The Bedroom Business

While he paced, he came up with half a dozen scenarios to explain her absence, each one worse than the last.

The only thing he knew for certain was that his Emily, his sweet little sparrow, his impossible, pigheaded sparrow, had disappeared from his life.

How would he find her? Detectives? Private investigators? The police?

At last, he’d boarded a plane. And halfway over the coun­try, the solution had come to him. He had Mrs. Levy’s name. He had her address. He had an inflight phone...

“Jake? I asked you a question. How did you find me?”

“Mrs. Levy told me.”

Emily felt behind her for a chair. Her legs were wobbly. Jake looked so angry. So enraged.

So handsome.

Oh, so handsome. And so disheveled. He’d tossed his overcoat on a chair, undone his jacket, loosened his tie. He kept running his hands through his hair so that it lay in heavy waves against his forehead. He hadn’t shaved, either; his jaw was stubbled and with what she knew was painfully bad tim­ing, she remembered how it had felt that first time he’d made love to her, when his stubbled jaw had rubbed against her skin. Against her breasts...

Color shot into her face.

Angela noticed. “Oh, my,” she whispered. “Serena?”

“Yes.” Serena licked her lips. “Emily? Is this the man?”

“No,” Emily said. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “He’s not the man. He’s just a man.”

“Oh, but he’s gorgeous,” Serena said softly. “Isn’t he, Ange?”

Jake narrowed his eyes. “Who are these women, Emily?”

“My—my sisters.” Her beautiful sisters, who were all but drooling. Well, Jake would drool, too, once he took a good, long look at them. “This is Serena. And Angela.”

“Hi,” Angela cooed, and smiled.

“Hello,” Serena hummed, and smiled.

Jake looked at each of them. “Hello,” he said, and scowled. “Now would the two of you please get the hell out of here and give us some privacy?”

Emily blinked. Serena and Angela did, too, but then they laughed, kissed Emily, one on each cheek, and did exactly as Jake had commanded.

Emily stared at him.

“You—you just told my sisters to go away.”

“Damned right, I did.”

“But—but they’re beautiful.”

“Are they?” Jake shrugged his shoulders and started to­wards her. “I didn’t notice.”

“What do you mean, you didn’t notice? You have to no­tice. Serena and Angela are—they are... Jake. Jake, what are you doing?”

“Kissing you,” Jake said, as he threaded his hands into Emily’s hair and tilted her face to his.

And he did. Oh, he did. Not gently. Not politely. His mouth covered hers and he kissed her with all the hunger that he’d kept locked within his lonely, hungry soul.

Emily told herself not to respond. There was no reason to, because this was only sex. It was only sex...

It was sex, and it was love, for her, anyway, because the man holding her in his arms was all she had ever wanted.

After a long time, Jake drew back.

“Dammit,” he said huskily, “I am furious at you, Spar­row.” He proved it by kissing her again. “I ought to turn you over my knee and spank you.”

“Kiss me instead,” Emily whispered, and he did. Even­tually, she pushed gently against his chest. “Jake,” she said softly, “you came after me.”

“Of course I came after you! Did you think I was the kind of man you could walk out on? The kind who’d let you go without a fight?” He drew a deep breath. “I won’t let you leave me.”

Emily hesitated, but not for long. She rose on her toes, clasped Jake’s face and kissed him. It was, she knew, what a real woman would do, what she’d have the courage to do, if she loved a man.

And she loved Jake. She’d always love him, and she was woman enough, too, to accept whatever he offered, for as long as he offered it. Besides, miracles could happen. Jake might change. He might fall in love with her.

The risk was terrifying, but risk was what made life worth living. She knew that, now.

Emily smiled. “I won’t leave you. I thought I had to, but I was wrong.”

Jake kissed her again, over and over. He couldn’t get enough of her taste, her sweetness, of the way she fit so perfectly into his arms, and into his heart.

“Sparrow.” He pulled back, just a little. “Sparrow, you were wrong.”

“I know. I just said so. I shouldn’t have­—”

“I am a forever kind of guy. And you’re a forever kind of woman. We just needed to find the right person to be forever with.” Jake gave a soft laugh. “I’m making a mess of this. I was going to do it perfectly, say it poetically...”