Even though she’d known he was lying, she’d accepted his offer. Wearing his clothes had thrilled her to death. Turned out it still did. The warmth they provided was almost like being wrapped in his arms.
The hem of the sweatshirt was snug around her hips, so at least it didn’t hang to her knees. Following his example, she put on her socks.
When she padded quietly into the kitchen, he was setting the table with the placemats and napkins she’d given him as a cabin-warming present several years ago. His sweats fit him. Oh, yes,they did, and unless she was mistaken, he’d gone commando, too.
Talk about packing a punch. The aroma of the stew warming in the oven enticed her, but it was no competition for that cowboy. She ran her tongue over her lips, reliving the dynamite kiss that had led to a mind-blowing sexual experience.
Either she’d made a small noise or he’d picked up on the waves of lust radiating from her eager body. He turned and gave her a once-over. “Sexy.”
“Oh, I’m so sure. I look like an astronaut minus the helmet.”
He grinned. “I’d say more like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man’s girlfriend.”
“And you find that sexy?”
“I find you sexy.” He walked toward her. “Doesn’t matter what you have on.”
She sucked in a breath. “We need to talk about that.” When he frowned, she expected an argument.
Instead he nodded. “Absolutely. I can already tell that one night will only make things worse. We need more time to get this out of our system.”
She pushed back the wave of longing that threatened to overwhelm her resolve. “We can’t risk it.”
“I can only speak for myself, but judging from the impact of our first time, I won’t be ready to end this at seven in the morning.”
“You’ll just have to be strong.”
“Will you be ready to? Is that what you’re saying?”
“No! And no, I won’t. But if we try to extend it, your whole family will become involved.”
“Not necessarily.”
“How can you say that when you all live so close together? Tonight we had some cover provided by your sisters, but we can’t keep pulling that trick.”
“We won’t. I have a plan.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Adam hoped to hell his new plan would work. If he knew when Tracy walked out of his cabin at seven he’d never make love to her again, he’d carry this obsession to his grave.
Would she do the same? Hard to say. But he doubted she’d be hunky-dory if they ended their experiment in the morning. They needed more time.
Given that time, they’d discover that the sex was good but not the life-changing event it seemed to be right now. Then they’d be able to let it go.
While he brewed some coffee and wrangled cream, sugar and mugs, she dished the stew and sliced the loaf of zucchini bread Greta had made him a couple days ago. They moved efficiently through the tasks.
They’d had a knack for working together ever since their third-grade teacher had paired them up to create a diorama about Montana wildlife. Tracy was best friends with Mila, but they tended to get in each other’s way when sharing a project, even with simple stuff.
He poured the coffee and brought it to the table. “Remember our diorama?”
“Funny you should mention that.” She took the seat she always took, the one where she could see out the kitchen door to the living room. She called it the power seat. “I thought of it when I went home today. I hadn’t checked on it in a while.”
He sat down across from her. “And?” They’d drawn straws to see who got to take the diorama home.
“It’s fine. Needs dusting.” She spooned sugar into her coffee, added cream and stirred. “I’ve had it for twenty-two years. I think you should have it for the next twenty-two.” She tapped her spoon on the rim of the mug before setting it on the plate under her stew bowl.
He'd watched her coffee routine hundreds of times, yet tonight the familiarity of it tightened his chest. “Are you tired of keeping it?”
