Page 19 of Desire Him

Eme squeezes her tightly and lets her go. “See you tomorrow?”

Val nods and watches her go up the stairs until all that’s left are the movie credits and Wayne, who stares at her openly now. “Well,” she says, slapping her knee sloppily and setting the empty cup down on the coffee table. She’ll leave it there for tomorrow when she cleans up.

She stands up and turns to walk toward the door, but she wobbles between the couch and the coffee table. A hand braces her around her waist. A stomach presses against her back, and she looks up into Wayne’s eyes. They study each other for a moment, and Val wonders what’s passing between them. She’s too drunk to decipher.

“Let me walk you home,” Wayne eventually says.

She moves out of his grip and slowly heads to the front door. She grabs her coat off the hook and tries her damnedest to not look like she’s struggling while she slips her arms through the armholes. “I can get home on my own.”

He steps closer to her once more, his hands hovering around her waist as if she might tip over again. He’s so close that she can smell his unique scent, which has goosebumps rising over her flesh, and she begins to think wicked, wicked things. Her clit throbs in response.

“Let me rephrase that,” he rumbles. “I’m walking you home.” His jaw is set, and she knows he won’t budge on this. Damn him for being sexy while he does it, too.

“Fine, but no more touching me. If I fall, let me fall.”

“Why not?” Did she sense a husky tone? No, she’s drunk and imagining things.

She steps away from Wayne and turns toward the door. “Because it confuses me when you touch me,” she admits.

“Okay,” he eventually says. “I promise I won’t touch you.”

She curtly nods, clutches the door handle, swings it open, and steps out into the night. She leaves it for Wayne to close as she heads off the deck and past the parked cars. He catches up to her easily, and the silence stretches between them until he breaks it. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“When you told me you loved me. Or was that just a heat of the moment kind of thing?”

He’s walking beside her now, she glances up at him once. Not for long, though, because she’s concentrating on walking a straight line. “Yes, I meant it.”

Three heartbeats pass where he says nothing. “Do you still mean it?” he whispers.

Maybe it’s because she’s drunk and feeling brave, or maybe because she enjoys her own punishment, but she responds with, “Yes, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Why doesn’t it matter?”

They arrive at her house, and she makes her way to the door before she turns and answers him. “Because you don’t even find me attractive.”

His face hardens, his jaw flexes, and his eyes smolder. It curls her toes. “Is that what you think?”

She juts her chin. What the hell does he think she thinks? “That’s what I know.”

He steps toward her, and she sucks in a breath as he says, “You’re wrong.”

Wayne can’t believe what she’s saying. How could she not notice that he’d been staring at her all night? He’s never not found her attractive, but tonight, he’s seen her differently. The entire time at the meeting, all he could think about was her. He had wondered what their sex was like. He had wondered what she tasted like. He had wondered if she moaned or whimpered. It took everything he had to fight an erection, thinking about it.

And now, as he stands before her, he can’t believe his own ears. She’s been oblivious the entire night.

“I’m not wrong,” she counters. He can tell by the way she’s standing that she’s trying to be brave, but her bottom lip wobbles a little bit.

He steps closer so that they’re chest to chest. She peers up at him with determination in her eyes. “You may be a smart woman, but you don’t notice anything.”

“Like what? What am I supposed to notice, Wayne?”

“How I’ve been staring at your ass all night while you made supper. How I’ve been watching you tonight. How, even when I should have left, I couldn’t.”

Her lips part slightly. “That’s only because you’re a nice guy.”

He shakes his head. “I may be a nice guy, but I wanted to be the one who saw you home. Do you know why that is, sweetheart?” She frowns, and that’s the only answer he needs. “Because I am attracted to you. I wanted you to be the last thing I see tonight so I might be able to dream and pretend that I remembered the sex.”