Maybe she could have a fling with him. She could enjoy his body and his mind and when they ran out of steam, which they would, she’d revert back to being friends and co-parents because she’d been sensible and kept her heart out of their interactions.
She could do that, she decided. Connor told her she could do anything she wanted to...
Okay, maybe he hadn’t been thinking of her in terms of her having a no strings fling when he imparted those words of wisdom. But she was a smart, modern woman and like millions of smart, modern women she knew that the act of sex was not a declaration of love, commitment or anything other than the giving and receiving of pleasure.
She could keep her heart out of the equation and stay emotionally protected.
Couldn’t she?
Nine
Tyce looked around as Sage finally made an appearance the next morning. She looked better than she had last night, but her walk down the cast-iron staircase suggested that she was still feeling a little stiff. Standing at her sloping windows, he watched her as she headed straight for the coffee machine, her eyes foggy from sleep. They’d only been together a few weeks so long ago but some things hadn’t changed: the great sex, obviously, the fact that she squeezed toothpaste from the middle of the tube and that her brain didn’t start to work properly until after nine and three cups of coffee, now decaffeinated because of the baby.
Tyce looked at his watch. It was bang on nine and he’d been up since five, had gone to his warehouse to pick up clothes and returned here before six. He’d then pushed back her furniture and done an hour of Tai Chi before heading outside for a run. Sage was barely functional.
Tyce walked across the room, his bare feet making no sound on the wooden floors. “Morning,” he said, stopping a foot from Sage’s turned back.
Sage yelped, squealed and groaned. She turned around quickly and, hand on her heart, scowled at him. “Holy crap, Latimore! Scare me to death, why don’t you?”
“Sorry.”
Stepping around her, Tyce reached for a cup from the cupboard above the coffee machine and placed it beneath the spout of the machine. He hit a button and the air between them filled with the rich scents of very expensive coffee. For the last few years he’d been living on a budget, curtailing his expenses, but good coffee was one of the few luxuries he’d been unable to deny himself.
Sex with Sage, as he’d decided last night when she lay across his chest, damp and boneless, was another of the necessities of life he couldn’t do without. Speaking of, it had been too long since he’d last kissed her...
Tyce was just about to place his hands on her hips, lower his mouth to hers, when she spoke.
“So, I supposed we’d better talk about what happened last night.”
Ugh. He really didn’t want to. Tyce succumbed to his urge to touch and hooked his hand around her neck, using his thumb to tip her face upward. “I always prefer action to discussion.”
Sage half smiled. “I know you do but I think that, three years ago, one of our faults was that we spent too much time making love and not nearly enough time talking.”
Tyce mock frowned at her. “FYI, a man can never spend enough time in bed.”
“Duly noted.” Sage placed her hands on his chest and pushed away. “But, sorry for you, I do have something to say.”
Dammit, Tyce thought, stepping back. Here it comes... I don’t think this is a good idea; we shouldn’t complicate the situation; I’ve got a lot on my plate. He was expecting at least one excuse for them not to continue sleeping together, possibly all three.
“Are you interested in having more sex with me?”
Hot damn. Was that even a serious question? Judging by the traces of insecurity he saw in her eyes and the tremor in her voice, it sure sounded like one. Hell, yes, he wanted to sleep with her again. As many times as was humanly possible. “Uh... Yes?”
“You don’t sound too sure,” Sage replied.
“Trust me, I’m damn sure,” Tyce growled. “What’s this about, Sage?”
Sage placed her hand over the rim of her cup and rolled the cup on the counter. “Well, we can do that, if you want.”
Holy crap. “Is that something you want too, Sage?”