Seven
Jaci pushed back the comforter and left the bed, glancing down at her naked body. Clothes would be nice and she wrinkled her nose at the pile of fabric in a heap on the floor, just on this side of the door. Pulling that on was going to be horrible, as was the walk of shame she’d be doing later as she headed back to her apartment in a wrinkled dress and with messy hair.
Then Jaci saw the T-shirt and pair of boxer shorts on Ryan’s pillow. They hadn’t been there earlier so Ryan must have left them for her to wear. Sweet of him, she thought, pulling the T-shirt over her head. It was enormous on her, the hem coming to midthigh. It was long enough for her to be decent without wearing underwear but there was no way that she was going commando. She couldn’t even pull on the thong she wore last night since Ryan had, literally, ripped it off her. Sighing, she pulled up his boxers, rolling the waistband a couple of times until she was certain they wouldn’t fall off her hips.
“Mornin’.”
Jaci yelped and spun around, her mouth drying at the sight of a rumpled, unshaven Ryan standing in the doorway, dressed only in a faded pair of jeans, zipped but not buttoned. She was so used to seeing him impeccably, stylishly dressed that observing him looking like a scruffy cowboy had her womb buzzing. She started to bite her lip and abruptly stopped.
“Hi,” she murmured, unable to keep the heat from flaring on her cheeks. She’d kissed those rock-hard abs, raked her fingers up those hard thighs, taken a nip of those thick biceps. And if he gave her one hint that he’d like her to do it again, she’d Flash Gordon herself to his side.
But Ryan kept his face impassive. “Coffee?”
“Yeah.” Jaci made herself move toward the door and took the cup from his hand, being careful not to touch him. She took a grateful sip, sighed and met his eyes. His shoulder was against the door frame and he looked dark and serious, and she quickly realized that playtime was over. “I guess you want to talk?”
What about? Being engaged? Leroy? The script? The amazing sex they’d shared?
“Since we are the leading story in the entertainment world, I think that would be a very good idea.” Ryan peeled himself from the door and walked down the hallway. Well, that answered that question. Good thing, because while she knew that she was old enough to have a one-night stand with her fake boyfriend, she doubted that she could talk about it. Jaci followed, trying but not succeeding at keeping her eyes off his tight, masculine butt.
“I have a million messages on my mobile and in my inbox, from reporters and friends, asking if it’s true,” Ryan said, heading across his living room to the luxurious open-plan kitchen. He grabbed the coffeepot and refilled a cup that had been sitting on the island in the center of the kitchen. Judging by the fact that the coffeepot was nearly empty, he’d been up for a while and this was his third or fourth cup.
Jaci took a sip from her own cup of coffee and wrinkled her nose at the bitter, dark taste. “What do you want to do? Deny or confirm?”
Ryan rested his bottom against the kitchen counter and pushed a hand through his hair. “I suppose that depends on your explanation on why you made such an asinine comment.”
Jaci swallowed down her retort and another sip of coffee. Taking a seat on one of the stools that lined the breakfast bar, she put her cup on the granite surface and placed her chin in the palm of her hand. “I tried to explain last night.”
“Last night there was only one thing I wanted from you and it wasn’t an explanation.” He waved his coffee cup. “Go.”
Jaci rubbed her forehead with her fingertips in an effort to ease the headache that was gaining traction. Too much sex and not enough sleep. “Leroy hired a PI to investigate me, and you, by the way. He obviously found out about my broken engagement and was questioning how quickly I moved on.”
Ryan’s focus on her face didn’t waver. “Okay. I presume that you had a very good reason for leaving the politician?”
“You still haven’t done your own digging?” Jaci asked, surprised.
“I’m waiting for your version,” Ryan replied. “Not important now... Go back to explaining how we got engaged.”
“Right.” Jaci sipped and sighed. “I asked Banks why me, what this was all about. I mean, this makes no sense to me... I’m nothing special. He said that it didn’t matter why he wanted me, only that he always gets what he wants. That he’s now using me to get a handle on you.” Jaci ran a fingertip around the rim of her cup. “I thought that we needed to take me out of the equation, to remove me as a pawn. That can only happen if we break up or if he thinks that the relationship between us is more serious than he realized. So I thought that if I told him that we were thinking of marriage—thinking of, not that we were engaged—he’d back off.”