But he knew enough about her to want to get closer.He wanted to see what existed behind that perfect façade.He had a feeling it was a lot more interesting.
The door squealed as he opened it.The room was so tiny, the door nearly hit her.“Lexie?”
She was standing at the sink with her head bent and her hands gripping both sides of the porcelain as if it were the only thing supporting her.The toothbrush package had been opened, and an empty glass stood nearby along with a big bottle of Scope.“Go away,” she said hoarsely.
He stepped into the small space, shrinking it even more, and awareness lit up his nerve endings.They always did that when she was close, but this time the intimacy was different.He could sense how much she was hurting, feel the biting embarrassment…and see how little she was wearing.“Are you all right?”
“My toenails hurt.”She shuffled around the sink away from him.“Leave me alone, Rowe.Please.”
She was so soft, so vulnerable.Unable to resist the protective instincts roaring inside his chest, he gently cupped the back of her head.
“Ow.”
“Hair too?”
She bit her lip.With her dark hair a cloud around her, it made her skin look ashen.Her toes curled into the floor as if digging in for purchase, and her fingers turned white around the sink.
He moved quickly to the toilet and lifted the seat.
She shook her head carefully.“There’s nothing left in my stomach.”
But the alcohol was still in her system, probing for weaknesses and vulnerabilities.He watched her closely.The barely there number Roxie had given her to sleep in was playing Twister with his brain, but she was shaking.
“Come on.”He wrapped an arm around her back.Bending, he swiped the other under her knees.“Let’s get you back to bed.”
Her breath hitched when he picked her up.
He stopped.“Okay?”
Skin on skin.The awareness bit deeper.Her curves were cushioned against his chest, and luscious skin weighted his bare arms.
Her eyes drifted closed.“What are you doing here, Cam?Why won’t you let me be?”
“If that isn’t obvious, then you’re still drunk.”
Turning so as to not bump her head, he carried her through the bathroom doorway and straight for the opened sofa.If she noticed, she didn’t say anything.Her eyes were closed, and she was rubbing her fingers against her temple.
He lowered her onto the thin mattress.She settled onto her side gingerly and sighed when he tucked a pillow under her head.Her chest rose and fell with each careful breath she took.The motion pressed her breasts against the soft nylon top she wore.
As sympathetic as he was to her condition, Cam was a man.Her breasts were full and firm and shaped in a way that made his range of vision darken around the edges.In the light from the bathroom, he could see her nipples outlined against the soft fabric.He pulled his gaze away when he felt his mouth water, but it just drifted lower.Her legs were bent in the fetal position, and her shorts rode high on her thighs.
Really high.
Crouching down beside her, he brushed her hair back from her face.She didn’t even stir.She was awake but, for once, she wasn’t fighting him.
“Aspirin?”he asked.
She started to shake her head no but then thought better of it.
“Cold rag for your forehead?”
Her eyebrows lifted, even as her eyes remained sealed tight.
He could see the idea appealed.He tucked her hair behind her ear.“I’ll be right back.”
In the bathroom, he grabbed a washcloth off the towel rack and turned on the faucet.He glanced out towards the makeshift bed as he waited for the water to cool.He should have found a way to stop that ambush this morning.Roxie was right, that was what had initiated this whole sequence of events.He worked as a consultant for the firm.It was his job to move the company forward, and that damn billboard had put them ten steps back.Still, he should have done more to defend her when he’d seen how the Underhills had treated her.The pompous asses.
Had it always been this way for her?
