Ria’s breath caught. Did that mean . . .
“You want to stay the night, Sir?”
“If that’s what you want.”
Was it? She could say no—and spend the night alone. Lonely. “Yes, I do,” she added, knowing how much he liked verbal replies.
“Then let’s head home and get my baby tucked into bed. She’s had a hard night. She needs a bit of tender care.”
Oh, God, it seemed like he knew exactly the right words to say. She couldn’t help but feel like he was almost too good to be true.
He is. Remember he’s not staying. This isn’t a happy fucking forever after.
Yeah, well, she didn’t believe in those anyway.
9
She felt ridiculously nervous as she climbed into bed. She’d pulled on an over-sized T-shirt she’d bought from a thrift store. It had a picture of cats playing with a ball of yarn on it. She was aware it wasn’t lingerie. She didn’t own any lingerie. She’d never really wanted to dress her curvy body up in pretty things.
Now she wished she had something a little sexier to wear. God she was ridiculously nervous. She’d never actually slept with a man before. What would she do about her hearing aid? If she took it out, she would be vulnerable. Could she do that? She’d actually locked the bathroom door while having a shower because she had to take the aid out, so did she really think she could sleep beside him without it?
Now she was sitting here, like a sixteenth century virgin on her wedding night, filled with anxious trepidation. Waiting for her man to climb into bed. The water turned off and she tensed. Maybe she should just turn off the light, pretend to be asleep. But that seemed a little rude. What if he needed something? Like a glass of water?
Jesus, what the hell was the protocol for this? She groaned. She had no idea what she was doing.
Pretty pathetic for a twenty-five-year-old.
“Ria? You okay?”
She moved her hands away from her face and stared over at him. He was standing in the doorway with just one of her skimpy towels wrapped around his waist, looking like a damn Greek God. Honestly, had she ever seen anything more perfect in her life? She knew he’d been hiding some muscle behind his loose shirt but she hadn’t been expecting this.
Sure, he wasn’t as wide and muscular as Joe or Ajax. He was built along slimmer lines. But his arms were sculpted, his chest firm. There was a spattering of hair that led down his stomach to his . . . she gulped. Oh, God. What would happen if his towel slipped a little? Was she ready for that?
Yeah, you are.
Oh, so now that voice stopped being negative. Horny little hussy.
“Ria?”
She forced her gaze away from those notches at his hips, resisting the urge to fan herself. Man, she really had to get out more.
“Yes?”
“Everything all right?”
She nodded. ?
??Oh, yeah.”
He grinned. “Like what you see, wildcat?”
Did she ever.
“Maybe.”
He chuckled. “I’d say it’s more than maybe. Want to see more?”
“Definitely.”