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He hated to leave her but withdrew from her body and turned her in his arms, needing to look into her eyes when he said it. “I more than like you.”
She blinked. “Thanks?”
If she hadn’t been so leery, he might have laughed. But she hadn’t said she liked him back, and she hadn’t jumped for joy that he cared for her, so he decided to keep the fact that they’d mated a secret.
“I just wanted you to know that this doesn’t feel casual to me. And I like it. I like you. A lot.” He kissed her.
She melted under his mouth, and he didn’t need words to tell him she felt something more than a casual interest in him. Laura liked him as more than a friend. He knew it.
They spent the next hour in bed, showing each other how much they liked their company. And for now, that was enough.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Laura was on edge all day Tuesday. She’d gone home to sleep last night, undone by Gerald’s courtesies and compliments. He looked at her with those gooey eyes that turned her inside out and had her falling even further in love with him. That sly fox.
She couldn’t stop herself from dropping her panties at the slightest hint either. She’d never had so many orgasms from a man in her life. He didn’t seem to want mindless pleasure if she wasn’t getting hers too.
An unselfish lover. Imagine that.
How had she known Gerald Winter for so many years yet never understood the man? He didn’t curse unless he was in the throes of some heavy sex. He acted as if he didn’t mind losing but still annihilated her at many of the board games they’d played, too smart for his own good. And he smirked when he won, which both annoyed and amused her in equal parts.
He was so handsome, so strong. She loved knowing he wasn’t threatened by her own strength, though part of her still wondered if in time he’d grow to resent her.
In time? What in time? They were just pretending for the holidays.
Yet their brief “fake” dating was better than any real relationship she’d ever had.
She sighed as she left her SUV in the driveway, taking a brief break to grab more clothes before heading over to Gerald’s. And there, on her step, sat another present. Her secret admirer hadn’t missed a day. She’d received movie tickets on Saturday, a silver bear locket Sunday, and yesterday, and a tiny gingerbread house.
She had a feeling Gerald was behind all the gifts, though he continued to play innocent.
Taking the present in the house, she opened it to find a handwritten note inside a small frame.
I love your lips when they’re wet with wine
And red with a wild desire;
I love your eyes when the lovelight lies
Lit with a passionate fire.
I love your arms when the warm white flesh
Touches mine in a fond embrace;
I love your hair when the strands enmesh
Your kisses against my face.
from I Love You by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
She stared. She’d never had anyone quote poetry to her before, and the words made her head light, her heart race. They were only words, but the meaning felt real, directed to her.
It had to be Gerald sending her these presents, didn’t it? Who else could it be? And if it wasn’t Gerald, then she felt a little creeped out by all the personalized gifts.
She hurried to grab her clothes and the frame and left for his house. But just as she got in her vehicle, she received an alert from dispatch.
She picked up her radio. “Go ahead, Jen. Say again, over?”
