Sam was quickly at her side. His voice was a little uneven, but gentle. “My God, Susan, I didn’t mean any harm. It was an expression. I was being facetious. You sat there asking whether I wanted you—do you have any idea how much I do? Do you have any idea what looking at you does to me?” Taking one of her hands, he stroked her fingers open, then put her palm against his fly. It was pure torture. “That’s how much I want you.” He moved her hand to show her the extent of his arousal. “You. No one else, Susan. Just you.”
Susan’s anger had faded with the gentleness of his voice, and with his arousal beneath her palm, she was quickly aroused, herself. Unable to resist, she began touching him on her own, measuring his length, exploring his shape and fullness. He strained against her hand, and for a minute she was tempted to unzip his jeans and feel his bare flesh. But she wasn’t ready to make love. So she slid both hands under his shirt and up his chest.
He gave her a long, deep kiss. When it was done, she was nearly as short of breath as he. Still, she stepped back.
“I’m not an easy lay,” she announced and returned to the sofa.
“Susan…” he warned, still painfully aroused.
“Come have your breakfast, Sam.”
“I had breakfast at five o’clock this morning.”
“Five.What were you doing up at five?” She took in a healthy forkful of scrambled eggs.
“Coming home from work.”
“You worked all night?”
“That’s right.”
“And that,” she said, pointing her fork at him, “is why you and I would never work. I drank myself silly last night waiting for you to break into my house. I have certain needs. A man can’t fill them if he’s never around.”
Sam hadn’t moved. “I’m around now. That’s what this argument’s about. You come over here and I’ll fill your needs real good.”
She put the tines of the fork against her lips and looked at the ceiling. “To paraphrase the great Conway Twitty, I need a man with a slow hand.” She turned the fork toward his plate. “Eat, Sam. Then we’ll see how slow you can be.”
With an agonized moan, Sam did an about-face, hung his head, and wrapped a hand around his neck. “You’re a witch.”
“Mmm. Great bacon. I always burn mine.”
“Why are you being so cruel?”
“I guess I’m still a little hungover.”
Lips thinned, he turned around. “Bullshit. You just enjoy giving me a hard time. It gives you a feeling of power.”
She shrugged. There was no point in denying it.
Sam returned to the rug, poured himself a glass of juice, and drank the whole thing. Then he set down the glass. “So you had a nice time yesterday. I’m glad.”
Susan let her mind wander back to the day before. “It was nice.” After another minute, she added, “Interesting. Savannah was in a really good mood.”
“Isn’t she usually?” he asked, then held up a hand. “Look, you were the one who raised the issue of Savannah, not me. If you don’t want to talk about her, fine, but don’t say things and then expect that I’ll be a good little mummy and stare straight ahead. That’s not my way.”
She realized that. She also realized that she wanted to hear his opinion. “You have my permission to talk about Savannah, and to answer your question, yes, she’s usually in a good mood, but yesterday was different. I can’t quite put my finger on it. We stopped at the hospital to see Megan before we left, and I know that she was a little down about that. Then she made a phone call from the hospital, and that seemed to cheer her up. I think she’s got a guy on the side she’s not telling me about.”
“Not me,” Sam vowed, raising both hands this time. “Not me. I swear it.”
She believed him. “Any idea who it could be?”
Sam shrugged. “Savannah comes into daily contact with lots of men. It could be anyone. Didn’t you ask?”
“Sure, I asked. She said the phone call was to the FBI agent who’s heading Megan’s case. Has anything happened there?”
“Not that I know of, and I’d know.”
“She looked pleased while she was talking with him. Maybe he’s the one. When I asked, she laughed and denied it, but then, when we were shopping, she bought the most incredible teddy.” She arched a brow. “I’m not knocking Savannah’s taste, but it’s usually a little more sedate when it comes to lingerie. Sweet, maybe even lacy, but certainly more sedate than that teddy.”
