Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set(110)
He pressed a gentle kiss against her neck. She trembled against the feather-light touch. “Just go, Mike.”
“Will you be all right?” he asked, obviously resigned.
She nodded.
“I thought so.” He gathered his damp clothing from the floor. “You’re strong, Carly Wexler,” he said before disappearing into her bathroom.
“But not strong enough to resist you,” she murmured to the empty room. She leaned against the nearest wall, closed her eyes and forced air into her lungs. She couldn’t resist the man whose omission had hurt her more than her fiancé’s affair. She shook her head and breathed in deeply once more. No sooner had she drawn another breath than the bathroom door swung wide open.
“What are your plans now that you’re officially unengaged?” he asked. He’d changed back into his damp jeans and working boots. His black T-shirt clung to his broad shoulders and back.
“Are you sure you want to go home like that?”
He grinned. “It’s either the wet look or I leave half-naked and barefoot. Your choice.”
When he focused his smile on her, nothing else in the world mattered. She could almost forgive him anything. “Go with the wet look. The neighbors don’t need a free show.” But go, she thought silently.
“Well?” he asked.
“What?”
“Your plans.”
Obviously she couldn’t get rid of him easily. If he sensed her need to be alone, he didn’t show it. She hadn’t had a chance to give her future much thought. But perhaps now that she had the time as well as her freedom, she ought to try. “I really don’t know. I need to get away.” The truth surprised her, as much as the fact that she’d spoken the words aloud.
“Anyplace special?”
No place she’d share with him, but she had an idea in mind. Someplace where she could be alone to learn about herself and what she wanted out of life. A place far from Mike and his charismatic influence, she thought. “No destination in mind,” she said, forcing a smile.
“One minute you’re planning a wedding, the next a vacation. You go with the flow. I like that in a woman.”
She couldn’t see pointing out that until now her rigid schedules and plans had ruled her life and kept her sane. She was on a wild free fall now and had no idea where she would land. The thought frightened her. He might like that carefree way of life, but she didn’t.
He closed the gap between them and reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. She shook her head. “I’m okay.” His touch would be her undoing. Both emotionally and physically she wasn’t strong enough to resist him right now. She needed to keep her distance.
“I know.” He lowered his hand to the side. “How will you keep busy?” he asked, as if understanding that she needed a mundane subject change.
“School is out, my column is in reruns and I’d planned on using the summer to write my book. I can work anywhere with a computer.” She fingered her still damp bangs.
“Maybe someplace with a beach,” she said, thinking aloud.
“Sounds therapeutic.” He spoke as though his mind had escaped elsewhere.
“True. My life has just been thrown a curve. A vacation might get it back on track.”
“Makes sense.”
She nodded.
He offered no response.
An uncomfortable silence surrounded them. She glanced at him, her gaze drawn to the taut muscles in his arm, then the wide expanse of his chest. In her mind, she was back on the floor, Mike’s firm body pressed against hers. This time, her lips tasted bare skin.
He cleared his throat
She blinked and her eyes met his. Amusement etched his features. A wide smile told her she’d been caught. She raised her hands to her flaming cheeks.
The safest move would be to get him out of her apartment. Once he left, he’d be out of her life. And she refused to analyze her feelings on that subject just yet.
She walked past him and headed toward the door. His footsteps sounded behind her. She placed her hand on the doorknob and turned.
“I can take a hint, however subtle.”
She turned toward him. “Good. Then no hard feelings and good night.”
“Get some rest and try not to dwell on anything too upsetting.” He grasped her hand in his, entwined their fingers and caressed her palm with his thumb.
What should have been a casual gesture heated her senses. A flicker of warmth began deep inside and radiated throughout her body. Through sheer force of will, she didn’t pull away.
He brushed her knuckles with his lips. “ ’Night Carly. Sleep tight.”
He might as well have said dream of me, since she doubted she’d do anything else. “ ’Night, Mike.”