac had always been able to take a lot, but sometimes he broke and then it was Sean’s turn, if their father was still angry. As the third in line, Billy had almost never been worked over. He’d just had to listen to the sounds and wonder if he was going to be next.



Which had been a head screw nonetheless.



Man, the not knowing had been the worst. You never knew whether it was going to be this night or another…. Whether the monster was going to come after you because your brother couldn’t handle it…If it was going to hurt less or more than before—



“Are you cold?” Lizzie asked, inching even closer to him. “You’re shivering.”



Sean squeezed his eyes shut and wondered what all those people on Wall Street would think if they could see him now, curled up for comfort against a woman he barely knew because she was all he had to turn to.