She suddenly remembered that she was wearing one of Alex’s T-shirts and no underwear. The shirt was huge on her, but it had ridden up above her hips, and right at the moment the blanket didn’t seem like very much protection….
She forced herself to meet Alex’s eyes, trying to think of some way to change the subject, when he leaned forward a little. “Did anyone ever tell you you’re absolutely adorable when you blush like that?”
Now the blush went from head to toe, and Holly had a sneaking suspicion he knew it.
“Darn you, Alex, you did that on purpose. Now I can’t stop.” She pressed her hands against her hot cheeks. “Cut it out.”
He leaned closer, tracing her bottom lip with a fingertip until she shivered.
“Cut what out?” he asked, his voice innocent.
She had to do something to stop this. Her pulse was racing and her breath was trapped somewhere in her throat and her body was on fire, and Alex could not be allowed to know how he made her feel, or at least not the full extent of it, because the humiliation of that would force her to leave, and this was a really comfortable bed and the bathtub was out of this world. Not to mention it would put an end to the friendship that had just begun between her and Alex and which already seemed too important to jeopardize.
She took a deep breath. “That,” she said firmly, pushing his hand away and getting a grip on her self-possession. “I watched you flirt your way through high school and I know it comes naturally to you, but it doesn’t to me and I don’t appreciate it. You’re just going to have to learn how to interact with a woman without flirting. It’ll be good for you.”
She frowned at him in sudden seriousness. “I really want this friendship thing to work, Alex. Will likes you, and I like you, which is a new thing and a little weird but nice, and we’re staying in your house. Please don’t ruin it by flirting with me. I know it doesn’t mean anything to you, I know it’s just how you are with women, but…well, I don’t like it. Let’s not mess this up, okay?”
Alex had pulled back, and Holly waited for his reaction. She’d told him the truth—at least most of it—and if he couldn’t deal with it, it was better she find out now.
“Mess this up,” he said finally, taking a deep breath. “No. That’s the last thing I want, too. It really is. I’m sorry, Holly,” he said almost formally, and Holly bit her lip, glad he was okay with what she’d said but wishing she could bring back the easy camaraderie they’d been sharing earlier.
Oh, well, she told herself, it would come back. And it would have gone up in flames if she hadn’t stopped what was happening before. If Alex had gone on touching her like that, there was a good chance she would have jumped him, and that would have screwed her life up in ways she didn’t like to think about. For one thing she would have been scraping her ego off the floor after Alex tried to explain he’d just been flirting, you know, like he always did, and he was sorry but he wasn’t really interested in her that way and besides her son was right downstairs and my God, did she have no moral fortitude at all?
Yes, I do, she thought firmly, as Alex slid off the bed.
“Take all the time you want getting up. I borrowed the jeans from a neighbor, who’s a little bigger than you, but they should get you through the day. As soon as you’re ready we’ll go shopping.”
“Sounds good,” she said, and Alex smiled at her briefly before making an exit.
Holly stared at the door he closed behind him, trying not to miss the heat she’d felt just a moment ago.
Chapter Six
Stupid, stupid, stupid. He was a grown man, not some hormone-driven kid.
And yet Alex literally couldn’t keep his hands off of Holly Stanton. When he was with her, he wanted to touch her. It was like a compulsion. Of course it didn’t help seeing her in bed, all sleepy and tousled and wearing one of his T-shirts, but still, he’d only lasted five minutes before reaching out to caress that perfect lower lip. In the next moment he would have put his mouth on hers, hot and hard, and the image was so appealing and so terrifying he was having trouble thinking about anything else.
God, he was such a jerk. Here was a woman who’d just lost her home in a fire, who was a guest in his house, and he’d started to make a move on her.
At least she’d thought it was just “how he was with women.” A little casual flirting on his part.
Alex paused in the upper hallway and leaned on the banister. Thankfully she didn’t know it was anything but casual. That no woman had ever affected him the way Holly did.