Damn, but she wanted to huddle into him.She craved the feel of him wrapping that leather jacket around her, protecting her from the world.
Instead, he brushed his thumb along her jaw line.“Have you been coming up here much?”
Too much to admit.
“I need to start bringing a hot water bottle up here with me,” she teased.
He let go of her chin, but his fingers trailed through her hair.“I can think of other ways to warm you up.”
On a chilly autumn night…
She fought back a moan.Had she wished him here?
She pulled back and made a show of wrapping the blanket around herself.“I’m glad you came tonight, Billy.For Charlie.”
His jaw worked for a second.“Yeah, Charlie deserves some happiness.”
The comment stung, but she reminded herself he hadn’t come for her.
Moving ahead of her, he opened the door to the stairs.Light from the staircase shone out, almost glaring after sitting under the stars for so long.
Roxie squinted and hurried forward.The coziness had disappeared, and tendrils of cold were snaking down her spine.All that talk of warmth hadn’t helped.She moved past Billy as he held the door open for her and navigated the narrow steps that led down to the top floor.Her floor.
The whoosh that came down the flight of stairs when the outside door closed was startling, especially when the building was so quiet in comparison.Silence versus silence.Outdoors to inside, they were different.
With the walls pressing in and everyone bedded down to sleep, she was more aware of her former lover than ever.
She was pulling out her keys when she remembered he wasn’t exactly sober.Turning, she found him right behind her.Her shoulder brushed against his chest and her hip bumped against his leg.
He was warm, deliciously so after being out in the cold for so long.
Pulling back, she leaned against the door to her apartment.“Do you need me to call you a cab?”
His expression turned ironic.“Well, that’s blunt.”
She had to be.She wasn’t going to invite him to stay at her place.Absolutely was not going to…
He held up a key.“Charlie’s letting me stay downstairs.He said he’s got an apartment open until the first of the month.”
“Oh, right.”Yay, she thought sardonically.So she wouldn’t invite him inside, but he was going to be staying one floor down, in a bed not so far away.“The furnished one.”
“Is that a problem?”
She shook her head, and the blanket fell off her shoulder.“You don’t want to sleep on my hideaway, trust me.”
His expression was still fierce, but his touch was gentle as he wound one of her curls around his finger.“No, I don’t.”
Her knees wobbled.She needed to get inside and catch some sleep.The innuendo was getting to be too much.
She opened the door to her apartment.Stepping inside, she tossed the blanket and her pepper spray onto the sofa.“Good night, Billy.It was really good to see—”
She stopped short.Wing nuts and coattails, she sounded like frickin’ Miss Manners.
“Oh, to hell with it.”
Pushing away all her good intentions, she grabbed his jacket and yanked him to her.He was already moving her way, and he kicked the apartment door shut behind him.His mouth was hot and hungry when it came down on hers.
Roxie groaned at the contact.Oh, God.Sitting up there under the moonlight, talking with him like a rational adult had nearly driven her crazy.There was nothing rational about the way she felt for him.Nothing calm and composed.
