I tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and traced the delicate curve of her jaw. Her watery gaze shot to mine, that now familiar current pulsing between us at my slip of endearment. “Just drink for me, okay?”
I cupped her neck, and her head fell back as she leaned into my touch. The alcohol must’ve lifted her inhibitions and the wall she’d tried to erect between us earlier. Either I was soothing her, exciting her, or both. My chest swelled at either possibility.
Caterina grabbed my forearms and pulled me toward her. I crouched down in front of her and lifted the bottle to her lips. Her pained eyes got to me in a way I wasn’t expecting, and before I could stop myself, my hand cupped her cheek.
She turned her head and nuzzled my palm. With very little effort, this woman was killing me after only a day.
“You really are adorable. And sweet and kind.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek, lingering long enough for my eyes to clench shut and my cock to thicken in my shorts. I was stone-cold sober, so my own inhibitions needed to stay put. No matter how tempting it would be to kiss those lips, to lick inside her mouth and feel her melt against me again, my job was to take care of her—not take advantage. After only one night, I’d gotten to know her body too well, and all I wanted to do was push all those buttons I had the pleasure of discovering last night.
“No one can get close to me. I’m cold.” She sniffled as she downed the last of the first bottle.
“Whoever told you that,” I cradled her face and turned it toward me, “was an asshole.”
She shook her head. “You’ve only known me for a day.”
“I know enough.”
Her eyes shot to mine, her shoulders slumping before breaking our connection. “I loved being with you last night, Joe. I’m sorry my shitty baggage ruins everything.”
“Nothing is ruined. I loved it, too. Stop acting like it was a hardship on my part. I don’t regret a single second of being with you.”
Her hands fell to her thighs, her breaths coming quick as her head drooped.
“I’m…dizzy. And woozy.”
My lips curved up as I smoothed the hair off her forehead. This girl was beautiful, and, even in this depleted condition, took my damn breath away.
“You have about seven different types of liquor in your system, and I’ll take a wild guess that you didn’t eat much today since I made you breakfast.” I lifted a brow.
She shrugged before replying with a reluctant nod, fixing her eyes on the last drops at the bottom of the water bottle she swirled in her hand. “Can I lay down, Joe?”
“Sure.” I squeezed her shoulder. “Come with me.”
The only women I’d ever had in my apartment were my mother and sister. I’d told Caterina the truth about not having many one-nighters, even before my business drained all the fun from my life. But I’d made it a point to never bring one back here, even just for a stop. I liked the ease of controlling how and when I wanted to leave. But for reasons I couldn’t explain, I wanted Caterina here. Maybe it was knowing once she sobered up, she wouldn’t be back. And I wanted to steal as much time with her as I could before my next brush-off. Did that make me romantic or pathetic?
I grabbed her hand and pulled her to standing, leading her to my bedroom at the end of the hall. My apartment was small but had a decent-sized kitchen and living room—not that I entertained much. Friends came to the pub rather than my apartment when we did hang out together, which I realized as I settled Caterina onto my bed, hadn’t happened in a long time. In the midst of running from her own life, Caterina made me see what was missing in mine.
“Stay with me, Joe.” She took hold of my arm as I tried to pull my hand away.
Straightening, and purposely not answering her, I gently slipped from her hold and headed back to my kitchen to fish another bottle of water from the fridge.
Even if sex didn’t happen, getting that close to her now wouldn’t be right, no matter how fucking good her body would feel against mine. Whether or not she was aware of it, the mixed signals she was sending me messed with my head.
Returning, and sitting on the very edge of the bed next to her, I unscrewed the bottle cap and tipped the bottle to her lips, her hand draping over mine as she gulped. She had a gorgeous neck. Last night, the soft slope beckoned my lips to trail down her collarbone to that tiny patch of skin that had pulled a sexy-as-hell moan out of her when I’d traced it with my tongue. Caterina stirred an immediate need in me, and I needed to remove myself from the temptation.
“See?” She hiccuped a sad laugh. “You don’t want to be near me, either.”
Her pleading chocolate eyes could become my downfall if I wasn’t careful. “The exact opposite, but you’re not in a condition to tell me what you want.”
“You said that last night, and I knew exactly what I wanted. Please.” She placed my arm around her waist. My hand rested on the small of her back, and I was somehow unable to refuse her, for anything.
“For a little while.” I crawled in behind her and snaked my arm around her torso. My chin dipped into the crook of her shoulder, but I wouldn’t pull her too close. I fought to keep control of my big head, but my little one didn’t give a shit what was right or wrong. The proximity of her perfect ass and knowledge of how it had felt under my fingertips and lips was enough to make me hard as a rock.
“You aren’t cold,” I whispered into her ear. “Any man would be out of his mind to not want to get close to you.”
She swiveled her head to brush my lips, muttering “thank you” before falling asleep. I pressed a kiss to her temple and began to pull away before she cinched her arm around my stomach. For a slim woman, she had a strong hold. Not wanting to wake her or upset her again, I settled onto the mattress and felt my eyes grow heavy. I was already dreading another morning we’d have to part ways and forget anything happened.
When she rolled over and cuddled her head into my chest, I realized I couldn’t do that. I thought of Dominic’s comment about love at first sight. I’d never believed in any of that, but no woman had ever had this much of a hold on me, and definitely not this fast. It made absolutely no sense, but there was no denying there wassomethingbetween us.
