She ignored them all and pulled out her phone. Hands shaking, she canceled the hotel room she’d booked for the night. She was desperately aware of him, of the hard jut of his thigh close to hers, the power of his arms as he gripped the wheel and guided them back toward the road.
Intimacy, she thought, was a strange thing.
Not once, in all the time she’d spent with Richard, had she felt as close to him as she did now to Alec.
“So we’re going for another night.” She kept her voice casual. “Just as long as you know this is just sex. You don’t want to go falling in love with me, because I’m a real heartbreaker in case you hadn’t heard. And whatever you do don’t try to propose to me because you could easily end up with a stiletto in your balls and you wouldn’t want that.”
She risked a glance at him and saw the corners of his mouth flicker as he struggled not to smile.
She wondered how she could ever have thought him humorless.
“We both know you’re not a heartbreaker. You believe in one true love and happy endings. You’re my nightmare.”
“No, I’m not, because while I’m waiting for that to come along I believe in hot sex.” She beamed at him. “Lots of it. Which in fact makes me your daydream, not your nightmare.”
His jaw tightened. “You should stop talking now.”
“You don’t really think I’d fall in love with a moody, brooding guy like you, do you? Please. Give me some credit. I’ll read about Heathcliff but I don’t want to have to look at his scowling face while I’m eating my breakfast cereal every morning. I’m now going to sleep so that I conserve my energy, so when you stop to buy condoms make sure you buy a bumper pack. If we’ve only got one more night together we have to cram as much sex in as possible.”
Sex, she reminded herself.
That’s what this was about.
Simple, straightforward, scorching sex.
What could possibly go wrong?
ALEC MADE A call and pulled some strings, telling himself that his decision was more to do with practicalities than a desire to fulfill one of Sky’s wishes. If they stayed in the hotel room there was a strong chance they’d both be rushed to the emergency department with exhaustion and no doubt Michael would be on duty and would find a way to relay the happy news to his family.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
“It’s a surprise? Will I like it? I love surprises. I mean, not the ‘public proposal’ type of surprise, but pretty much any other sort works for me.” Skylar snuggled in the back of the taxi they’d just hailed down, her cheeks glowing. “Do you need to blindfold me or anything?”
He pushed aside the images her words created in his head. “I don’t need to blindfold you, and if I told you where we were going, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
“Should I close my eyes? Would that make it more exciting?” She was laughing, teasing him, and her fizz and bounce revved up every one of his senses.
“Keep your eyes open.”
“Give me a clue. Is it somewhere I’ve been before? Somewhere I’ve mentioned?”
“Maybe.”
“The London Eye?” She leaned forward, craning her neck to look upward, as the taxi pulled up close to the river. “Wow. You did this for me?”
Seeing the delight on her face, he wondered if he’d done the wrong thing.
Was this an over-the-top gesture? What sort of night out was right for two people who were having simple sex?
She leaned across and gave him a spontaneous hug. “Thanks, Alec. When you’re not being a dumbass, you’re the best.”
“You just managed to insult me and praise me in the same sentence.”
“This has been on my wish list for a long time. You listened, paid attention and arranged something you knew I’d like. That’s thoughtful.”
“For a dumbass. We had to do something, so I thought it might as well be this.” He played it down as he leaned forward to pay the driver, then took her hand and ignored the line of people waiting.