With that, he was gone.
I buried my head in my hands. And grinned. Like a dolt.
Like a girl who’d just had probably three orgasms back-to-back. I couldn’t tell where one ended and the next began.
I’d finished dressing by the time he returned. Thank God I’d set my clothes on the toilet. Since his shirt and hoodie hadn’t fared as well, he threw those in the washer while I mopped. He insisted on taking over a few minutes later, so I did what I could with paper towels and elbow grease.
In under half an hour, the bathroom was back to rights, and I was falling asleep standing up. My sex adrenaline rush had finally worn off. In another minute, I’d be ready to curl up on the damp floor.
“It’s late.” Fox brushed a hand down my hair as we stared at our work.
“How late?” I’d left my purse and phone near the front door.
He tugged his phone out of his jeans. “Three-eleven.”
“Are you shitting me?” I whirled on him and punched his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
His lips twitched. “We were a little busy for me to be watching the clock.”
Whoops, I hadn’t fulfilled my part of the deal. I dropped my gaze to the front of his jeans. He wasn’t fully hard, but he wasn’t exactly soft.
Was he ever?
“Sorry, I forgot. Did you, um, want me to—”
“You forgot?” His grin crept into his voice. “Wow, kill a guy’s ego, why don’t you?”
I didn’t grin back, but I came awfully close. “I don’t think anything could kill your ego.”
“Oh, sweetheart, if anyone could, it would be you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I stared down at my socks. Nice to see I hadn’t lost my inherent lack of social graces.
“Come on.” He turned me toward the door. “Let’s get you home. Unless you want to spend the night?”
Not wanting to ruin what had turned into a semi-decent evening—okay, I was lying to myself, so sue me—I mumbled something about not sleeping well anywhere but in my own bed. He nodded and led me to the door.
I’m sure he was thrilled with me right about now. First, I’d told him I didn’t want a boyfriend, then I’d helped flood his bathroom and forgot to get him off. Now I insisted on going home in the middle of the night when it was snowing and cold as fuck out. Most likely I wouldn’t be getting an invite to return anytime soon. Just as well.
My clit sent up a weak throb of protest. After tonight, the possibility of no sexual activity from here on out made me want to punch something. Hard. Maybe I’d need to invest in a toy after all. If I could get over my embarrassment, I’d ask Kizzy what she recommended. That girl could practically recite the Kama Sutra from memory.
Once Fox had grabbed another hoodie from the peg in the front hall, he pulled it on and we headed outside. To my utter relief, he flagged down a cab and waited for me to tell my address to the cabbie. I was about to suggest to Fox that he stay home when he nailed me with the look and I fell silent.
I stewed throughout the short ride to my building. We were already falling into uncomfortable patterns. He wasn’t responsible for my safety and therefore did not need to accompany me home. I’d been taking care of myself for years.
And I certainly didn’t need him to pay the cabbie or walk me to my door, though he insisted on doing both. By then the look was practically a death glare so I chalked everything up to the overall craziness of the night.
We headed up the hall in silence, both deep in thought. Deep in something. At least the shit we’d stepped into smelled good.
Damn his stupid, sexy as hell cologne.
A sliver of light under my apartment door caught my eye. I stopped walking and stared, sure I had to be imagining things. I couldn’t face anything else tonight. My tank was so empty I was operating on fumes.
Fox stopped walking too, his gaze following mine. “What is it?”
My throat went tight and hot, making it difficult for me to formulate words. My exhaustion had disappeared in a flash. “There’s a light on.” My voice quivered, much to my disgust. Had to be exhaustion. “See?”
“You didn’t leave one on?”