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“You seem kind of distant,” he said, his gaze scanning her face. “I thought maybe you were mad about the note. I’m sorry—I really did think it was better to let you sleep. I wanted to wake you up. Trust me on that.”
She flushed in pleasure.
“Oh, no. I’m not upset by that at all.” When he just continued to study her somberly, Deidre felt she should explain. “I’m just a little...embarrassed.”
He quirked one eyebrow. Deidre became distracted by the sensation of him lightly circling her hips in his palms. “Why are you embarrassed?”
She ducked her head. “I don’t usually wear dresses like this, that’s all. I hadn’t realized when I borrowed it from Colleen it was quite so...”
“Sexy as hell?” Her gaze shot up to his. A small grin tugged at his mouth. “It only is because you’re in it.”
She gave a shaky smile.
“Deidre?”
“Yes?”
“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again ever since I shut your bedroom door this morning. I was sort of hoping for a little bit more of a warm welcome, after last night,” he murmured, pulling her closer.
“Were you?” she asked softly, her embarrassment fading to mist. Feeling Nick next to her made her forget almost everything. She went up on her toes, letting her body slide against his. His nostrils flared slightly as he stared down at her. His hold on her hips tightened and suddenly she was airborne. He sat her on the kitchen counter and swooped down to kiss her.
And what a kiss.
It was so hot, so demanding she felt a delicious sensation curl tight in the pit of her stomach and tickle the tips of her breasts. He brought her closer. She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with all the passion he’d awakened in her last night.
A minute later, he sealed their kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. Deidre panted softly, inhaling his aromatic aftershave.
“Was that more of what you had in mind for a welcome?” she asked.
“Yeah, but it might have been a little too good,” he mumbled as he plucked at her lips. “Do you want to skip dinner?”
She ran her fingers through the hair at his collar and slid her lips next to his sensually. “Okay. But you might never see me dressed up like this again.”
He paused in his kissing. “I can’t wait to get you out of the dress, to be honest. But maybe you’re right,” he said grimly before he lifted her and set her feet back on the ground. He kissed her once on the forehead and once on the lips. “Come on, let’s go. Before I change my mind.”
“Are you sure?” Deidre asked when he turned to get her coat.
“No. But what kind of a heel would I be if I took you straight to bed after all the trouble you took dressing for dinner?”
“I really don’t care,” Deidre admitted as he slid on her coat.
“I do,” he said simply before he opened the door for her and took her hand.
* * *
“How are we doing?” Nick asked her after the waiter had cleared the remains of their dinner and served them coffee. They sat in an intimate booth. The candle on the table flickered in the reflection from the windowpane next to them.
“How are we doing with what?” Deidre wondered.
“How are we doing with ignoring everything but each other’s company?”
She smiled as she poured a splash of cream into her coffee. “I’d say we’re doing fantastic. I’m having a wonderful time,” she said, meaning it. Nick was excellent company—smart without being overbearing, an encyclopedia of knowledge and experience, funny in a no-nonsense, dry sort of way, extremely handsome in his well-cut suit and tie. He’d listened intently while she’d described her meeting with her mother that morning. It surprised her a little that she ended up telling him much more about the emotional encounter than she had Colleen.
She studied him from beneath lowered lashes as she stirred her coffee. Could a woman sustain herself solely by eating up the vision of his rugged male glory? She mused. She was quite sure she wasn’t the first woman to wonder such a thing.
He did a double take when he noticed her grin.
“Why the smile?”
