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“You’re welcome.”
“And for…” He shook his head, his mouth doing that half-smile again that had her insides heating. “Forget it; I’m not thanking you for that.”
“There’s no need. It was my pleasure.”
His gaze drifted to her lips and she felt the energy and awareness pulse between them.
“Cool,” he said again. “I’ll see you in the morning. If I wake up before noon.”
“Sleep as
long as you like. I’ll probably head to the mall. I need some new clothes for the duration.” She lifted her arms. “I can’t spend the whole weekend in your T-shirts.”
“I guess not,” he said, but she detected the definite hint of regret.
As he closed the bedroom door, it occurred to her he’d lied.
He was very much a gentleman.
Gallant enough to make her almost wish she could be a damsel in distress. Instead of the Evil Queen, who was already contemplating how much fun she could have tarnishing Ty Sullivan’s armor.
Because, frankly, what else were Labor Day weekends for? But to unwind and de-stress… And get as much hot sex as you could. When no strings need be attached?
Chapter Six
‡
Ty emerged from the bedroom at a quarter after noon, to the sight of his new houseguest happily laying out sandwich fillings on the kitchen counter, her hips bumping and grinding in time to the low hum of an old soul classic on the radio.
He scrubbed his hands through his hair and over the rough scrape of the scruff on his chin. He felt like a bear just out of hibernation. And probably looked worse.
She must have gotten to the mall and back while he’d been comatose.
In a pair of Converse pumps, sunshine yellow three-quarter length pants and a bright blue T, she looked young, fresh, and cute. Add to that the sassy cap of hair and her clear skin devoid of makeup and she was rocking “sexy tomboy” this morning. The woman, he was beginning to realize, was something of a chameleon with a look to suit every occasion. On the last day of summer, young and super cute worked.
The dull ache in his crotch, which had accompanied a stream of erotic dreams during the night, agreed.
The aroma of fresh coffee had his stomach rumbling. He needed his first slug of the day, like now. He leaned past her to lift the coffee pot off the hot plate and her head jerked up.
Turning down the radio, she smiled. “Hi, I hope I didn’t wake you?”
“You didn’t.” He got a whiff of her scent—sultry sin overlaid with summer flowers. “I needed to get my ass out of bed before I became part of the damn thing.” He poured himself a mug, took a long gulp of the hot liquid, and sighed. “That’s an awesome cup of coffee.”
“Thank you. I consider coffee making an essential and much maligned art. I got them to grind the beans fresh at the gourmet market.” Wiping her hands on a dishtowel, which looked new, she surveyed the sandwich makings. “I’m afraid you missed breakfast, but I was just going to make a picnic and head to Manhattan Beach.”
“Returning to the scene of the crime, huh?”
“Something like that.” The smile tipped up. “But I’d be more than happy to make you a sandwich before I go. If you tell me what you’d like?” She swept her hand over the array of fillings she had out on the counter—ham, bologna, Monterey Jack, tuna, mayo—she seemed to have covered all the bases and then some.
“You planning on eating all that?” he asked. “I thought models had to starve themselves?” Although her thin frame managed to look slender not scrawny, he knew for a fact he could span that tiny waist with one hand.
“I like food and I like variety. And starving yourself is so passé. Which is one of the reasons why I jacked in my modeling job.”
He straightened from the counter. “Since when?”
“Since Thursday night just before I skipped out on the Foundation’s charity do. Hence my celebratory swim on Manhattan Beach. Which I now plan to repeat in broad daylight and hopefully without the ‘disorderly conduct’ bit.”
So that explained the hair then. He wanted to question her some more. But she had a challenging look on her face, as if daring him to try. He guessed it wasn’t any of his business. But he was still super curious. Why would anyone jack in a multi-million dollar job, which only required them to stand around and look good? Not something that took a great deal of effort for her, he’d guess. Up close her skin was almost translucent, those dark, blue eyes wide and slanted at the edges giving her an exotic, unusual beauty. In person, she was even more stunning than in her billboard ads.
