“Thanks a lot.”
He moved over and she lay down next to him. His scent seduced her. The warmth of his body tantalized her senses much the way his shirt caressed her body. Both left her yearning for more. Darkness enveloped her and she blinked in an effort to orient herself to her surroundings. With Griff lying so close, she could barely think.
“Nice shirt,” he said.
She groaned, causing him to chuckle.
“How come there are no men in your life?”
Her breathing stopped and she forced air into her lungs. “I suppose you think lying here under the cover of darkness entitles you to ask personal questions.”
“No,” he said, pausing as he spoke. “I think our partnership, our friendship, and maybe something more gives me the privilege of asking those questions.”
She was well and truly caught. “Well, put like that, how can I refuse?”
His deep laughter warmed her. “That’s the point. You can’t.”
SEVEN
Griff forced himself to wait for the tale of Chelsie’s past and, hopefully, for something more. Her soft curves touched him lightly but enough to tease and entice.
“I was married once.” The sound of her voice worked to arouse his curiosity more than anything else.
“And?”
He felt the rise and fall of her shoulders in a shrug. “It was short and more bitter than sweet. Happy now?”
Not yet. Griff edged closer, but to his chagrin, Chelsie lay on top of the covers, while he lay beneath. “Get up.”
“And they say women are fickle,” she muttered. She swung her legs off the bed and stood.
His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, enabling him to take in her slender form beneath his large white T-shirt. The material draped her breasts, the hem reached mid thigh, and her long legs were bare. His gut clenched with desire, yet right now, all he really wanted was companionship during another long, dark night.
Her move toward the door grounded his stray thoughts. “Where are you going?”
She raised and dropped her arms with a loud sigh. “Stay, Chelsie. Get up, Chelsie. What’s next? Heel?”
He burst out laughing. He loved her sense of humor, even when she turned it on him.
Grasping the edge of the comforter, he turned it back, baring the empty side of the bed. “Surely you weren’t warm enough on top of the blanket, and I couldn’t get comfortable either.”
“Oh.” She eyed the space next to him.
“You can get back in now.” He patted the sheet and grinned.
Hesitantly, she complied and settled in beside him. He glanced at the miles of linen separating them. “No one could accuse you of hogging the bed.” She’d lain down, taking up only one quarter of the king-sized mattress. “I won’t bite. I won’t even try anything,” he promised. “I just want to talk.”
She maneuvered until she lay next to him. Her delicious scent might make that promise damned difficult, but he knew he would keep it. “Why was your marriage short?” he asked.
“I don’t suppose I could change the subject?”
“Sure you could. But I’d just change it back.”
She propped one arm beneath her head. “Okay. He wasn’t the man I thought I’d married. He changed.”
“And that hurt you.”
She exhaled a harsh laugh. “In more ways than one.”