“Fine.We had a lost little boy, but it turned out the parents and grandparents hadn’t communicated over who was taking him home.”He eyed the bed, but then walked over to sit on the chair in the corner.He looked strong and authoritative in that uniform, but tired as he stretched his long legs out in front of him.It made her melt inside.Had he been out in the heat all day?
“I hated leaving you like that,” he said quietly.He seemed lazy but contemplative.One elbow was braced on the cushioned arm while he rubbed his temple.He was watching her, his gaze languid, but she knew he could be out of that chair in an instant.
“It’s okay.I understood.”The events of the day had been overwhelming, but the storm was passing.
He glanced at the box on the bedside table.“Did you find what you’ve been looking for?”
“Some of it.”But she still had questions…about the adoption…about her parents, both birth and adoptive…about the two of them…
She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.She wasn’t sure how to behave with him, especially after what she’d done this afternoon.She couldn’t believe how bold and aggressive she’d been, kissing him like that after telling everyone about her sisters, but hours had passed.A lifetime, it seemed.Everything had shifted once again, but one thing held true.The fingers of inhibition were reaching for her.
Here they were, alone in her bedroom, with a long night ahead.
What was he thinking?Was he just here to check on her?Was he still playing the part she’d asked?
Or was he expecting her to make a move?Because right now she couldn’t budge from her spot on the bed.“Are you hungry?”
His eyes sparked.“What do you think?”
She blushed.“I meant, did you eat?”
“I grabbed a sandwich from the vending machine at the station.”
“Zac,” she said with concern.
“Is that the white frilly thing you’re wearing?”
The one he’d found under her pillow last night?Trust him not to miss a detail.
She was under the covers all the way to her armpits, but her shoulders were exposed.They were bare except for the thin silk straps that held the gown up.She tugged one strap towards her neck.She hadn’t been sure what to wear… If he’d been coming at all… If she’d dared… But she’d put on the oversized T-shirt from the night before, and that had been a definite no-go.She didn’t think she could wear that ever again without feeling his hands moving over her, the cotton rubbing against her nipples and sliding up high on her thighs.“Maybe.”
“Does that mean what I think it means?”
Her heart began fluttering like a bird inside her chest.“Maybe.”
There was a big pink elephant standing in the middle of the room.He hadn’t forgotten what had happened behind that talent competition stage, and she hadn’t either.She hugged her knees tighter.She didn’t know what had come over her there.
Yes, she did.
She wanted him.She’d wanted him for months, and right now she had an overwhelming need to feel close to someone.
“As big as that bed is, Beauty, I don’t think I can just sleep beside you tonight.”
The elephant grew, taking up more of the air in the room.
“I don’t mean to be a tease, Zac.”Her toes curled into the fitted sheet beneath her.“You’ve been such a good sport about everything.”
He didn’t move an inch, but his sprawl on the chair changed.It wasn’t so casual anymore.“You think I’m being a good sport?”
“Aren’t you?”
He ran a hand across his jaw.From as far away as she sat, she could see the muscle in his temple working.“Are you telling me I’m on the downstairs couch?”
“No,” she blurted.She didn’t know what she was saying.She liked him so much.She wanted to get closer, but all that bravado and self-assurance had left her.There was nowhoop whoopinside her.“I…I held the thought like you told me, but I—”
He was out of the chair before she could finish, and she scrambled up to her knees.She knelt on the bed with her hands stretched out to hold him off.“I can’t take the lead.I know you want me to, but I just can’t.”
He slowed down, watching her carefully.“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Maxie.I’m not going to force you.I don’t expect payment for services rendered, but I thought that after the way you touched me at Park Art that things were moving in the same direction for us.”
