I nodded my head, trying to ignore my throbbing body that wanted me to drop the towel and dive on him.
"Really?" he whispered huskily, a breath away from me.
"Uh, yeah, super tired…" I gulped, trying not focus on how close he was.
"Positive?" he asked again, leaning in and brushing his lips along my jaw line.
I shivered at his touch. His lips sent a ripple of awareness through me. My words were saying one thing, but my body was trying hard to divulge my secret.
"Well shit," he muttered, pulling back abruptly. Without another word, he disappeared in front of me.
Shocked by his sudden departure, I was ready to call his name when my bedroom door was abruptly thrown open. The suspect look on Mark's and Krista's faces was priceless.
"Gah, how 'bout a knock?" I said sarcastically as they stood in my doorway panting breathlessly. I made a point of clutching my towel tighter. "What's the deal?" I added as innocently as I could muster.
"Uh, nothing," Mark answered, looking suspiciously around my room. He looked at a mystified Krista who shook her head slightly.
"You were taking so long I thought maybe you were sick or something…" Krista answered lamely, still scanning my room as if she expected Emrys to pop out at any moment.
"The shower felt so good I had to force myself to get out," I answered truthfully. "But I would kind of like to get dressed now," I added, looking pointedly at my door.
"Right," Krista said, grabbing onto Mark's hand and dragging him out of my room. "We'll be in thekitchenif you need anything," she chirped, emphasizing their location.
"Thanks for the heads-up," I said as they reluctantly closed my bedroom door behind them.
"Frick," I mumbled, shaking my head as I hastily threw on some clothes in a rush. I kept the towel around me as I pulled on my yoga pants, not entirely convinced that Emrys wouldn't suddenly pop back into my room. Once I was dressed and could finally breathe easier, I walked to my patio doors and peered out into the darkness. As much as I didn't want to deal with "the no fun crew," I was disappointed that Emrys really was gone.
"Get a grip, Jordyn," I said to my empty room. One minute, I wanted nothing to do with the Soul Trader, and the next I'm ready to tear my towel off and jump his bones.
That was it. I was definitely disgusted with myself. I headed out of my room, closing the door firmly behind me.
Krista and Mark were talking in hushed tones when I entered the kitchen. Both of them looked at me critically when I walked in.
"Did you two take your weirdo pills tonight?" I asked, pretending that I didn't know I was the topic of their discussion. "Where did everyone go?" I added, opening one of the half-empty pizza boxes on the counter.
"They headed home after they ate. Everyone was pretty tired. Plus, Sam and Shawn wanted to straighten up their house before their caseworker shows up," Krista said, reminding me of the young charge that could be joining our ragtag group soon.
"Did they give them any indication when they could get him?" I asked, grabbing a can of Coke out of the refrigerator.
"No, these things can drag out," Krista answered.
"Well, hopefully they'll be experiencing the joys of parenthood like you two," I joked, sitting at the counter with my dinner.
"Oh, you are sooo right, princess," Mark said, patting my head before grabbing a slice of pizza from the box.
"Right. They could only wish the kid is half as sweet as me," I said, fluttering my eyelashes at him.
"If not, I'm sure you can teach him," Krista joked, putting an around my shoulders. "You still sore?"
"Nah, my shoulders are a little stiff, but it's all good."
"For such a tough chick, you sure have some spaghetti arms," Mark teased, squeezing my bicep.
"Please. Just because I don't have man arms doesn't mean I'm any less strong than you. Besides, my strength comes from here," I said, pointing to my head. "Not here," I said, giving his bicep a light punch.
"Oooh, smack talkin' me now. Come on, little girl." He countered my light punch with his own jab, which I deflected before it could touch me. He retaliated by sending another quick jab my way, aimed at my midsection. I danced back and countered by throwing a harder punch to his chin. He jerked back at the last moment so my fist just barely grazed him. He laughed and threw another punch my way. Ducking my head, I avoided the blow, while throwing my own, which landed with a resounding smack of flesh on flesh.
"Hey, not in the kitchen," Krista complained as Mark collided with the table while trying to step back. "If you guys want to spar, take it outside."