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Here at her condo? It was just the two of them. She was a constant, alluring presence twenty-four hours a day. She wore jeans and baggy shirts, but he knew exactly what was beneath those ordinary clothes. Her scent trailed after her as she moved through the rooms. Even at night, the tiny sounds she made while she slept tortured him. Kept him awake, aching and hard.
When he sat on the couch beside her, his fingers itched to touch her. To caress her skin. He ached for the chance to kiss her. To taste every bit of her. To inhale the scent that was uniquely Zoe. To hold it in his mouth. Roll it over his tongue.
He wanted to savor her. No, he needed to savor her.
And he couldn’t touch her.
As if completely unaware of his desperation, Zoe drew in a deep breath. Blew it out. “It’s good to know I can help with the information you need. I’ve been at that conference center several times. I know how they set things up.”
“Good,” he said, trying to ignore the scents rolling off her skin. The heat washing over him. “That’ll help.”
He flopped back onto the couch cushion. “Truth? This waiting is driving me crazy. Not knowing what Davies has planned. Trying to find all the cracks in our defenses and fixing them. Planning out ten different scenarios for the conference.” He stood up, needing to move. Hoping it would jolt his brain back into work mode and out of ‘yearn for Zoe’ mode.
“Sometimes changing my work area jolts something in my brain. I’ll work in my bedroom for a while.” He glanced at her. Looked away quickly when he saw the same yearning in her expression that was a vise around his chest.
“Yell if anything seems off or wrong in any way. I’ll be there immediately.”
He hurried into his bedroom, leaving the door open. He could hear her moving around in the living room, but he couldn’t see her. Her scent would dissipate before it reached him. And he wouldn’t be tempted to bury his hands in all that wavy red hair and put his mouth on hers.
He emerged from his room two hours later. He’d managed to get a few more scenarios worked through, with Davies’ possible actions paired with counter-actions. But the truth was, Davies would very likely try something neither of them had thought of.
Zoe was sitting on the couch, her legs curled beneath her, reading her Kindle. He studied her for a moment, knowing she was so wrapped up in her book that she hadn’t heard him.
But some sense had told her he was close, because she looked up at him. Locked her gaze with his as she closed the ebook reader. Desire crashed over him like a tidal wave, carrying him to places he didn’t want to go. Places where he and Zoe were free to do all the things they both wanted to do.
She studied him, her cheeks pink, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. Was on board with it because she was thinking the same things herself.
After a too-long moment when they stared at each other, their pupils dilated and their cheeks flushed, she looked away first. “You ready for dinner?” she asked, her voice too bright. As she watched him, she licked her lips. He had vivid memories of the sweet, slightly salty taste of her mouth, and he wanted to taste it again. But he didn’t move.
“Dinner sounds good,” he said. “What do you want?”
“I’ve been choosing every night,” she said. “Your turn to pick.”
He lifted one shoulder. “That Mexican food we had several nights ago was good. Let’s order from them.”
“Good call,” she said, bouncing off the couch. “Let me get their menu.”
Tension continued to pulse between them as they waited for their dinner. When it arrived, they ate mostly in silence. But when Spence looked up, he caught her watching him. And she’d caught him watching her, as well.
Finally, as he gathered up the containers and silverware, separated into recycling and trash and dishwasher, she swiveled in her chair to watch him. After he finished disposing of everything, he said, “I have an idea.”
“What’s that?”
“I think we should go to bed early.”
He saw wild hope in her expression. “I like that plan,” she said, closing her Kindle.
He looked away. “So we can get up early tomorrow.”
She went still, all expression erased from her face. “That’s one way of handling this,” she finally said.
Her words were prickly, and he realized she was just as frustrated, just as tormented by sitting in this damn room together as he was.
“It is, because I can’t deal with this,” he said. “I can’t be around you.”
* * *
Zoe sucked in a breath. Let it out slowly. Spence’s retort had been as sharp and unexpected as a slap in the face. But he was right. She was having a hard time being around Spence. She wanted him too much, and she knew how good it had been between them.
