Ricki held up her hand, but she didn’t turn around. “Whatever you two decide. Just let me know what I owe you.” Ricki bounded up the first few steps.
“Good night,” Abby called.
Ricki paused and glanced over her shoulder. She smiled. “Good night.”
“Night,” Blythe muttered, but Ricki had disappeared up the stairs.
Abby’s fingers continued to tickle Blythe’s skin, and her thumb ran under the hem of Blythe’s shorts.
“How about we call it a night, too?” Abby said. There was no mistaking the huskiness in her voice.
This was surreal. When did the librarian turn into a tiger? Okay, tiger might be pushing it, but still Blythe was unprepared for this more aggressive version of Abby.
“Uh, sure.” Blythe looked down at the unfinished plate of pizza on Abby’s lap. “But did you want dessert first?”
Abby’s eyes danced, and she licked her lips. “I’m okay. I don’t need any dessert from the kitchen.”
Blythe picked up on Abby’s meaning, but she wasn’t ready to deal with it, so she grabbed the plate from Abby, being careful not to brush her hand across Abby’s lap. She leaped to her feet, not thinking about where Abby’s hand was.
“Ouch,” Abby said when her thumb caught in Blythe’s shorts.
“Oh, Jesus, sorry.” Blythe extracted Abby’s thumb, which was trapped between Blythe’s leg and her shorts. “Are you okay?”
Abby shook out her hand. “Yeah. I wasn’t expecting you to get up so quickly.” Abby grinned. “Does that mean you’re ready for bed?”
Shit.Blythe was showing herself to be a bumbling fool. Thank god Dapper didn’t see how undapper Blythe was.
“Why don’t I take this to the kitchen?” Blythe held up the plate. “And I’d like to jump in the shower.”
“Me too.” Abby bit her bottom lip.
Fuck.That was sexy. Did Abby understand that a woman chewing on her bottom lip was an aphrodisiac to Blythe? “Uh, why don’t you take yours first?”
“Dumbass,” Abby said to herself and flipped off the covers.
Once Blythe had gone to shower, Abby had put on her negligee and then crawled into bed. It would defeat the purpose if Blythe entered the room, and Abby had the blankets pulled up under her chin.
Abby smoothed out the lumpy covers on Blythe’s side of the bed, but it still looked messy. Perhaps she should lie on top. She rolled out of bed and straightened the sheets before she lay back down.
Her heart raced as she waited for Blythe. If she was on top of the covers, there would be nowhere to hide. Why would she need to? If she got cold or felt exposed, it’d be difficult to cover herself this way.
Damn it.She rose, folded the covers back, and arranged them at the foot of the bed. Now if she needed to, she could pull them up.Perfect.
She smoothed the blankets again, preparing to lie down, when a sound behind her startled her.
She turned, and her eyes widened. Blythe stood just inside the door. Her hair was still wet from the shower, and her face was red. Was it from the shower or what she’d walked in on?
“Wow!” Blythe said. “You’ve never worn that.”
“Do you like it?” Abby turned sideways and put her hands together at her waist. Could she be more of a cliché? This wasn’t the eighteenth century, but her pose was indicative of a coy damsel. With more confidence than she felt, she turned to face Blythe.
“Uh, yeah. I like it.” Blythe’s eyes widened as her gaze traveled the length of Abby’s body. She took a step forward but stopped. “Is this why you were so…um…insistent on coming to bed early?”
Blythe’s outright question took Abby by surprise, but she recovered and nodded. “We’ve been so busy when I visit, we haven’t taken time to…uh…enjoy each other.”Shit.That came out wrong. “I mean, don’t misunderstand. I’ve enjoyed everything we’ve done. It’s just we’re so tired…”
Abby wasn’t good at being the aggressor. Blythe needed to take over before Abby destroyed the effect of her sexy outfit. Bumbling wasn’t a good look.
Blythe’s eyes twinkled, and she gave Abby a crooked smile. With a swagger, Blythe closed the distance between them.
