“You didn’t need to come all the way back with us, but I appreciate the company.” He stretched his arms above his head, feeling every muscle that had worked loading boxes that afternoon. “Mrs. Baxter will be back in the morning and I’m hoping this household will resettle itself into a routine.”
Her eyes followed his every movement, stirring his body to life. Wanting Chelsie had become as much a part of him as breathing. Fantasy had been easier. Now he knew the feel of her silken skin gliding beneath him.
She smiled. “Routines are easy to fall into.” She paused. “Now that Alix is asleep, we need to talk.”
“Personally, I can think of other things to do while Alix sleeps.” Too much time had passed and he couldn’t forget the feel of Chelsie in his arms, couldn’t stop the need to have her again.
Her eyes glazed over at his words and he knew she was remembering. The memories of that one night seared his mind, heated his body, and made treating her in a casual, non-lover-like manner damned difficult. Daydreams as potent as his seemed awfully real sometimes, especially those involving Chelsie Russell.
He stepped closer and placed an arm on either side of her shoulders. Her tongue darted over her lips, moistening them until they glistened.
“Talk, Griff. This shouldn’t wait.”
He kissed her mid-sentence, capturing her mouth with his and slipping his tongue through her already parted lips. She raised her hands to his chest in a half-hearted effort to push him away. Her hands lingered, but didn’t move. Her scent surrounded him.
He needed more. He nipped lightly at her lower lip. Her hands grasped his shirt and pulled him closer, until he ended up lying on top of her on the couch.
Raising his head, he intended to stop only long enough to straighten their awkward position.
“Griff.” Her throaty voice startled him.
“Give us one more night,” he said. “We’ll talk in the morning, I promise. Whatever it is can wait.”
Uncertainty flickered in the depths of her dark eyes. He brushed a kiss over each lid, wanting her to feel gentle persuasion, not pressure. “One more night”
“We never spoke about the last night,” she murmured on a soft sigh. Her body turned to liquid beneath his. Victory, which had been so uncertain minutes before, was now within his grasp.
“You talk too much, counselor,” he said with a groan. But he recognized the irony in her statement. After their last encounter, he had wanted to talk about why she had fled. At this moment, any discussion on his end would be nothing more than an incoherent jumble. Despite the unsettled state of their relationship, he wanted her again, and he had to trust that she wouldn’t run.
“Tomorrow, we’ll leave Alix with Mrs. Baxter and you can talk as much as you want.” He nibbled on her earlobe. “If you still have the energy.”
She tipped her head backwards, baring her slender neck to his hungry gaze. “And I take it you intend to see that I don’t?”
“Let’s just say I won’t be sorry if that’s the end result.” With the tip of his tongue, he traced a long line from the base of her neck to the sensitive spot behind her ear. She trembled beneath him. He shifted positions until his erection pressed into the juncture of her thighs.
She sucked in a deep breath. “Okay.” Her capitulation came out sounding more like a husky groan. “But no matter what, we will talk tomorrow. I’ll find the energy.”
He laughed aloud. “We’ll see about that.”
Chelsie knew that she would make sure they spoke no matter what. Tomorrow. For tonight she wanted Griff, wanted this last time to call theirs. The whole day had been perfect. If she could look back on these last twenty-four hours as the time she’d had a family, she might survive what was to come. When he discovered the sordid details of her life, it would change the way he looked at her forever. Besides, he deserved decent memories, too. She wanted him to know she cared, even if she couldn’t express her love in words.
She gazed into his dark eyes. “I won’t run this time,” she promised.
Gratitude for her honesty flickered across his face. Chelsie couldn’t offer him much, but he deserved more than she’d given so far. She couldn’t expect Griff to understand something she’d kept so carefully hidden from him. But tomorrow, he’d know everything.
“Thank you.”
“I shouldn’t have left last time.”
“Tomorrow,” he reminded her. “We’ll deal with it tomorrow.” Without awaiting a response, he laced his fingers through her hair, cradling her head in his hands and capturing her mouth in a kiss that robbed her of the ability to think, yet heightened her capacity to feel.