found herself grinning foolishly at the thought that Eric, having started out as a pariah in her friends' eyes, was now turning into a good guy — the plutocrat with a green soul.
"I hate to disappoint you, but this isn't just me taking one for the planet. It does actually make financial sense," Eric said. "Although I will admit to enjoying the positive feedback, for a change. I've been on the receiving end of Ms. Esteban's barbs and she knows how to land a blow.”
"That she does," Emmy agreed, and Eric turned his piercing gaze on her. He was sitting on her couch — sprawling, to be honest, his long legs crossed at the ankle, one arm along the edge, looking utterly relaxed and yet poised, like a big cat waiting for his prey to come within reach.
"She must have given you a hard time when she found out about me."
"Yes, she did. She got quite angry, actually. Questioned my morals and my sanity, and said — well, you can imagine what she said about you. She has relented since, though."
"Only until our next court case, I'm sure," Eric said casually, taking a sip of coffee, but his eyes were smiling.
"Next time I'll invite her as well and you can get a bit of practice sparring with her, I promise. In the meantime, Anna, you look really tired. I think we're keeping you up."
"I, no, it's fine," Anna said, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. "It's just, well, maybe the weekend is catching up with me. There was a lot of drinking, did I mention that?"
"You need some sleep, missy, and we're in your bedroom. We'll clear the decks."
"Oh," Eric said, surprised. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. Is it time I went home?"
He sounded so tentative Emmy wanted to laugh.
"Or you could, er... stay?
She wished she wasn't blushing but apparently her body had — once again — decided to opt for maximum embarrassment.
This time the smile was all over his face.
"That would be...nice."
Anna, blessedly, had slipped away to the bathroom in the middle of the negotiations, so she didn't have to witness the awkwardness, or the kiss that followed.
"We're going to have to be very quiet," Emmy hissed when they disentangled from their embrace.
"You're telling me that?" Eric said, grinning. "I seem to remember you being the noisy one. I can be as quiet as you like."
"Shut up! It's all your fault anyway."
"My mistake. Maybe I should aim to be really inept," Eric said, looking insufferably smug, and Emmy hated herself for giving him such an open door to kick down.
On the other hand, his skill was undeniable, so she wasn't going to complain about that.
"Wipe that grin off your face if you want to stay because I am perilously close to sending you home," she whispered, taking his hand.
His fingers laced themselves with her own, his palm wrapped around hers, and he followed her willingly down the short hallway to the bedroom, which she'd tidied swiftly earlier, hoping he'd spend the night. He peppered her upturned face with light kisses as they stood in the middle of the room, and Emmy let herself melt into the moment.
"I was hoping you'd ask me to stay," he whispered between kisses. "Maybe it's because I managed to lose you once, but I've missed you more in the past 24 hours than in the preceding weeks."
"I missed you too," Emmy said, a little giddy with all the excitement. His kisses were growing more insistent, on the corner of her mouth, the underside of her jaw, the fluttering pulse at her neck.
"I've been wanting to kiss you all the way through dinner," Eric murmured, his hot breath on her ear making her squirm, in a good way.
He wasn't even trying — no tongues, and they were still chastely facing one another, a hand's breadth between them — and Emmy was already putty in his hands, her nipples peaking under her thin cotton shirt. Eric noticed and brushed the back of his knuckles against one breast, then the other, until Emmy gave in and pulled him down into a real open-mouthed kiss.
Even when they collapsed onto the bed entwined, there was a restraint, a deliberate desire to take it slow in Eric's moves. They kissed at length on the comforter, his hands cupped around her face and determinedly not straying anywhere below her shoulders.
"You're so beautiful," he sighed. "You know, the minute I saw you that day I came into your store, I thought you were a