“That was . . .” She faded off breathlessly. “There’re no words for what that was,” she said sincerely, after doing a mental search for apt descriptors and coming up short. His low chuckle felt delicious in her ear.
“You’re incredible,” he said, stroking the back of her shoulder. “I think I blacked out for a second there . . . short-circuited.”
She grinned and lifted her head from his chest. He wore a small smile. It faded as he traced her jawline. “You’re very beautiful. And generous. Thank you,” he murmured. Something in his tone made her heart pause and then surge faster. He traced her lower lip with his thumb and she let her mouth fall open slightly, granting him full right to touch her in any way he liked. “Are you glad you shaved?” he asked, his sexy, amused expression returning.
“You better believe it. Not to mention happy as hell you brought that vibrator.”
She suddenly went still as a thought struck her.
“What?” he asked, his dark brows slanting as he stared at her face. He’d noticed the change in her.
“That kind of vibrator isn’t for you, is it?” she asked slowly. His stroking thumb on her lip stilled. “It’s for a woman. Why did you bring something like that if you didn’t want us to be together? Did you bring it for someone else?”
“Of course not,” he said, scowling.
“Then why did you bring it, Seth?” she demanded.
He closed his eyes briefly and exhaled. Her curiosity amped up. Was that vague guilt she saw on his handsome face? He clearly had been swept away by lust and hadn’t thought out his actions very well in regard to revealing the vibrator and a bottle of lubrication in his bag. She wasn’t blaming him for that.
Still, she wanted an explanation.
He exhaled and met her stare. “I brought a lot of things I knew I probably wouldn’t use. It was . . . wishful thinking.” He noticed her bemused looked. “I told you earlier that I would tell myself not to go to your movies. Sometimes my self-discipline worked. Sometimes it didn’t,” he added with a hard look. “I wasn’t sure what it would be like, being with you again. I knew I still found you attractive, but face it: Hours alone with someone in a car can amplify an attraction just as easily as dampen it. I might find you less attractive than I had two years ago, or you could be as turned off by me. Memory and imagination are rarely as good as reality.” His glance lowered over her face slowly. “I was certain I could resist you, but at the same time . . . I hoped I couldn’t,” he said slowly, as if he admitted the truth for the first time to himself.
Gia swallowed thickly. “I understand. It’s okay,” she said shakily.
He blinked and focused on her face, obviously surprised that she wasn’t yelling at him.
“It is? After I told you I thought we should try and resist it?”
She thought of what she’d packed in the secret locked compartment of her suitcase, her cheeks heating. She examined his wide chest, avoiding his gaze. Seth had told her point-blank not to pack anything girly or feminine, an order that she’d willfully rebelled against, telling herself she would never put the items to use anyway. She was as guilty as he was.
“I kind of experienced similar flashes of hope and combined with absolute denial. I was convinced I was being ridiculous and adolescent, and yet . . . I kept thinking . . . wishing,” she admitted softly. “That night we were together years ago was incredible enough to inspire a weird combination of expectations when it came to you. It’s funny, the things we can hide from ourselves, isn’t it?”
Something entered his expression she couldn’t quite identify. He touched her cheek, his caress tender and cherishing for such a big, virile man. “The truth is, part of me knew I was a goner from the
second I saw you again. Even when I allowed myself to imagine giving in to this thing I have for you, it was never like this. Never this strong. Even more crazy than the night we were first together.”
She nodded.
“Thanks,” he said with a pointed glance.
“For what?”
“For understanding that it’s complicated. And for not getting pissed.”
“Seth,” she whispered softly, again at a loss for words. She was as illogical and confused as he was by the power of their attraction for each other.
“Come here,” he said quietly, palming the back of her head. She went to him, their mouths fusing in a kiss that was both rife with sensual promise and tender at once. At some point, she broke it and kissed his cheeks and neck hungrily. When she lifted her head, she saw him watching her with a warm, heavy-lidded stare.
“You’re exhausted, aren’t you?” she whispered regretfully, thinking of his long, uninterrupted hours driving. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. “And hungry, I can imagine. It’s almost eight o’clock, and all you’ve had all day is breakfast,” she said, realizing belatedly there was no sunlight peeking around the curtained windows. Night was falling. “I’ll go out to the kitchen and whip something up for you,” she said, starting to scurry off the bed.
“I brought some supplies, but Jennifer said we’re free to use whatever is in the freezer. I figure we can go shopping before we leave and replace anything we use.” He started to follow her off the bed.
“Uh-uh,” she warned, giving him a hard glance from where she sat at the edge of the bed. “Stay put. I’ll go get it and bring it to you. I owe you, for doing all that driving.”
At first she thought he would argue, but then he settled back on the pillows, his exhaustion more apparent with every passing second. She felt his gaze on her back, and she rushed to the bathroom for her robe. She glanced back after she’d covered herself and was walking to the kitchen. He hadn’t moved, but she saw the glint in his amber eyes as he watched her from beneath heavy eyelids. He was still gloriously naked, a gape-worthy landscape of muscle and brawn and relaxed male virility. Her feet flagged as she experienced a strong urge to get back into bed with him and cuddle up to his hard, warm body.
“Hurry back,” he said gruffly.