Unexpectedly His(29)
“I’m sorry,” he said, their words overlapping.
He took a step toward the couch at the same moment she stood to manage the popcorn situation and—bam—her body slammed smack-dab into The Great Wall of Nicholas.
Her gaze locked onto his perfectly defined deltoids, causing her brain to stop. Literally stop. In its tracks. No thoughts. No cranial activity. What. So. Ever. She blinked twice, or maybe several times, forcing her eyes to focus, but all she saw was the broad scope of his carry-me-to-bed-and-kiss-me-breathless shoulders.
Nick crouched to gather up the popcorn collected at her feet and tossed the stray kernels onto the coffee table. He looked up at her smiling, all rumpled and barefoot and gorgeous. “Or maybe you’re simply addicted to old movies?”
Addicted. Oh, she was rapidly growing addicted to something, and it wasn’t Ambien.
Or old movies.
Her knees gave out, and she collapsed onto the edge of the sectional, the unexpected movement causing the tie at the neckline of her Victorian-style nightie to fall open, revealing her curves to the silver moonlight streaming in through the windows.
Instinctively, she reached up to retie the straps, but noting how his surprised gaze turned heated before coasting from the open neckline to the floor, she released them. If she wasn’t going to stop thinking about that kiss, then she may as well do something about it. She wanted more. Starting. Now. She raised both hands into the air. “Guilty on both counts, movies and insomnia.”
Her inner siren was ready to play.
Leaving her neckline undone, she dropped her hands into her lap and leaned back against the corner of the couch. Guilty? Definitely, she thought, biting down hard on her lower lip, amazed at her new ability to flirt so freely.
He was close enough to kiss again, and wearing only a thin, V neck T-shirt and a pair of delicious, low-riding pajama bottoms. It was practically all she could do not to tug on the waistband of those pants and bring him tumbling down on top of her. So go for it, the husky voice of her inner seductress whispered, please go for it.
Her eyes dipped lower, past the top button to where the airy cotton stretched across the smooth skin of his muscular hips and thighs. What she wouldn’t give to be that cotton right now. She slammed her eyes shut and her hands balled into fists to keep from reaching out to touch him. He was just so gorgeous. Crazy gorgeous in a way that caused her toes to tingle and her palms to itch with the need to run across his naked skin.
When her eyes fluttered open for another peek, he was easing all six feet and several inches of his body onto the comfy sofa. The cushion dipped under his weight, and she slid closer. Her heart beat triple time against her ribcage. Why did he have to sit so close, close enough to cause her mind to focus on the warmth emanating from his perfectly toned body? Oh yes, counselor, guilty on all counts. She pressed both hands to her cheeks. He wasn’t even naked, and she was thinking about kicking their deal to the curb.#p#分页标题#e#
“Is this Body Heat?” Picking up the remote, he clicked up the volume, his eyes narrowing on the images moving across the screen. He glanced back at her, and her brows raised above the glasses in an unspoken question. “Nope. Not a movie buff. But I love Kathleen Turner.”
“Really?” she said, surprised to learn his taste ran toward the curvy, smoky-voiced actress.
Nick lowered his chin and shot her a look that said, Are you kidding me? “Young Kathleen Turner in that lacy nightgown with the strap halfway down.” His mischievous gaze drifted to the neckline of her sheer cotton nightie before returning to catch hers. “A sexual goddess.”
Marianne swallowed hard. “A sexual goddess?” Right now, she wanted to be a sexual goddess more than anything in the world. Anything.
“But that’s not the only reason I think she’s great in this movie.” With an air of casual ease and comfort, he reached across her body to grab the bag of popcorn. “She’s downright sexy, sure, but she’s got this air of bold confidence, too.” He peeked inside the bag and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “She’s the one running the game. Kind of like you tonight.”
She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “Like me?”
A knowing smile creased his handsome face. “Honey, don’t even try to pretend you weren’t running the blackjack table tonight. I’ve been around enough gamblers to know when someone’s managing the game.” He tossed a few pieces of popcorn into the air and caught them in his mouth, consecutively, one, two, three. “Where’d you learn to count cards?”