“The thing is…” He gestured for her to join him on the sofa. And even though her bed and a bath were calling, she found herself sinking into the soft cushions. He positioned himself beside her.
Rightbeside her.
His jean-clad thigh touched hers. His body heat wrapped around her and dulled her sensibilities while at the same time heightening her senses.
She couldfeelthe bunch and flex of the muscles in his leg. See the faint freckle beside his left eye. And he smelled so damn good. Kind of spicy, like a desert flower, but with a hint of dry cedar.
Instinct had her trying to scoot away to a safe distance. If there was such a thing when it came to Wolf, which she was beginning to doubt. But the arm of the sofa pressed against her hip.
There was nowhere to run.
Nowhere to hide.
Nowhere to look except deep into his dark eyes as he kept talking.
“I liked you so much, Chrissy. Istilllike you so much that anytime you’re around, I’m hard pressed not to grin like a gopher in soft dirt. And rememberin’ how I was such an ass to you that night? Darlin’, it makes me want to tear out my own hair, shape it into some sort of weird art sculpture, and present it to you on a satin pillow or somethin’. You know, as a way of atonement,” he clarified when she blinked at him in bewilderment.
“And I know I’m ramblin’,” he continued. “And, yeah, it’s gettin’ weird.”
Was it ever. Two minutes ago, if someone had asked her if it was possible for Wolf to be fumbling and awkward, she’d have responded with a resoundingno.
“But I feel like this is the right time and the right place to apologize to you the right way. I’m nervous as hell, and I know I’m gettin’ it all wrong.” He ran a hand through his hair, making a tuft stick up near his temple. She tried to imagine it formed into an art sculpture and felt her lips twitch. “IknowI am,” he continued.
He looked chagrined. Never in their whole acquaintance had she seen him looking chagrined. Disconcerted? Sure. Annoyed? Plenty of times. Hell, despite his ultra-alpha, I-got-it-all-under-control demeanor, she’d even seen him bewildered a time or two. But never,everchagrined.
It was…adorable. Enough to put a chink in the wall she’d constructed against him. Then, in the blink of an eye, she felt that chink grow into a crack that just as quickly spread into a spider web of fissures.
Uh-oh.
“Chrissy, I want to make sure you know—”
She shoved a finger over his lips, determined to stop him from saying anything more that might have her walls crumbling completely.
He sighed, and she ignored the puff of his hot breath against her skin. Or at least shetriedto. Herbrainignored it. Her womb? Not so much. It clenched with desire.
Hey, baby box! Stop sabotaging me! You’re as bad as the nipples and the ovaries!she silently railed. Aloud she said, “Now I know why you quote other people. Left to your own devices, you’re a red-hot mess.”
She thought that’d make him laugh.
It didn’t.
His expression remained serious, and his eyes held a look she couldn’t quite read. Or maybe she didn’twantto read it. Maybe the thought of reading it scared her to death.
For a few moments they sat there, staring at each other, that ever-presentawarenesshumming in the space between them. When she couldn’t take the silence any longer, she said, “It’sokay,Wolf. You can stop apologizing. I forgive you. I really do.”
His gaze drifted to the macramé wall hanging above her television. She’d found the pattern on Pinterest and had spent an entire weekend making one for herself and one for Winston. Like most bachelors, Winston was complete crap when it came to decorating. If not for her forcing him to equip his apartment like an adult, he’d probably still be sleeping on a futon and using milk crates as nightstands.
Thoughts of her best friend made her stomach clench, and reminded her that she needed to plug in her phone and shove it in a bag of rice. She didn’t want to miss the moment Winston’s parents called with an update.
Bending, she pulled her phone out of the plastic bag Wolf had dropped at their feet. Then she stood and turned toward the kitchen. She hadn’t managed a full step before Wolf stopped her with a hand on her thigh.
She frowned down at him. “I need to get my phone—”
“In a minute,” he drawled. “It’s time we finish this.”
She cocked her head. “I thought we just did.”
“Not by a long shot. What was his name?”
