His eyes were so intense, she thought she might start sweating just from the way he looked at her. Jannie swallowed.
He picked up the coffee carafe and filled his black tumbler that read,EAT. SLEEP. FLY.and replaced the cap before turning to face her. “Listen, about last night …”
Immediately, the image of him lying there, looking like sin itself as he pulled that sheet, flickered across her mind, and she blinked it away, blood rushing hotly to her cheeks. She wasn’t about to let him know how close she’d come to succumbing.
“I was out of line,” he said.
Not what she expected to hear. She managed to conceal her surprise and looked him in the eye. “You were.”
And it was hot as hell.
He took a sip of coffee. “I could use the defense that I was dazed frombeing roused from a deep sleep.”
And you sure were aroused.“But?”
“But I wasn’t.”
How could he say that when he had clearly been out cold when she’d walked in?
“Sleeping deeply, that is.” His eyes flashed with that dark hunger that was becoming all too familiar, the one that made her want to pitch caution to the winds and launch herself at him.
“Are you going to claim sleepwalking … or … sleep … whatever it is you were doing?”
Sleepcocking.
A bubble of hysterical laughter rose in her throat. This man was making her unhinged.
“No. I could claim temporary insanity, though. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in a very long time.” He still leaned against that countertop, but she could tell he was deceptively relaxed. At any moment, the man was capable of pouncing, and damned if she didn’t wish he would.
Her heart began that odd skip-pause-thud it always did when he got this intense.
“Why?” she asked before she could stop herself.
A corner of his mouth tipped up in a half-smile. “Why do you think?”
His eyes sparked with something that made her stomach drop and her body tingle in several places.
“I have dreams, Jannie. Had a bad one last night. I think your dog sensed something was wrong, and that’s why you found him in my room.”
“He jumped on your bed?”
“No, I invited him.” Nick smiled. “It took some coaxing. He’s a good boy.”
Jannie’s heart squeezed. Who would have thought? Nick needed comfort. “Does this happen often?”
“No. But sometimes, things I try hard not to think of during the day come to me at night.”
She couldn’t help herself. “What kinds of things?”
“Some are terrible.” He tossed the apple core into the sink. “And others …” He pushed off the counter, and sexuality radiated off him as if it were a tangible thing. “You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
Well, that had slipped out. Apparently, she’d lost her mind last night and hadn’t found it.
“Knowing you’re just down the hall …” He shook his head and took a small step toward her, his gaze trained on her mouth. “It’s a good thing I’m skilled at maintaining strict control.”
“Why is that?”
