She left.
He’d made it through most of the night already.
Keeping her alive the next day would be a cakewalk compared to the hours he’d just spent, holed up in his office, afraid to trust himself to act like the decent man he was trying so hard to be.
Chapter 16
She didn’t have anything to wear but jeans, sweaters and flannel pajamas in her suitcase. Would you dress sexy for a one-night stand? She supposed the question, while typical of her, was kind of dumb. Depended on the person. And the night.
Her panties were silk and low cut because she liked how they fit and felt. Her bras...more like something a grandmother would wear. She needed the support, too.
The bra came off. Sweater back on, the synthetic wool a little raspy against her nipples. Exciting her a little bit. The jeans...they were stretchy, but tight and wouldn’t just slide off. No getting stuck in them that night. Having to pull them off by the ankle.
They had to go.
Which left her standing there in silk panties and a thick sweater.
Looking like a dork...with some pretty nice legs.
She tried the flannel pajama pants. Didn’t go with the sweater. Took it off. Topless didn’t work, either. Too bare.
Unless... Taking off the pajama pants, she stood there in her panties. Liking what she saw. Touched her breasts for a second, loving how they tingled at the thought of Clarke’s hands on them. And, turning off all but the soft lamp on the bedside table, slid under the covers. That was the answer.
Wait for him, almost naked, under the covers.
Fritz had always said men liked unwrapping their women in theory but didn’t want a bunch of fixtures and cloth slowing them down.
He’d liked her in nightgowns and panties.
In eighteen years of marriage, Everleigh had never slid beneath the covers wearing only a pair of underwear. It felt...naughty.
Sexy.
And fun.
Right until she dozed off and suddenly came to, realizing an hour had passed. A glance at the clock told her it was almost midnight. She’d figured Clarke would be working late.
But...what if he’d looked in on her and thought she’d changed her mind? Heart pounding, and not in a sexy way, she sat upright. Surely, he hadn’t thought she was rejecting him? Had he changed his mind?
She couldn’t lose this night.
The darkness seemed ominous, even with the muted light on. Hours stretched empty before her. The next day loomed, bringing possible harm to her.
Someone was serious about wanting her dead.
Someone who’d already succeeded in killing without getting caught.
She needed her fantasies to become reality. Being in Clarke Colton’s arms, having him moving inside her... After tonight, those memories would be her happy place. The moments that would carry her through.
And if she didn’t make it past tomorrow, she’d at least have known ecstasy once in her life. She wouldn’t have died without living fully.
She couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard him open the door. She’d always been a light sleeper. More so since she’d been in prison. Just hearing Clarke come up the stairs had awoken her the other two nights she’d been in his home.
Maybe he was still downstairs working.
Or...maybe he was waiting for her to come to him?