“What? No,” I hurry to answer. “I dress people for the fancy dinners. I don’t go to them.”
“You went to the Inaugural Ball,” Rick adds unhelpfully.
“And how did that end?” I snap.
“You angry fucked me in your hotel room.” Rick laughs.
“And that’s my cue to go,” Wes says. “I head home in a couple of days, so let me know if you need anything.”
“Don’t be a stranger,” Rick tells him.
“Thanks, man.” Wes turns to look at me. “Oh and Cara?”
“Yeah?” I answer.
“I’ve changed my mind about you.”
“Thanks,” I say softly. “I’ve changed my mind about me too.”
“Good,” he replies before seeing himself out.
“What was that all about?” Rick asks me.
“What? Oh nothing,” I answer. “Besides, you already heard it all while you were eavesdropping at the door.”
“That’s true,” he says with a smile, making me laugh and swat his arm at the same time. “Ready for bed?”
“Yeah.”
Rick takes my hand in his and leads me upstairs to the master bedroom. He draws his gun from behind his back and places it on the nightstand. He’s so at ease with it that I had honestly forgotten he was carrying it until now. I watch as he strips off his jeans and T-shirt before tossing them in the hamper, and then I turn and head for the bathroom.
I start pulling open drawers until I find a spare toothbrush. I open the package and brush the pizza off my teeth. I use his man soap to wash my makeup off and use his comb to pull the snarls out of my hair.
Rick saunters into the bathroom before selecting his own toothbrush from the cup on the counter and brushing his teeth. The close quarters and intimacy of the moment coupled with Wes’s revelations has me on edge, so I quickly leave the room and head back to the bedroom. I turn off the lights, pull back the light gray covers, and climb in.
I quickly roll to my side and close my eyes, pretending to be asleep when I see the bathroom light click off just before Rick emerges from the bathroom. I am the coward Wes accused me of being.
I feel the bed dip behind me, and as Rick curls his body into mine, his front presses against my back. He buries his face in my hair and stays there for a long moment. I hold my breath and wonder if he’s planning to sleep in the rabbit warren that is my long, dark hair.
And then his hand skates up underneath the large T-shirt that covers my body—his T-shirt. Rick’s large palm covers my breast, his calloused thumb making slow, lazy circles around the hard tip. I feel his erection grow and pulse against my backside as he continues to caress me.
Rick slides his other hand under me on the bed and then around to the front of my body. He pauses, placing an open-mouth kiss to the crook of my neck before trailing his mouth up, up, up to touch the shell of my ear with the tip of his tongue, making me gasp.
And then his hand at my side dips into the front of my borrowed sweatpants and down farther, underneath my panties. He’s mere seconds away from finding out I am not asleep and that I want him with every fiber of my being. He flicks the tip of his finger back and forth against my clit. Rick growls low in the back of his throat when he feels how wet I am for him.
He tucks his face in the side of my neck, right next to my ear, as he works my clit over.
And then he lets me know I’m not fooling anyone, but I’m too far gone in my need for him to care.
“Baby,” he whispers, his voice harsh against my ears with his own need for me. “I need you.”
“Yes,” I moan.
“I need you to let me love you,” he says as he rolls me to my back. “I need you to let me into your light.”
“Yes,” I pant as moisture pools between my legs.
“Let me make love to you,” he pleads, and I reach for him. I couldn’t stop myself even if I wanted to, which I do not.
