Twenty-two
Nick lay on his side in the dark, listening to the soft breathing of the woman tucked in front of him, and let his fingers trail along her arm. She was perfect. He’d never been one to use that term very often, but tonight it summed up everything. Together, they’d been explosive. He’d known he was attracted to Jenny ever since first laying eyes on her in the pub, but the intensity of the connection he’d just felt with this woman in his arms had surprised the hell out of him. He’d never experienced anything like it before in his life, and while he wouldn’t say he was the man-whore a number of his mates were, he wasn’t exactly a monk either and this had been … He was lost for words. Another first. Everything about Jenny stunned him. Her curves, her skin, the sounds she made, the smell of her hair—literally every bloody inch of her turned him on.
For the first time in who knew how long, he didn’t know how he should proceed. He knew she wasn’t asleep, herbreathing was still too fast for that, and lying here in absolute silence was only going to make things weird, but he was scared he might say the wrong thing and send her scampering away. While she’d floored him with how uninhibited she’d been, he sensed now that she was rapidly retreating into her shell and that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted that woman she’d been in his arms only a few minutes earlier. The one with the slumberous eyes and pouty lips that had done things to him he’d never dared imagine her doing. He wanted the Jenny who’d matched him kiss for kiss and sent him over the edge of reason faster than he’d ever imagined possible.
‘You okay?’ he finally asked, cringing slightly. What he really wanted to know was,Did that completely wreck you for all other partners the way it has for me?
‘Yeah. I’m fine.’
Fine?He frowned before deciding to feel out where she was at. ‘That was pretty amazing.’
The small silence that followed had him holding his breath.
‘It was,’ she finally agreed, and he cautiously took that as a positive.
‘Are you sure you’re okay? I wasn’t too rough or anything?’
‘No. It was— I’m great.’
‘You are,’ he said, hoping that maybe lightening the mood might be the better course of action. ‘You’re amazing.’
Her sceptical laugh made him frown.
‘I’m serious. That was incredible.’
He lifted his hand when she slowly pulled away. She sat with her back to him as she searched for her clothes. ‘Hey?’ he said, touching her back softly.
She stopped gathering the clothing but didn’t turn to face him.
‘Look at me,’ he said gently and waited until, reluctantly, she did so. His frown deepened at the shuttered expression in her eyes. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing,’ she said, shaking her head quickly. ‘It’s late. I need to get home.’
‘Jenny. Talk to me.’ Christ, he’d just been daydreaming over what they’d shared like they were in some Disney movie and she couldn’t wait to get away from him.
‘There’s nothing to talk about. I had a good time. You were great. It’s just late.’
Was she seriously giving him the old one-night-stand brush off here? Okay, he may have used the same tone—hell, even the same excuse—a time or two, but never after the kind of mind-blowing sex they’d just experienced!
He sat up and stared at her back as she wiggled into her clothing, blinking as she turned and glanced at him.
‘I’ll call a taxi.’
‘I’ll take you,’ he said, coming to his senses and moving from the bed to pull his own clothes back on.
‘It’s fine. Honestly,’ she said.
‘I’ll drive you.’
A sudden tension filled the room with its uncomfortable presence and Nick let out a long sigh. ‘Jenny, I’m sorry if I’ve done something to upset you … I thought we had a great time together.’
He saw her bite the inside of her lip as she risked a small look at his face before dropping her gaze to the floor. ‘Wedid. You haven’t upset me. You just … caught me off guard. I’m not sure …’
‘Of what?’
‘I’m not sure how I feel about it all.’ She shrugged helplessly.
For the first time since she withdrew from him there was a glimmer of hope. ‘It snuck up on me too,’ he admitted carefully, deciding that he may as well throw all his cards on the table; he may not get another shot at it if he kept them close to his chest. Not with Jenny. ‘I knew I was attracted to you, but I wasn’t expecting the kind of sparks we gave off just now. That was intense.’
