When she was dressed, she tentatively started down the stairs. Cal was moving around in the kitchen, she could hear him.
Oh God, what was she going to say?
She didn’t know. But she wasn’t going to hide upstairs all afternoon, either, so she kept going.
When she got to the bottom and saw him, rummaging in the refrigerator for something, she was struck by a bolt of desire so strong it startled her.
What on Earth was this? She was still—she blushed again—still a bit sore between her legs after what they’d done earlier. How could she want to climb him like a tree again?
He straightened, closing the fridge, and smiled at her. “Hi. Sleep well?”
Lillian nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
Cal studied her, his smile slowly fading. “Are you all right?”
Lillian was decidedly not all right. In fact, she was torn—on the one hand, still shamefully disbelieving at what she’d done earlier, and on the other hand, wanting to do it again right now.
And the latter half was slowly overwhelming the former. Lillian made a quick decision.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and felt a pang in her chest as his smile faded away entirely. She didn’t want to make him look like that—but this was important. “I think I need to go somewhere else for a bit.”
Cal stepped forward immediately. “It’s not safe,” he said. “If you’re regretting what we did, I promise it won’t happen again. You can go into the guest room and close the door; I swear to you I won’t even knock unless it’s an emergency. You don’t need to worry about me, Lillian.”
“I’m not worried about you,” Lillian said to him, which was at least true in the context she meant. She knew Cal was a good, honorable man, and would never do anything she didn’t want.
The problem was, she did want it. And what did that say about her? What did Cal think of her now?
She could ask him, but she was sure he would say something kind. And what she really needed was the chance to get away and sit somewhere by herself and work out what it meant that she’d done something like this.
“I just need to get away,” she said. “I’ll go to my sister’s for a little while. That’s safe enough, right?”
Guiltily, she remembered that she hadn’t wanted to bring Teri into this whole conflict in the first place. But she couldn’t stay here. Not with Cal right there, looking all...handsome and kind and thoughtful.
She couldn’t stand all of that right now. She just couldn’t.
Cal hesitated. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. But your safety—”
“I’ll call Teri and tell her I’m coming,” Lillian interrupted. “You can watch me get into my car. I’ll drive straight there, and if I see any mountain lions, I’ll just hit the gas. Teri can call you when I get there to tell you I’m safe. Does that sound like a workable plan?”
Cal was quiet for a long minute. “I don’t like it,” he said finally.
“How likely do you think it is that I’ll be ambushed in a moving vehicle?” Lillian pointed out. “I’ll drive fast.”
Cal sighed. “Well, I’m not going to tell you that you can’t do it. Teri should be off work soon.”
“I’ll call her now.
”
Lillian found her purse on the couch, pulled out her cell phone, and dialed Teri, briefly said she’d been at Cal’s place but would be coming back to Teri’s very soon. Teri assured her that she was leaving work now and would be home before Lillian would, and that Zach would be there an hour or so after she would.
Lillian hung up and met Cal’s eyes. “All right? I’ll be safe.”
“All right,” Cal said reluctantly. “Listen, Lillian—if I’ve done something you didn’t like, please tell me. If I’ve made you uncomfortable in any way...”
Lillian shook her head immediately. “It’s not you.”
“I’d rather you didn’t leave,” he said simply.