“I really do,” she said. “I had an amazing weekend. But I’ve got a full week ahead and I need to get a good night’s sleep.”
“If I promised to let you sleep, undisturbed . . .?”
She put her hand to his face, her thumb caressing under his eye. “I couldn’t promise I would.”
Fair enough. Get it together, man. He got his feet working, stood and gave her his hand, bringing her to stand beside him. “You’re an amazing person, Teela.” Yeah, that was empty. Hugging her close didn’t fill the void. “It was a pleasure to spend time with you,” he said to the top of her head, grateful not to have eye contact. “Thank you for showing me your city.”
And that was that, except for walking her out.
She disappeared to the bathroom and he drank some water, took his socks off, shoved sweats on and rang Rick. When she came out dressed and brushed, he handed her a small box with the logo of the hotel boutique on it.
“Needed to keep my promise.” She gave him a quizzical look. “Open it.”
The gesture was worth the expression on her face and her laughter as she opened the box and parted the tissue paper to reveal a replacement pair of blue panties for the ones he’d torn with his teeth.
“You said I wasn’t allowed to rip them.” He shrugged. “Least I could do was replace them. Now you have a matching set again.”
“Thank you.” She closed the lid on the box. “Thank you for making me feel desired, beautiful. That hasn’t happened in a long time and I needed it.”
She would wreck him good, leave some lasting damage if he didn’t get a handle on this. “Listen, Teela. Good luck with your business, the new office and your strategic plan. Hassan is waiting. I’m not going to write you a note because I suck at writing notes, or send flowers or stay in touch, but if you should ever, I don’t know, need a hammy actor, I’m your guy.”
“Oddly, I can’t see that happening.”
And that was that. He watched while she tucked the box in her little suitcase. “Me either, but the offer is out there in case.”
The sound of that zip closing and Teela pulling the handle of the bag up was the full stop on their weekend. “I’m ready,” she said, eyes down.
“Right.”
“Thank you for the underwear.”
“Was only fair.”
She looked up, her lips compressed, brows a concerned squiggle. “This is—I’ll. You’re.”
His hands twitched at his sides. “If I kiss you again I won’t be gracious about letting you go.”
That made her smile. “We had a good time.”
“The best.”
“Kiss me anyway, Sexiest Man Alive.”
He winced. “Playing with fire, doll.”
Neither of them moved. He’d called her doll because they were done. There’d been hundreds of kisses. He shouldn’t have needed one more, but it burned on his lips and then it flared in his chest when he caught her body to his and bent her over his arm, kissing her with enough heat to singe paint off the walls. The best. The best. The best.
A gentleman should know when to say goodnight to a woman he admired. He set Teela on her feet, straightened her dress, and took her case to the elevator and called it.
Cue an awkward pause he wished he could cut from the scene while they waited for it to arrive, no more words left to say, avoiding eye contact. This at least was familiar. That part where they’d had trouble getting goodbye to stick, that was a whole new experience.
When the elevator arrived, he pushed her case inside, catching her hand as she stepped past and squeezing it. Their eyes met. Held. She crossed hers, making him laugh and miss his opportunity to kiss the back of her hand as he stepped back to avoid the closing doors.
And she was gone.
He went back to the bedroom. He needed sleep. Truth told, he felt a little queasy. Must’ve been the beer. And to top it off, for the first time since he’d strained it, his goddamn wrist pained.
THIRTEEN