Something told her that Theo would want her to stay, and she couldn’t do that.
They had dozed for an hour or so, then Theo got up and, true to his word, fed her chocolate chip pancakes with plenty of butter and syrup while they stood in the kitchen.
She had been amazed to see that Theo did indeed have all the ingredients to make her favorite pancakes and teased him mercilessly about how he should have a green juice instead to keep that amazing bod. He had ended that quickly by stripping her naked right there on the kitchen counter, pouring syrup over her breasts, and licking it off.
She took back everything she said about the mayor being vanilla.
She should have known that Theo was excellent at anythinghe put his mind to, and her pleasure was number one on his list. Lucky, lucky her, the man was an animal in bed.
It was the look he gave her afterward—so full of tenderness and understanding—that had left her feeling exposed and filled her with the urge to run.
Theo wasn’t interested in theideaof her. He wasn’t satisfied with the version of her that everyone else was. Theo wanted to see the real, flawed, imperfect parts of her she had hidden so deeply under layers of self-preservation.
She didn’t know if she could bear to see his disappointment at what he might find.
She had kissed Puddin’ goodbye where she slept at the end of Theo’s bed and crept out soundlessly to drive home at dawn. Theo would be up soon to run and when he found her gone, he would come to her. She expected him, but she needed a moment to put herself back together from the inside out first. Last night had been intense. Incredible. Terrifying.
“Oh, hey, walk of shame,” Val said, smirking at her from the top of the stairs of their building.
Amber froze in mid-step up the stairs. “Good morning,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant. “You’re up early.”
Val snorted. “And you never went to bed, did you?”
Amber drew herself up to her full height. “I’m an adult,” Amber said regally. “I don’t have to explain that I was simply working late on gala stuff and decided to sleep at the office.”
“Uh-huh. So, ‘working late’ is what we’re calling a beard rash all over your neck?”
Amber fumbled around in her purse for her key. “What are you doing up so early, anyway?” She turned around and paused. Val’s hood was up, and her black hair was pulled forward over her eyes.
“I’m taking the SAT test,” Val said with a trace of nervousness. “My mom’s outside waiting to drive me. She needs the car today.”
Shock filled Amber, right before elation. She tried to keep her voice nonchalant so as not to spook her. “Right. Good luck. You’ll do great.” Amber kept her voice light so as not to spook her.
Val hiked her backpack higher and kicked at the worn carpet on the landing outside their apartment doors. “Yeah, well, I decided last minute to apply for late admission to a few local colleges, like you said.” She peeked up at Amber. “If you still think that’s a good idea?”
Amber deliberately kept her face neutral. Her heart was near bursting. “Yeah, I think it’s a great idea. Call me if you need a ride home.”
She took a long, hot shower to clear her mind, but images from the night kept making her hot and bothered again, so she gave up and sat on the couch to watch TV.
Good lord, was the man good ateverything? He had taken control the moment he got home and found her in the hot tub, and she hadn’t minded one bit. It was so unlike her. Theo was bossy and dominant, but also so incredibly sweet and tender with her. It hadn’t even occurred to her to fight it. She went along for every bit of the wild ride.
She blushed and fanned herself with a magazine just thinking about some of the things he had done to her that she had never let anyone else do.
At exactly six-thirty, he knocked on the door. She knew he would. She would have been disappointed if he didn’t.
She opened the door to let him in, not missing the way his eyes flared when he saw her in her short silk robe.
He strode in and kissed her. No hesitation, no asking permission. Theo kicked the door shut and pushed her up against it, kissing her like he was a sailor home on leave. Hepushed his fingers into her hair and tilted her head back for his mouth. It was long and deep and delicious. She sighed happily.
When he pulled back, he didn’t let go of her face. “Don’t ever sneak out of my house again,” he growled.
“I didn’t want to wake you up, and I had to go,” she whispered, her heart still hammering like crazy in her chest from that kiss.
“You were running.” He said it so confidently, she wanted to kick him.
“Maybe I was done using your body,” she said tartly. “Did you think of that, Mr. Mayor?”
He grinned, all white teeth and dimples. She felt it between her thighs. “I wasn’t done with yours.” Then he picked her up over his shoulder and headed toward her bedroom.
