Chapter 16 #2
When he moved toward the edge of the bed, she shot upright. “Are you leaving?”
“Wasn’t planning to. Do you want me to leave?” Bells rang out alarm in his head, bringing him fully awake.
“No, sorry.” With a sigh, she lay back down and rolled over.
Shit! She probably thinks I’m pulling the same crap I did back then.
He leaned over and kissed her shoulder, her neck. “I’m going to look for something to eat, okay?” She hummed in agreement—at least he thought she did. “Can I get you anything?”
“Chocolate,” she mumbled.
He chuckled. “Chocolate it is.”
He plucked his jeans from the floor and pulled them on, careful not to jostle his ankle.
Tiptoeing over her wooden floor, he jerked when it creaked under his weight.
Another moan rose from the bed, and he debated crawling back under the covers beside her.
If his stirring cock had its way, that’s where it would have pointed him.
“We need sustenance before more playtime, buddy.”
He flipped on the kitchen light and was rummaging around in her fridge when he felt her come into the room.
Was it her scent that tipped him off? The force of her presence?
He turned, and there she stood, in that satiny robe she’d been wearing when he showed up at her door last night.
He had no doubt she wasn’t wearing a stitch underneath it now either.
A halo of sex-tousled hair framed her face, and she wore an adorably sleepy smile.
Unable to stop himself, he took two strides and reached her, tunneling his fingers through her messy strands.
He drew her mouth to his and leaned down.
Kissed her until he had her—and himself—panting.
His dick roared to life, telling him he didn’t need food. He could eat later.
“I was hungry,” he said like an idiot. “Sorry I woke you up.”
“It’s okay. I usually get up around this time anyway and work out.”
“What time is it?”
“Four thirty. Come on, big boy, let’s feed you.”
“What about the chocolate? And your workout?”
“I’d say I got my workout in already, wouldn’t you?” Wriggling from his hold, she breezed toward the fridge and opened it. “And I need more than chocolate. Eggs? Bacon?”
“Uh …” He came up behind her, now hyperaware of her bare skin under the robe. He snaked an arm across her chest and slid his hand under the fabric, not wasting a second to reach his target.
She clung to his arm and laughed. “I thought you were hungry.”
“I am. Just can’t decide what I want to eat right now.”
She spun in his hold. The robe came apart, and he caught a glimpse of fleshy softness and a rosy-pink peak before she tightened the garment around herself. In an instant, he knew what he wanted to eat. He licked his lips.
Fuck, he was obsessed! He hadn’t wanted a woman like this in … never.
She folded her arms across her chest as if protecting herself from his dirty thoughts. “How about I whip us up some pancakes and bacon?”
“Yeah. Sounds great.” When she turned her back, he adjusted himself and took a chair at her tiny table. “Need any help?”
“Why don’t I handle it while you sit there like a good boy and watch? I have a feeling it’ll go faster that way.” She eyed him seductively over her shoulder, and more filthy ideas sprang into his mind.
They chatted about nothing and everything as dawn broke, and soon the kitchen filled with smells of crisping bacon, pancakes, and warm maple syrup.
This was … nice. When she placed a heaping plate in front of him, he attacked the food like a man who hadn’t had a meal in a week, and she broke out in laughter.
“Wow! Remind me to make a triple batch next time.”
Mouth full of fluffy pancake, he grinned. Next time. He liked the sound of that. How about tomorrow morning? And the one after that? And after that?
“I worked up an appetite, and this is really, really good.” Between bites, he added, “You’re off today, right?” She nodded. “What do you want to do?”
She paused mid-bite. One eyebrow dipped. “Aren’t you being a little presumptuous?”
Yeah, he was totally being presumptuous, but damn, he wanted to spend every minute with her. Every hour. He shrugged. “I’d call it optimistic.”
She shook her head, but a smile tugged her kissable lips. “I signed up to work at the shelter from ten to two. Saturdays are usually pretty busy.”
“Could they use an extra hand?”
Her mouth formed a surprised O. “I suppose so. Are you offering yours?”
“I am.”
She glanced down at his foot. “How’s your ankle feeling after last night?”
He set his fork on his empty plate. “Honestly? It hurts a little.” Afraid she’d tell him no, he downplayed the throb.
She stood and took his plate for him. “I should have a look at it. Why don’t you stretch out on the bed or the couch—whichever is more comfortable—and I’ll assess it.
” She deposited the dishes in the sink and parked her hands on her hips.
“Are you going to let me check it out, or are you going to fight me?” A cute little smirk tipped her lips.
“I won’t fight you … as long as you’re naked while you’re doing your assessing.” He waggled his eyebrows.
She shot him a wide-eyed look. “A naked physical therapist? Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“But you’re not just any physical therapist.”
“Gee, thanks? And exactly who’s going to be examining whom?”
“How about a mutual explor—uh, examination? While you’re looking at my ankle, I’ll be checking out your … everything. Think how it’ll take my mind off my ankle.” She rolled her eyes. “Hey, it’s a great idea,” he insisted with a laugh.
“I disagree.”
To his disappointment, she kept the robe on while she palpated his ankle. Even though the garment gaped at times and gave him enticing views, it didn’t take his mind off his aching ankle. He had overdone it. He knew it, and she knew it.
“You should stay off it today,” she advised.
“But I want to come to the shelter with you and meet your furry friends. How about a compromise?”
In the end, she gave him ibuprofen and iced his ankle while she took a shower behind her closed bathroom door. He groaned as he thought about her mere feet away, under the spray, water sluicing off every inch of her perfect body.
They stopped by his apartment, where he got cleaned up, changed clothes, and tucked away his point-and-shoot camera, a Canon PowerShot.
He didn’t balk when she pressed him to wear the boot.
If that was the price he had to pay to spend time with her today, who was he to argue? The sacrifice was worth the reward.
Days ago, he’d been a rehabbing hockey player with nothing else on his mind but trying to get back to the game.
Now? Obsession had bloomed into addiction, and he had no idea where it would carry him.
He’d never been here before. What he did know was that he didn’t want to look into the future too closely, or it might blind him.
He was in so damn deep he might drown.