All he knew was that he wanted her. When she told him to leave earlier, he had felt a moment of panic because he could not bear to be away from her. Now that he had her, he wanted her even more.
"Christ!" he whispered achingly. "What the hell am I going to do about you?"
Closing his eyes, he finally drifted off to sleep. It was the next morning before he realized that his night had been dreamless, free from the usual debilitating nightmares that had plagued him since the tragedy.
*****
He woke up to the tantalizing scent of coffee and sizzling bacon and the realization that he was alone in bed. His eyes flickered open, the moment of confusion passing as he remembered where he was. And that it was half past ten. He had never sleptthis late before. Sitting up, he raked restless fingers through his sleep-tousled hair. He was about to swing his legs off the bed when she came in bearing a tray.
"I was about to come down."
"I thought we could have breakfast in bed." Setting the tray on the side table, she climbed in next to him and studied his face. "You slept like the dead. I didn't have the heart to wake you."
"How long have you been up?"
"About a half hour." Reaching around, she picked up the tray and placed it between them. "How was your night?"
He took the cup of coffee and inhaled it, closing his eyes and taking a healthy swallow.
"Peaceful." His brows pleated as he realized that it was true. There had been no nightmares, and he had slept through the night. Putting the cup down, he reached for the plate with the fluffy yellow eggs and crispy bacon.
"You sounded surprised." Wrapping her fingers around the cup, she eyed him over the rim. It had rained last night, drasticallydropping the temperature. She had lit a fire in the hearth when she rose, giving the room a cozy glow.
"I have had many bad nights." He did not want to talk about it, not yet. "This is good."
"I cannot just bake, you know. I happen to be an awesome cook."
"I have no doubt." He looked away from her alluring smile and concentrated on the rain sliding down on the windowpane. It was all so cozy. The fire in the hearth, the rain coming down and the woman in bed with him. "I was planning on us going for a drive."
"I thought you wanted to spend the entire day and night in bed," she said teasingly.
He turned to look at her then and felt his heart doing a deep dive. She was wearing the slinky robe and her face looked sleepy and sexy. He felt desire stir inside him like a live thing, pushing to the fore. It shocked him how much he could still want her.
"I don't want you to get tired."
"I'm not." Lifting a hand, she cupped his cheek, loving the feel of his scruff. It made him look like a pirate.
"I should give David a call."
"Okay." She sipped her coffee and watched as he hesitated. "Want some privacy?"
"What? No." He shook his head. "Could you hand me my phone?"
When she passed it to him, he made the call. He exchanged pleasantries with David's grandmother before the woman handed the phone to his son.
"Hey, buddy."
"Daddy, we had pancakes for breakfast."
Althea watched as his face transformed completely as he listened to his son's chatter. When she started to get off the bed, he snagged her hand to keep her there, fingers lacing through hers. He chatted some more with his son before hanging up the phone.
"It's not raining there, so they're going to the park and then to a football game. David's grandfather is a fan." He lifted her hand to his mouth. "I don't know what this is."
She wasn't about to pretend to be unaware of what he was referring to.
"Care to find out?" she asked casually, heart beating fast.
"I suppose I'm already in too deep to back out now." He took a deep breath, fingers tightening on hers. "I hurt you last night when I said I wanted us to be discreet. I don't want David to know about us, not yet. Is that something you can deal with?"
