Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
S he stayed in the tub until she was warmed through, then drained it and toweled off before slipping on the thick, black robe hanging on the back of the door.
After quickly brushing her teeth and moisturizing her dry face, she ran her hands through her short cap of hair and exited the bathroom to let Blaine have his turn.
He stood in front of the sliding glass door that led out onto the small wooden deck that overlooked the faintly lit water visible through the trees at the bottom of the bluff.
He’d changed into jeans and a dark blue sweater that hugged his arms and torso in the most delicious way. He looked over at her.
“You changed.” She sounded like an idiot, stating the obvious.
“I keep a go-bag in the trunk.”
Must be a military thing. The power in his chest and arms reminded her of the way he’d held her on the beach. Something flipped deep in her stomach. “I would’ve let you use the shower.”
“It’s fine. I washed up at the sink.” He ran his gaze over her. Striking invisible sparks wherever it touched her. “Feel a bit better?”
“Much.” Warmer. Still sad, but she wasn’t going to think about that again until later.
“Dinner’s gonna take a while to get here.”
“Always does out here.” All the restaurants were in town.
The way he watched her heated her blood.
She walked toward him, a different kind of heat suffusing her as she stopped several steps away, that hazel stare speeding up her pulse. After everything he’d done today, this couldn’t wait any longer. “I owe you an apology.”
He frowned, seeming surprised. “For what?”
“I judged you unfairly right from the start, basing my opinion on assumptions I’d made without giving you a chance. That was wrong, and I was wrong about you. It turns out you actually have some redeeming qualities.”
One side of his mouth lifted, hazel eyes warming. “Well, that’s nice to hear. Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Apology accepted?”
“That depends.” His stare heated, and her heart accelerated in response.
“On?” She took two steps. Stopped directly in front of him, pulled there by instinct.
“On whether you’ll accept mine as well. Because I misjudged you too.”
His voice was every bit as delicious as the rest of him, deep and dark and sexy. She wanted him. Had never wanted anyone this badly. “Yeah, you did. But given that your conduct today was beyond reproach, I have no choice but to grudgingly accept.”
“I wasn’t finished.”
“Oh. Continue.”
“I’m sorry about Onyx.”
“Thanks. Me too.”
“And I’m sorry for my part in the deal that will take this land away from you and your research team.”
She stared at him, unsure how to respond. She hadn’t expected him to come right out and say that.
“I didn’t know the extent of what was going on here.
I didn’t understand your work or how important it was, and I regret that you and your team wound up being collateral damage in the deal.
I give you my word that I’ll find a solution so you can continue your work on the island. All of you, together.”
Oh, damn. “I think it’s too late for anything like that.”
“I’ll find a way to make it happen. I promise.”
His gaze was so intense. So sincere. She believed he meant it. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
“Apology accepted?”
Her lips quirked. “We’ll see.”
He didn’t answer. Didn’t smile, his gaze locked with hers.
The sexual tension pulsing in the air around them, a fine buzzing on her skin. Then he reached up to slide one hand into the back of her damp hair, his long fingers caressing in a way that made her want to close her eyes and purr.
She was tired of keeping her guard up. Of keeping him at a safe distance.
She didn’t want safe now. She wanted him . Wanted to forget everything else—including that she was about to lose her home, workplace, and possibly her job because of him—and focus on the need pulsing inside her.
She laid her hands on his sculpted chest, a sharp thrill ripping through her at the way his muscles bunched under the soft cashmere at her touch.
His fingers tightened in her hair, his stare searing hers as he leaned in and covered her lips with his. Pure need flashed through her.
He moved in closer, one solid arm banding across the middle of her back to pull her tighter to him. The physical power of him surrounded her. Turned her breathless.
He kissed her like he had every right to, firm and sure, his grip solid and possessive. As if he was claiming her. And holy hell, she was on board with that because he definitely knew what he was doing.
Her hands slipped to his thick shoulders, hanging on for balance when his tongue slid across her lower lip and delved inside to touch hers. Firm, then soft, with terrifying skill. A delicate, seductive caress that had her core clenching around the restless, empty ache she wanted to quench.
A soft, needy sound came out of her throat before she could stop it.
Blaine’s arm dropped from around her back to slide under her butt.
He lifted her feet off the floor and walked her back a few steps, still kissing her, then boosted her to sit on the edge of the counter in an effortless show of strength that made her pulse skitter.
She made room for him instantly, parting her thighs as he moved between them, his hands holding her hips. Squeezing in a commanding way that would have weakened her knees if she hadn’t been sitting down.
Everything about his hold and position was infused with dominance. A restrained hunger and possessiveness that shot a thrill through her.
He drew the kiss out. Retreating just when she wanted more. Leaving her clinging and growing increasingly desperate.
She nipped his lower lip to punish him for teasing. He yanked her tighter to him, pressed the unmistakable ridge of his erection against her core.
Xanthe shivered, her whole body tightening as a soft, shaky moan slipped out. She arched her hips, thighs tightening around his waist. More. Please, God, more.
He growled in response. A low, primal sound that shot her arousal even higher. “What do you want, bright eyes?”
Right at this very second, an orgasm.
The tiny part of her brain that was still working warned her she was moving too fast. She wasn’t built for sex without feelings, and she was feeling vulnerable as hell.
Oh, but the sweet nickname he’d just called her in that deep, velvet voice sounded like such a lovely endearment to her ears.
Would it really be so bad to give into what her body wanted this once?
He gently nipped at her bottom lip. Stroked his tongue across it. “Because I want to undo this robe and kiss every inch of you right here and now, then sink to my knees and go down on you until you come on my tongue.”
Oh my God…
Xanthe grabbed his face with both hands and brought his mouth back to hers to stop him from saying more before she spontaneously combusted. Or begged.
She could barely think as it was, and now his words had seared that erotic image into her struggling brain. Because given the toe-curling way he used his tongue when he kissed, the thought of him doing the same between her legs was enough to make her core clench.
She ran her hands greedily over his back, settling on the tight mounds of his butt and squeezing hard to keep the ridge of his erection right where it was. Somewhere in the background a faint buzzing registered. They both ignored it, too focused on making each other insane.
A sharp knock at the door made them break apart. It took her a second to realize what it was. Dinner.
Blaine ripped his mouth from hers, leaving her clinging and fighting for breath. “Shit, they’re early,” he muttered. His cheeks were flushed as he stared at her, his eyes glowing with a raw hunger that did nothing to cool the heat racing beneath her skin.
Xanthe held onto his shoulders as he straightened, reeling a little. “I like cold pasta.”
He grinned. “Do you?” He leaned in to kiss her again. Slower, softer this time. Gently stroking his tongue against hers, then the sensitive roof of her mouth for a fleeting instant before he eased back. “I don’t. And I’m hungry,” he added in a low, seductive voice that sent a shiver through her.
He released her and went to the front door to get their dinner, leaving her sitting there. Purposely making her wait. Stoking the fire higher to make her want him even more.
She hated that it was working.