Jill Shalvis - Back In The Bedroom

“Tessa.” Breathing heavily, he put his forehead to hers. His fingers went from making her writhe and whimper with pleasure to drawing slow, soothing circles on her back.

Not a good sign.

“This is not a smart idea,” he said a little thickly.

Definitely not a good sign. “You have a lock on your office door,” she managed to say.

He looked at the door, at the lock in question, and she could see him hesitate.

She didn’t want him to hesitate. She wanted him naked.

“I have a client coming in at two.” He leaned back to look at the clock.

Ten minutes until two.

She wanted to cry. Wanted to howl, and by the looks of him as he shoved his fingers through his hair, he felt the same way.

“We could go lock the glass doors,” she said quickly. “And pretend you’re not here-”

“Tess. I can’t take you here, not like this. We need privacy.” He slid her bra straps back up. The backs of his fingers brushed her pebbled nipples, ripping a shiver from her.

He groaned. “And hours,” he said roughly. “We need lots of hours.”

“I think I only need a minute.”

He closed his eyes and murmured, “Don’t make this harder.” He slid his fingers into her hair and tilted her head up to his. Eyes still closed, he kissed her, one long, clinging kiss that made a soft, clingy noise that tugged between her thighs.

“Tess,” he whispered, just that, just her name.

Her heart stumbled and she hugged him hard.

They heard the doors opening, signaling the arrival of his client and they stared at each other.

“I’ll bring the files you need,” she said, but didn’t let go of him. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?”

“For showing me how you feel. I know it must have been hard.”

He smiled ruefully and said, “Hard? You don’t know the half of it.” He shifted his hips against her, showing her what exactly was “hard,” making her laugh softly as she pulled away.

MUCH LATER, long after he’d seen his client, Reilly surfaced from his computer and stretched, glancing at his clock.

Six-thirty.

He pushed away from his desk and went down the hall, wondering if-

No, Tess hadn’t left without saying goodbye. She sat at the front desk, bent over a stack of papers, her hair falling into her eyes as she chewed on the eraser on her pencil and muttered to herself.

Just seeing her there made something within him soften and relax. “Hey,” he said quietly, not wanting to startle her.

For the first time since he’d met her, she didn’t jump. Instead, she craned her neck to give him a smile that was at once both sweet and unbearably sexy.

His gaze dropped to her mouth.

So did hers and she let out a little laugh that sounded just a tad unsure. That made two of them. “It’s past quitting time,” he said.

“I know.”

“I appreciate all the extra work you’ve put in since Cheri’s gone Benedict Arnold on me.”

“You’re going home, right?”

Ah. Now he got it. He’d babysat Eddie and now she was babysitting him. He moved around, turning off the stereo, pulling the shades, turning off most of the lights before moving toward the front desk to shut down the computer for the night.

One thing his life experiences had given him were heightened senses, whether he liked it or not. Even from across the room he could smell her, some complicated mix of soap and shampoo and lotion that probably hadn’t been designed to drive him insane.

“Reilly?”

There was only the one light left, by the elevator doors, and the glow of it fell over her face as she moved to stand in front of him and put her hand on his arm. Her eyes were so incredibly green and so incredibly focused on him, he felt as if she could see all the way through him.

He liked to keep himself distant, he prided himself on it, and yet with her it was damned difficult. Even when he shut her out, which he’d done on purpose rather than cave in to what she made him feel, she didn’t give up on him. He should probably tell her to, because he could tell she had hopes for him. He should just say right here, right now, for her not to bother.

Pinning hopes on him was just a waste of time.

“Are you going home?” she asked again.

He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He did it as an excuse to touch her, which was startling. “That’s generally the idea behind leaving work.”

She cocked her head and gave him a long look. “You’re being evasive on purpose.”

“Am I?”

“Yes. You’re going to Eddie’s. He said I needed to keep you from doing that. He said you needed to go home to bed, Reilly.”

To bed. With her?

Something within him went hot at that thought. She blushed, letting him know that he was slipping, that he’d let that thought show. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll walk you out.”

She grabbed her purse and they got on the elevator. She stared at the closed doors as they began to descend, then looked at him. “I’m sorry about earlier, when I said you didn’t have any feelings. That was wrong of me.”

The elevator doors opened into the lobby. There were only a few people milling around and no one close. He stopped her when she would have walked away. “I don’t want you to be sorry.”

“What do you want?” she asked.

He stared at her. Hell if he knew.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. She started walking away, counting change out of her purse.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting my bus fare ready.”

His stomach did that slow somersault that only she could cause. “I thought your car was fixed.”

“Was being the operative word, apparently.”

“I’ll give you a ride.”

She looked up, then laughed softly. “Thanks, but don’t worry. I’m off duty. I’m no longer your responsibility.”

“I’m giving you a ride.” And he took her hand to prove it, leading the way out of the building and toward his car.

“I know you’d rather be alone,” Tessa said when they stopped by his car.

He unlocked his passenger-side door for her, waiting until she slid in before he leaned down and spoke, his mouth only an inch from hers. “Yeah, I want to be alone. Alone with you.” It wasn’t often he came right out and admitted such a thing to a woman and it had been a hell of a long time in any case. He expected a coy smile in return.

Or maybe mock shyness.

He didn’t expect her to lift up enough to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss the very corner of his mouth before murmuring, “That makes two of us.” Then her busy, hot little mouth worked its way to the other side of his for another nibble, keeping her eyes open on his the entire time. Slowly, purposely, she glided the tip of her tongue across the crease of his lips.

Hands shaking a little, he pulled back and put her seat belt on.

“Not here either, I suppose,” she said with a little sigh, leaning back as she echoed his earlier words in his office.

“Tess-”

“I know. Probably not anywhere, right?” She sat back and slipped out of her sweater. When she leaned forward to tuck the sweater down by her purse, her sleeveless, scooped-neck blouse gaped open enough to reveal the very top curve of her breasts, and her purple silky bra.

“We work together,” he said a little desperately. Did her panties match?

“Yep, we work together. We work and we obviously, as evident in your office earlier and also in the elevator a few days before that, do more.”

He shut her door and came around the car, sliding in behind the wheel. “It’s that ‘more’ that’s holding me up.”

“You don’t like making love?”

He jerked his gaze to her, then concentrated on merging into traffic because looking at her, seeing her need and hunger reflected in her eyes, a need and hunger that matched his own, killed him. “I like…making love.”

“Are you sure?”

Was he sure? The woman couldn’t see he had an erection threatening the very zipper on his pants? “Very,” he said tightly.

“Then what’s the problem? I mean, we’re attracted to each other, Reilly. Are you going to deny that?”

“No.”

“We’re also adults. So I don’t see why-”

“Because you deserve more than what I can give you.” He glanced over at her again. “Way more.”

“I don’t mean to sound contrary, but that’s my decision.”

His jaw started to twitch, a muscle reaction he hadn’t had since leaving the CIA. He put his fingers to the spot and said, “I’m an in-the-present type of guy.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I can give you work. I can give you conversation. I can even give you great sex, but-”

“Great sex?”

She looked extremely intrigued. Damn it.

“How do you know for sure?” she asked. “Unless we try it…”

Oh man.

“Ah,” she said, nodding. “I get it now. It was the L-word. I specifically said making love, didn’t I. Well, I’ll settle for wild, hot sex then. How about that, Reilly? Are you up for that?”

WAS HE UP for hot sex? Was she kidding? He was “up” all right. Reilly tried concentrating on the traffic, but for once there wasn’t much. He glanced at Tessa, who was waiting for him to answer. “You realize we nearly simultaneously combust every time we touch.”

She nodded. “Yes. Which I figure will come in handy in bed.”

Restraint sorely tested, he gave up reasoning with her and just drove. They were within a few minutes of her place when his cell phone rang.

Eddie’s number showed up on the display. “You get your wish,” Reilly said into the phone in lieu of a greeting. “I’m staying away tonight.” But he got no response to that, which was strange. Eddie had a response for everything. “Eddie?”

Still nothing. Not breathing, not a sound, nothing but a wide open connection.

With cool, calm precision, Reilly did a U-turn and got on the freeway northbound, heading toward La Canada. “Eddie,” he said again.

Still nothing.

Tessa was looking at him. “What’s the matter?”

A very bad feeling, for one. “Eddie,” he said into the phone. “I’m going to call 9-1-1-”

“Reilly.”

He nearly sagged in relief at the sound of his father’s whispering voice, even though it came from far away, signaling that Eddie wasn’t speaking into the phone at all, but at it. “Eddie, are you-”

“I can’t hear you,” Eddie whispered in an odd voice. “So I hope you can hear me. I dialed with my toes. I sure as hell hope you’re there and that you haven’t let some sweet young thing answer your phone for you. Wait, what am I saying, you don’t even like sweet young things.” He let out a little laugh. “Anyway, son, I’m in a bit of a bind, as you might have guessed. Literally. Don’t call the cops,” he said quickly. “You’ll see why when you get here. You are getting here, aren’t you?”

Reilly shook his head and pressed on the gas.

“I don’t want you to get upset or anything,” Eddie whispered, “but the police were wrong about Sheila. I’d call them myself and mention it, but…well, you’ll see.”

Reilly got off the freeway in La Canada and raced up Foothill Boulevard, going far above the speed limit.

Tessa’s fingers gripped the console, but she said nothing about his driving. “Is he okay?”

“I’m not sure.”

They turned onto Eddie’s street, but instead of pulling into the driveway, Reilly turned off the engine and kept his cell phone to his ear. Most of the La Canada Foothills were covered with growth indigenous to the mountains of Southern California. Eddie’s lot was no exception and the view of the house was blocked by tall, staggered oaks and pines. He turned to Tess. “Wait here.”

She already had her hand on the handle of the door. “What’s the matter?”

“I haven’t a clue.” Eddie had stopped talking, which was worrisome. “But given my father and his life, it could be anything.” He pulled a gun from the glove box and glanced at Tessa when she gasped. He tucked the gun in the waistband of his trousers. “You have your cell phone on you?”

“Yes. Reilly-”

“If I’m not back in ten minutes, call the cops.”

“Reilly.”

He looked into her shocked green eyes and saw pure stubbornness. She was going to be difficult about this. He shouldn’t have been surprised. “Look, the call was just a bit strange, even for Eddie. Given what we’ve been through in this very house, humor me.” He looked into her eyes, willing her to listen.

She nodded, then pulled out her cell phone and turned it on. “Ten minutes or call the police-” he said, breaking off when he leaned in for a quick, hard kiss he hadn’t known he needed.

He pulled back and started to get out of the car.

“It’s getting dark,” she whispered, her hand grabbing the front of his shirt. “I know how you feel about the dark. Let me come with you.”