ENCORE PERFORMANCE (THE MATCHMAKER TRILOGY) by Bernadette Marie Page B

that just scared the hell out of you.”
“Maybe this was a mistake.”
“We’ve been at each other since the minute you
walked into this house.” She rolled up and found the boxers
and tank top she’d had on. “The sexual tension was there.”
“So that’s all this was? Sexual tension?” Now he
sounded annoyed and that had her stewing in confusion.
She yanked the tank top over her head. “What the hell
am I suppose to think? Did you or did you not want to sleep
with me?”
He clamped his jaw and looked away.
Carissa rose and slid into her boxers. She turned to
walk out but he grabbed her wrist.
“Carissa, don’t leave. Stay with me.” He rose up as she
turned to him. “Sleep in my arms. I was wrong. This wasn’t
a mistake.” He reached his other hand up her arm and
pulled her toward the bed. “I want to hold you. I want to
wake with you.”
Carissa sat on the edge of the bed. She looked into his
eyes in the moonlit room. They seemed lost. She put her
hand on his cheek and held it there. “What scared you?
That wasn’t the first time you’ve had that dream.”
He shook it away. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just
want to be with you right now. I want you in my arms.” He
ran his hands up her arms to her shoulders and pulled her
back down to the bed with him.
“I want to know you, Thomas.” She leaned in to kiss
him. “I want there to be more between us than just sexual
tension .”
His lips had lost the softness she’d felt as they’d
roamed over her. The sincerity in his eyes had gone dark
and she wondered if he’d ever open up and share his life
with her.
    The sun was peeking through the curtains. He breathed
in her silence as she slept in his arms. He’d made sure they
were around her all night long. He didn’t want her to
escape him. Never had he wanted to hold so tightly to
anyone.
She stirred and opened her eyes.
    “Good morning.” Her lips curled into a sleepy,
seductive smile.
“Good morning.” He brushed her mouth with a gentle
kiss. “I didn’t think it was possible for you to be more
beautiful than you usually are. I was wrong.”
“Thank you.” She shifted to get out of bed but he held
her in place.
“Not yet. I want to look at you some more.”
“We need to get to the school and clean up before the
electrical contractor shows up tomorrow. I also have
students and so do you.”
He lifted his head and looked at her with a cocked
brow. “I have students?”
“One.” She nipped at his lip. “Let’s take a shower.”
Carissa stood and walked toward the bathroom. He
propped up on his elbow watched her walk away. The very
fine tone of her body was only more beautiful now that he
had touched and tasted every inch of it. Her sleep-tangled
hair swayed down her sculpted back, accentuating the
perfect roundness of her bottom, which was barely covered
by the boxers she wore. When she turned her head back to
him he smiled.
Her eyes became playful as she pulled the tank top
over her head and arms and let it drop to the floor.
He sat up. When she crooked her finger to say come he
flew from the bed and gathered her in his arms. Her laugher
filled his ears and his heart. Even as he swept her from her
feet, reached into the shower to start the water, and felt her
lips on his skin, he knew he’d have to give a little of
himself to her to keep her. That’s what he wanted. He
wanted to keep her. He just wasn’t sure he could.
As a man, he could hold his own against other men. As
a musician, there wasn’t an instrument or piece of music he
couldn’t master. As a lover, however, he lacked the
knowledge of how to care for and love a woman the way he
felt Carissa should be cared and loved.
    It amazed Thomas that Carissa could dress and have
coffee brewed before he was dressed and ready. Her hair
was still wet and her clothing was casual. He assumed
she’d change before her first student once they returned
from the school.
    She was staring out the window into the