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Tossing his jacket aside, he went into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face—something to cool himself down, since he’d gotten the unvoiced message that she didn’t want to be jumped on right this minute. When he came out of the bathroom, he heard a popping sound and smelled an unmistakable scent wafting from the kitchen, and his impressions were confirmed.
Viv made it even more obvious when she walked into the room, carrying the large, steaming bowl of popcorn. She’d changed out of her work clothes and was now wearing a baggy pair of sweatpants and a long T-shirt. She had pulled her hair from its secure bun, leaving it to hang in a long ponytail down her back. While any other woman might merely have looked cute, Viv couldn’t help but be as sexy as hell no matter what she wore. The sweatpants clung to that pert butt, and the long hair bounced with each move.
Down, boy, he reminded himself. He only hoped she would be in the mood later, because, just eyeing her had him ready to cover her with that popcorn and eat it off her.
“Do you like popcorn?”
“I could be persuaded to sample some,” he murmured.
“Cool,” she said, popping a handful into her mouth. As she munched, she said, “I thought we’d have a movie night.”
He lifted a brow. “Movie, huh? Please say it’s going to be a winner like the one we watched on Tuesday. I just can’t get enough of cancer-stricken women married to scumbags.”
Viv threw a piece of popcorn at his chest, and then sat down beside him on the couch. “I have a lot of DVDs. You pick.”
“Then I’ll pick something we can watch in bed,” he said, leaning over to nibble her ear. Having witnessed what the woman could do for a pair of sweatpants, he couldn’t not try. Hell, the very fact that he was a man made it impossible. “Have anything X-rated in that collection of yours?”
She quirked a half smile. “Maybe. But not tonight.”
“Okay. We don’t have to watch a movie, I’m happy to just lie in your bed and eat...popcorn.”
Sighing heavily, she shook her head. “No can do.”
“You have a rule against eating in bed? You haven’t mentioned that one before.”
“It’s a new rule. Starting now,” she admitted, not sounding happy about it.
“Why?”
“I’m not feeling so well.”
He reached up and put a hand on her forehead. “No temperature. Should I go get the CAT scan machine?”
“It’s not that kind of unwell.”
Beginning to worry, he asked, “You’re serious?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s wrong? Was it something you ate at dinner?”
She shot him a glare. “No. I’m just...not doing great. It’s no big deal.”
“Viv, if you’re sick, we should get you to the doctor.”
Sinking into the far corner of the couch, she tossed a pillow at his head. “God, you’re clueless. My brothers would have recognized where this was going the minute I came out here with the popcorn.”
He still didn’t understand what she was driving at.
“I thought you had sisters,” she said.
“I do.”
“Did none of them ever occasionally get cranky, wear baggy clothes and eat junk food? At certain times of the month?”
It sank in at last. Regretting his own stupidity, he mumbled, “Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.” She wrapped her arms around herself, her spine stiffening. “So, as you can imagine, the playground is closed for a few nights. Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay.” Moving closer on the couch, he put an arm around her and tugged her close. “Need a foot rub or anything?”
She gaped at him. “Seriously?”
Her astonishment amused him. Had she expected him to whine, to throw a fit because biology said he couldn’t have what he wanted for a change? Not that he wouldn’t mind telling biology to go screw itself, but Viv didn’t seem comfortable with the idea, at least not on day one. “Seriously.”
“I—I waas afraid...”
“That I’d be an asshole about it?”
“Well, no, not that. Just figured maybe you’d be asking for some alternate compensation.”
“Tit for tat? Jeez, you think I can’t go a night without sex? That I’d demand a blow job or something?”
“Well, we’ve established that we’re both pretty adept at the or something.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, you know, some guys might ask for the buttsecks.”
He inhaled a piece of popcorn and promptly choked on it. Leaning forward to cough into his fist, he nodded his thanks as she pounded on his back. When he’d gotten himself under control, he looked up to see the mischief in those beautiful blue eyes.
