His hand brushed through his wet locks, muscles flexing with the movement. “You’re not in the market for a repeat performance of last night?” He picked up a flattened ringlet, twirling it with a gentle tug. I can honestly say it had never occurred to me to be jealous of my own hair until that moment. “I know you had a good time. What I don’t know is why you’re running out this morning.”
Annoyancecleared out some of the lust haze Luca’s closeness created. “Who says I’m running? You’re not asking for more sex. You’re asking for meals, for dates. I’m not interested.”
His hand moved to my earlobe, rolling the small piece of flesh between his thumb and finger. Ileaned in, hating and loving the feel of his touch, hating that I loved it so much. “What if we kept it purely physical? Can I have your number then?”
I couldn’t help but smile at his perseverance. Shaking my head, I tried to find the right words to make him understand. “Luca, you aren’t the type. Your first instinct after aone-nightstand was to take me for Italian. Lunches lead to dinners, dinners lead to meeting the friends, meeting the friends leads to meeting the family. See where I’m going with this?”
Lucagently wrappeda handaround my neck, his fingers sliding under my hair. Goosebumps covered my arms the second his calloused fingertips grazed the sensitive skin there. It became harder to remember why I needed to leave.
I shuffled closer to him, and the corners of his lush lips pulled up into a small smile. Our chests grazed with each breath, rising and falling at the same time. Tiny drops of water soakedinto the front of the white shirt. “A bit conceited, don’t you think? Who says I’d fall for you?”
I barked out a laugh as I pushedon his chest to create a little distance.His warm, wet skin under my palmsmade my fingers curl in, scratching him in the process. He was enticing. Too enticing. “No one, but I’d rather not risk it.” Taking a step back—the hardest thing I’d done that morning—I took a deep breath. “Last night was great, the best, but I need to get going.” Pinching the shirt’s fabric between my fingers, I pulled it from my body. “Thanks for lending me the shirt. I’ll get it back to you.”
Luca’s smile fell,andhis hands droppedto his sides.Dark brown eyes bore into my face, resigned to see me leave. “No problem. It’s the least I can do after destroying your dress.”
Moving toward the door, I was hyperaware of his large body followingclosely behind. I tossed my nasty, tangled mane back and looked over my shoulder. “Don’t apologize for that. It might’ve been my favorite part.”
Giving him a dazzling smile, I winked and sauntered out of the room.The adorable family decked out in swim gear—staring at me like the disaster I was—made the ride down to the main floor kind of awkward. But what can you do?
The elevator doors opened, and I entered the lobby. With my head held high and shoulders back, I strutted from the hotel.
There’s no such thing as a walk of shame if you’re not ashamed.
After a brief stint as the half-naked woman on the sidewalk, my phone beeped, letting me know the rideshare had arrived.
As I slid into the Prius, the girl driving turned and stared. I buckled the seatbelt and pulled the shirttails down to cover my lacy underwear the best I could. Looking up from my poorly concealed crotch, I found pretty blue eyes locked onto my body.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the back of the front seats, offering a generous amount of cleavage thanks to the missing buttons. “It’s not that I’m not flattered to be ogled by such a beautiful woman, but I’m tired and just want to get home.”
The driver blushed and spranginto action. “Sorry. I just—Sorry.”
Leaning back in the seat, I smiled at her in the rearview mirror. “Like I said, not a problem, just bad timing.”
* * *
I slept the rest of the day away, waking up to my birth control alarm at eight p.m. My phone was full ofmissedcalls and texts from clients, my assistant, Ashley, and an unknown number.
Ignoring the work calls, I texted Ashley back and went to the kitchen. My phone rang as I made it back to bed.
“Thank god! I was about to file a missing person’s report.”Ashley shouted in my ear.
Balancing a glass of cab filled to the brim, I settled back into bed. “You can’t even file one until I’ve been missingfor48 hours. Don’t be so dramatic.”
Ashley scoffed. “I’m not being dramatic. You didn’t answer my texts, and you missed metal brunch. You never missmetalbrunch.”
The dry red washed over my taste buds, relaxing my sore body. It felt like Luca had sexed every muscle to death. “I’m sorry I worried you guys. It was a long night, and I needed sleep more than I needed waffles.” I pointed my toes, then flexed my heel, testing my calf muscles. The ache was ridiculous. “I feel like I was run over by a sex truck.”
There was a scuffle on her end as she whispered to someone, and then there was a masculine groan.
“Okay, spill.”
I sat up in bed, my friend senses tingling. “Only if you tell me who that was.”
“Just Malcolm. He was dropping off some leftovers from his date.”A door slammed shut, and she laughed. “He’s gone.”
Complication, thy name is Ashley. “That’s weird,Ash.”
“No, it’s not. He was in the neighborhood and knew I wouldn’t bother cooking while Ben’s out of town.”