other coming to rest on her hip.
And then they froze that way. Partly because they were finding their balance, checking their footing. And partly because . . . aw God, she felt good. Warm. Soft. She smelled like . . . a sugar donut, he thought. Sweet and tasty. She must have had something sweet for breakfast.
Of course, he still had a hard-on. And it currently pressed into the center of her ass.
“Are you okay?” he asked behind her.
Her voice came out breathy. “Yeah.”
And that made his arousal a little worse. Or better, depending upon how you looked at it.
But at the moment, it was worse. Because they definitely had their balance now, and he’d ensured she was all right, and he still just stood there with his arm tucked up under her chest, his hand curving firmly at her hip. He felt weirdly stuck in place—just . . . plain not ready to let her go. Every fiber in his body urged him to turn her around and push her back onto the leather couch—although it was covered with plastic right now. So maybe the floor. Yeah, the floor would work just fine. He found himself squeezing her hip lightly in his grasp and then—
He stopped. Because—shit—he had to.
He let go of her and backed away. Then let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
When Tessa turned to look at him, their eyes met and neither of them spoke. And—aw, hell. He knew with certainty. She felt all the same things he did. She just didn’t understand why it would be such a bad idea to fool around with him, why he’d had to let her go.
She bit her lip and then spewed out a few fluttery words, probably to fill the thickened air between them. “Good thing you were there.”
He managed a nod. “Yeah. Good timing. I was . . . just looking in to see how things were going.” He wanted to tell her the truth—that he’d been standing there watching her, wanting her. But again, he couldn’t. The lie protected them both.
“Things are going well,” she assured him. “If I could stay on the ladder, that is.”
He just gave another short nod. It was about all he could manage with his cock threatening to burst through his zipper right now. “Okay, good. I should get back to work.” He pointed vaguely over his shoulder. “Let me know if you, uh, need me for anything.”
And then he walked away. Sort of praying as he did that she would call him back and say something completely naughty, like that she needed him between her legs.
But when she didn’t, he reminded himself yet one more time that it was best that way. Best, best, best. Get that through your thick head once and for all.
O h boy. Oh God. He’d been hard. She’d felt it.
That’s all Tessa could think about even half an hour later. And she’d long since abandoned painting the wall’s edges, instead focusing on the middle portions, because her hand was shaky now when she tried to paint a straight line.
Okay, so this pretty much clenched it. Falling into his arms to discover he had an erection shored up that her desires here were not one-sided. He was attracted to her. And telling him about her health hadn’t ruined it! That revelation was nearly as stunning as the first.
She pulled in her breath remembering how incredibly good it had felt to be held by him for that strange, long, still moment. Every part of her body had pulsed. And she’d smelled him again—all musky and manly; the scent had practically intoxicated her. Those few seconds in time had excited her more than anything had in, literally, years.
And then her heart started beating harder, faster. She even had to stop painting, lest she mess up. I want him. I really want him.
And the want was no longer a distant thing, a secret yearning she planned to keep only to herself, never to act upon. That was why her heart beat so hard. Everything had just changed. She wanted something with him. For real. Sex. Not just in her head. She wanted their bodies intertwined. She wanted him inside her.
Up until
And then they froze that way. Partly because they were finding their balance, checking their footing. And partly because . . . aw God, she felt good. Warm. Soft. She smelled like . . . a sugar donut, he thought. Sweet and tasty. She must have had something sweet for breakfast.
Of course, he still had a hard-on. And it currently pressed into the center of her ass.
“Are you okay?” he asked behind her.
Her voice came out breathy. “Yeah.”
And that made his arousal a little worse. Or better, depending upon how you looked at it.
But at the moment, it was worse. Because they definitely had their balance now, and he’d ensured she was all right, and he still just stood there with his arm tucked up under her chest, his hand curving firmly at her hip. He felt weirdly stuck in place—just . . . plain not ready to let her go. Every fiber in his body urged him to turn her around and push her back onto the leather couch—although it was covered with plastic right now. So maybe the floor. Yeah, the floor would work just fine. He found himself squeezing her hip lightly in his grasp and then—
He stopped. Because—shit—he had to.
He let go of her and backed away. Then let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
When Tessa turned to look at him, their eyes met and neither of them spoke. And—aw, hell. He knew with certainty. She felt all the same things he did. She just didn’t understand why it would be such a bad idea to fool around with him, why he’d had to let her go.
She bit her lip and then spewed out a few fluttery words, probably to fill the thickened air between them. “Good thing you were there.”
He managed a nod. “Yeah. Good timing. I was . . . just looking in to see how things were going.” He wanted to tell her the truth—that he’d been standing there watching her, wanting her. But again, he couldn’t. The lie protected them both.
“Things are going well,” she assured him. “If I could stay on the ladder, that is.”
He just gave another short nod. It was about all he could manage with his cock threatening to burst through his zipper right now. “Okay, good. I should get back to work.” He pointed vaguely over his shoulder. “Let me know if you, uh, need me for anything.”
And then he walked away. Sort of praying as he did that she would call him back and say something completely naughty, like that she needed him between her legs.
But when she didn’t, he reminded himself yet one more time that it was best that way. Best, best, best. Get that through your thick head once and for all.
O h boy. Oh God. He’d been hard. She’d felt it.
That’s all Tessa could think about even half an hour later. And she’d long since abandoned painting the wall’s edges, instead focusing on the middle portions, because her hand was shaky now when she tried to paint a straight line.
Okay, so this pretty much clenched it. Falling into his arms to discover he had an erection shored up that her desires here were not one-sided. He was attracted to her. And telling him about her health hadn’t ruined it! That revelation was nearly as stunning as the first.
She pulled in her breath remembering how incredibly good it had felt to be held by him for that strange, long, still moment. Every part of her body had pulsed. And she’d smelled him again—all musky and manly; the scent had practically intoxicated her. Those few seconds in time had excited her more than anything had in, literally, years.
And then her heart started beating harder, faster. She even had to stop painting, lest she mess up. I want him. I really want him.
And the want was no longer a distant thing, a secret yearning she planned to keep only to herself, never to act upon. That was why her heart beat so hard. Everything had just changed. She wanted something with him. For real. Sex. Not just in her head. She wanted their bodies intertwined. She wanted him inside her.
Up until
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