Imogene stiffened for a half of a second but when the tip of my tongue traced her bottom lip, she sighed and melted right into me. Her exhalation gave me the opening I needed to slide my tongue into her mouth. My body sizzled with need and excitement as I tangled my tongue with hers. My hands delved into her silky curls, and I slanted her head to deepen the angle of the kiss.
She tasted sweet, like cinnamon and sugar, and I was suddenly ravenously hungry. I was on the verge of taking it too far, especially since we were in the back of a taxi. So, I pulled back and pressed her head into my chest, my hands slipping down to rub her back gently. We were both panting, and I could feel her heart racing. “I think I made my point,” I murmured. She made an unintelligible sound, which I chose to take as an affirmative.
My hands rubbed soft circles on her back when I found the courage to voice a question I’d dreaded. I was pretty sure I knew the answer, and it wouldn’t change how I felt about her, but it might lead me to kill someone. “Are you untouched, sugar?”
“Mmmhmm.” She barely acknowledged my question, but it was all I needed. A huge fucking weight lifted from my shoulders.
By the time the car came to a stop, our breathing had evened out, and Imogene was relaxed and snuggled up against me. Not a great situation for trying to keep my cock calm, but I’d never turn down the chance to have her in my arms.
The driver turned around as far as he could in his seat and glared at me. Then he glanced at Imogene. “You okay, lady? Want me to call the cops?”
I rolled my eyes and glanced down at Imogene’s slumped body. I almost laughed when I realized she was fast asleep, but I didn’t want to wake her. She looked so peaceful and completely exhausted. Clearly, her body knew she was safe with me. Her head would catch up soon enough. But what I wanted most was her heart. I wanted her love.
“She’s fine,” I told the cabbie, my tone and expression making it very clear that he should mind his own damn business. He huffed but flipped around and faced the front without another word.
I put one hand on her ass while the other stayed on her back to keep her secure. Then I carefully slid over the bench seat, trying not to jostle her too much. I extended my hand and just barely managed to pull the handle on the door and use my foot to push it open. It took a little creative maneuvering, but I managed to get out of the taxi and to my feet without waking Imogene. She wrapped herself around me and clung like a little monkey, which allowed me to grab her duffel—with her folder already stuffed inside—too.
After dropping her stuff just inside the doorway, getting her into the house and up to the bedroom was much easier. I didn’t bother with the light as I padded across the carpet to the huge bed on the opposite wall. Once I’d drawn down the covers and laid Imogene on the bed, I contemplated my next move. The clothes she was wearing didn’t look terribly uncomfortable, but I was positive she’d sleep better in something else. I also didn’t hate the idea of her sleeping in something of mine.
As quietly as possible, I walked to a long, walnut dresser that sat on the next wall by the door of the large walk-in closet. I slid open the second drawer down on the left and rooted through it until I found what I was looking for. Then I returned to the bed and thought about the files of my most boring clients the whole time I changed her out of her clothes, discarding her leggings and underwear in the trash bin in the bathroom, and dressed her in an old t-shirt from my college football days. It had my name on the back in bold, black letters, which made me grin as I gathered the rest of her clothes and went into the closet.
The townhouse was over a hundred years old and had been on the verge of being condemned when I bought it. I restored as much as possible and gutted the rest. One of the features that remained was a laundry shoot on each floor. On this level, it was located in the master bedroom’s walk-in. I dropped Imogene’s garments into the shoot, then stripped and did the same with mine. I hesitated when I reached for the waistband of my boxers. Generally, I slept naked and didn’t plan on changing that just because Imogene was in my bed. However, I also didn’t want to overwhelm her too much when she woke up beside me our first morning together. So, I kept them on and made a quick trip to the bathroom before crawling into bed. I tugged the soft blue, down comforter up and over us. Imogene sighed and immediately rolled towards me, plastering her body against mine.