Hot Property (Hot Zone 4)

He blinked and raised his head, his eyes glazed. “Ignore it,” he said, leaning closer, obviously intending to kiss her again.

But she wasn’t lost in the moment anymore. Nor was she so far gone she wasn’t aware of what she was doing. She shook her head and scrambled to her feet. “No, it might be important.”

He raised an eyebrow. “The woman who insisted I shut my cell phone off when I’m with you now wants me to answer it?” he asked in disbelief.

She rose and began to work her dress back up over her shoulders. They’d moved too fast and she needed space. “Get the phone, okay?” she asked, hoping he’d take the hint and give her a minute.

He ran a hand over his eyes and groaned. “It’s stopped ringing.”

“Then listen to your voice mail.”

Obviously she’d made her point, because he stood. His shirt hung open, a reminder of how close she’d been to heaven.

He walked up behind her and reached for her dress. She flinched, but when he ignored her reaction and merely did up the zipper, she felt badly. “I’m sorry. This was just…I got carried away.” She hoped he understood, because she didn’t want an argument.

Roper stared at Amy. They’d been hot and heavy until his damned phone ruined the moment. He had no choice but to be a gentleman and respect her wishes. Talking could come later.

He grabbed for his phone and dialed his voice mail.

For once it wasn’t his family interrupting. One of his teammates wanted to meet for drinks. Roper had no desire to leave Amy or to hang with the guys, but the damage here had been done.

“Anything important?” Amy asked, as she turned to face him.

He shook his head. “Nothing that can’t wait.”

“Well, at least it isn’t an emergency.” She ran a hand through her hair, trying to fix the strands he’d messed with his fingers.

“Amy—”

“It’s getting late,” she said.

Obviously she wasn’t going to let him talk about them, which was quite a contradiction to her planner personality. She liked things discussed and analyzed as long as she wasn’t the one under the microscope.

He flexed and unflexed his fingers, grasping for calm. He was frustrated. But getting angry at her withdrawal wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He forced himself to remember she’d given him insight into her past, and maybe he could work with that, given time.

“You’re right. I should get going.” Maybe he would meet his teammate for a drink. He was definitely too wired to sleep.

She walked him to the door. He met her gaze, and in her eyes he saw vulnerability. He lost his anger in an instant.

“Listen, I’m supposed to meet my mother at my sister’s apartment tomorrow. Some sort of wedding-planning talk that is bound to turn into World War III. Join me and you’ll get a firsthand view of the situation we’re dealing with. Maybe you can offer some ideas about how to keep me out of it.” And this way he could keep Amy with him while he figured out how to best handle her fear.

“I’ll come tomorrow and see what advice I can offer.”

“Good. See you at nine?” he asked as he opened the door.

She nodded. “And, John?”

He turned, placing an arm on the door frame. “Yes?”

“Thanks for dinner. I had a really nice time.”

He smiled. “Me, too.” On impulse, he leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. He lingered for a moment, inhaling her scent to remember in his dreams later that night. “See you in the morning.” At which point he hoped to have figured out how to breach her defenses again.

Because now that he’d had a taste of her, there was no way in hell he was going to let her walk away.

AMY’S HAND SHOOK AS SHE locked the door behind Roper and headed for her bedroom, the events of the night fresh and vivid in her mind. How in the world had she let things go so far?

She knew the answer to that.