Here Comes Trouble Page 0,44

And it wasn’t knowing, or a come-on, or even post-coitally dazed. Nope. It was sincere and honest. And…well, sweet.

Yeah. She was totally screwed.

Chapter 8

Brett had promised Kirby a shower. And, in theory, it sounded like one of his better ideas. If only he could will himself to move off the bed. He could honestly say that he’d never met anyone like her. And he’d definitely never had sex like that.

How it had seemed perfectly natural to carry on a lengthy conversation while standing that deep in each other’s personal space, all that sexual tension leaping off them both, without just ripping each other’s clothes off and having at it…he had no idea. But he was pretty damn sure it wouldn’t have been nearly as spectacular, or just plain damn fun, if they’d gone about it any other way.

She was singular, Kirby was. Nothing like the women who normally crossed his path. There was no fear in talking about what was going through her mind…and yet beneath all that, or actually right there on the surface along with it, there were some pretty hefty vulnerabilities as well. He wasn’t sure whether or not she thought she’d done a good job of hiding the fact that her past still colored her present. But he’d pulled too many marathons at too many poker tables, staring at hundreds if not thousands of faces, to not be good—damn good—at reading people.

He’d been curious about her before. After the tree. And dinner. And psycho kitty stuff. But now, after having her, tasting her, taking her like that…He closed his eyes. Yeah. Like that. Damn, that had been fucking amazing. She’d been fucking amazing. And he wanted her again.

Which he’d do something about. Just as soon as his body recovered. It had been a while since he’d played like that, and he was still dog tired from the past couple of weeks. Months. Hell, longer, to be honest, if he factored in mental fatigue. But she’d stirred up more than his long-neglected libido. She’d stirred his mind up, too.

Since she didn’t seem to be in any hurry, either, he laid there, lazily stroking the back of her hand, liking the contact with her warm skin as he listened to her breathing even out. And, despite the fatigue, the worry, the concern, that had been dogging him for what felt like ages now…at that moment, he felt almost peaceful. Certainly more relaxed than he’d been in a long time. He smiled. He could hear Dan now. Well, of course you’re feeling mellow. You finally got laid.

He was still smiling as his eyes drifted shut. He sure as hell had.

He thought about what he’d tell Dan about Kirby. The two of them went back so far, there was very little if anything one didn’t know about the other. So it was kind of foreign, this feeling he had, of wanting to keep this, keep Kirby, to himself. At least for now. Maybe it was part of the whole thing about her getting to know him outside of his professional persona. It felt pretty damn good, he had to say. And in ways that had nothing to do with sex. Though he knew that played a role, too.

He’d tell Dan about her eventually. After he’d taken off. Right now, he didn’t want any outside influence at all. He just wanted this.

To that end, he covered Kirby’s hand and tugged her gently until she rolled toward him. He tucked her easily, and almost too naturally, against his side. He’d never necessarily thought of himself as the post-coital cuddler type, if he even was a type, but there was a lot to be said for having the warm body of a naked woman tucked up against him. Didn’t happen all that often. No point in sleeping alone if a guy didn’t have to.

Yeah, right. He tucked her head beneath his chin and she mumbled something in her sleep. He pressed a kiss against her hair. She drew her leg up over his thigh. He let sleep claim him, well aware of the big smile on his face.

The ringing phone jerked them both awake some indeterminate amount of time later. She groaned when her head connected with his chin, and they both sucked in a quick wince of pain as their cat-scratched skin stretched when they moved apart and sat up too quickly.

His eyes went to the jagged, flame-red marks that streaked across her stomach. His back probably looked much the same. He