“Oh, come on. My clean house, amazing shirt, and spectacular forearms didn’t seduce you into some hot chair sex?”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t exactly sex.”
“Hmm. You’re right. But since we both got ouroh God oh Godon, we’re halfway there.”
“Evan.” Laughter filled her, the joy of being with him taking away her inhibitions. “So do you want to do this again?”
He gave her a look that questioned her intelligence. “Are you kidding? Yes. But before you can throw up a bazillion reasons why we should never see each other again or invite Rachel to our next dinner because it’s suddenlyherbirthday, we can take it slow. As slow as you want.”
“Well, maybe I want to go a little faster.” He was starting to annoy her, trying so hard not to scare her away he made her feel like a church mouse afraid of her own shadow.
“And now you’re annoyed. See? This is why you have to go. Right now. Before I say something that pisses you off so much you won’t want to talk to me again.” He gently scooted her out the door and shut it. Through the door he yelled, “Call or text me and I’ll come over to fix whatever needs fixing. Our next date is your call. I’ll be there!”
“Evan?” She stood holding flowers and chocolates, no purse or keys to get her home.
Two seconds later, the door opened, and holding her purse and the bags she’d initially brought, full once more with tubs of ice cream and fixings, he hustled her to her car and opened the door for her. He put her bags and purse in the back seat and took her flowers and chocolates from her, dumping them in the passenger seat. Then he kissed her quickly, put the keys in her hand, and hurried to the door, shutting himself inside again.
She stared at the door. “What a strange man.”
But on the drive home, she had to admit that strange man had given her one hell of an orgasm. One that still tingled her toes.
Chapter 12
Evan hadn’t smiled so much in a long time. By Tuesday, he’d been so pleasant on the job that Smith had stopped talking to him.
He whistled as he finished boxing up the clients’ desk contents, his thoughts, as usual, on Kenzie.
He’d almost screwed it up on Sunday. As he’d predicted. Evan had no problem landing women. He could wine, dine, and flirt with the best of them. But closing the deal after sex? Well, a guy couldn’t be good at everything.
With a bad habit of saying the wrong thing, he’d spent plenty of sorrowful day-afters making amends. Hell, he’d annoyed Rita about an hour after they’d first made love and had spent a week begging her to forgive him. Could he help it that he often grew awkward, unsure of what to say or do after an emotional encounter? Honesty, which he swore by, often annoyed his bedmates.
Apparently, even if a woman only wanted a friends-with-benefits relationship, asking her to leave a few minutes after you’d slept together was a faux pas. But the few times he’d tried to ease his way into separating, cuddling, making small talk until he thought he could say goodbye, his partners had accused him of wanting too much affection.
So he’d needed to get Kenzie to leave before he screwed up. And bingo. It had worked. They had a date planned for tonight after work, a get-together for dinner, her treat. He didn’t like the thought of her paying for his meal, especially after hearing how she had financial trouble. But he also knew all about pride, and he didn’t want to step on hers.
“Oh my God. Quit smiling so loud,” Smith growled and grabbed the box from Evan’s hands.
He chortled, Smith’s upset making his day even better. Ever since that night at the bar, Smith had been a little standoffish with Evan. But since Reid kept pairing them together on assignments, there was little the big guy could do to keep Evan at a distance. Because, yes, Evan did have the gift of gab. He could talk to anyone about anything and put them at ease.
Well, when it didn’t involve a romantic relationship.
Evan followed him out to the moving van. “So what’s the deal with you and Reid? You seem to be getting along.”
Smith groaned. “Do I have to talk?”
“No, you can just watch me smile. I’m happy and in a new relationship. She’s so special. Would you like to know what I like most about her?”
“Kill me now,” Smith muttered.
“Her smile is what really makes my heart race.” Evan poured it on thick. “She’s funny, and when she’s enjoying herself, her eyes sparkle. The green is more prominent than the brown, which is more like a honey-gold than—”
“Reid’s okay,” Smith interrupted, loudly. “He’s actually not too bad to deal with. Much better than Cash, who’s a dick.”
Evan hid a smile. “He is a dick, that’s true. But he’s got a good heart.”
Smith moved the boxes into the back. “What’s your hard-on for feelings, man? Can’t we just work?”
“Sure. But the silence gets old. At least it does for me. I know Martin feels the same way.”
