The Guy Next Door - By Lori Foster, S Donovan, V Dahl Page 0,115

and reminisce. Hold on to the fantasy a little while longer.

But right now, the room didn’t look like remembered sex. It looked sad and lonely.

With a sigh of deep regret, he picked up his clothes from the floor and dressed. He had work to do tonight and more important things to think about than sex.

But, Jesus, she’d been tight with need, and soaking wet. Eric would’ve given her anything. Anything she’d wanted. As it’d turned out, she’d wanted exactly what he had. A hot, needful connection. A moment of truth.

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the memories sink in. Then he reached for his shoes—and paused at a flash of pale gold.

Narrowing his eyes, he reached across his shoe for the delicate material just hidden beside it. “Oh,” he said as he closed his fingers over Beth Cantrell’s underwear. They were featherlight in his hand, but they added considerable weight to his shoulders.

What the hell was he supposed to do with her panties? His first thought was to return them, but that immediately struck him as creepy. Hey, little lady, look what I found. Nudge, nudge.

Weird. But what if she asked about them? It seemed unlikely, but Eric wasn’t interested in stammering over a lie. And it seemed a crime to blithely toss out the delicate fabric that had just lain against her skin.

Instead of throwing the underwear in the trash, Eric stuffed them into his pants pocket, suspicious of his own motivation. It wasn’t like him to sleep with a stranger. It wasn’t like him to have sex based on a lie. And it wasn’t like him to walk around with a pair of panties in his pocket. Eric had a sudden fear that this night would turn him into a pervert who got off on fondling used underwear in his darkened living room.

He drew his hand out of his pocket with a curse and snatched up his shoes and socks. One minute later and he was done, buttoned up and tied, cell phone and keys in hand. As he walked out and let the door slam behind him, Beth seemed more a dream than ever.

But reality awaited him in the lobby. She was still there, standing just to the side of the lobby doors, frowning as she spoke into her cell phone.

Eric froze. His hand went immediately to the pocket of his slacks. His fingers touched silk. Should he approach her? Not to thrust the panties at her, but at least to walk her to her car. Shit, he should’ve thought of that to begin with.

Eric stepped forward. He was within five feet of her when she turned toward him. She shook her head, but he took one more step—

“Eric!”

He whirled toward his sister’s voice, heart pounding in panic, and something flew from his hand. His eyes darted after the blur of motion.

“God,” Tessa said. “Are you okay?”

His phone landed with a thunk and slid across the carpet. His phone. Not Beth’s panties.

“Oh, thank God,” he breathed, but his panic wasn’t quite gone. He started to turn toward Beth to see if she’d heard his name. But his sister’s hand touched his arm.

“Hey. Are you all right? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Shaking his head, Eric lurched a few steps forward and grabbed his errant phone. “You did startle me. I thought you’d gone home.”

“I started to, but I decided to stay for a drink.”

That stopped Eric from worrying about himself. “What? Tessa, do you know how dangerous it is to hang around in a bar?”

Tessa gave an obvious look around the brightly lit lobby. “What can I say? I like dark alleys and taking crazy risks.”

“Just…” He slid a glance toward the front doors and found an empty spot where Beth had been. His heart sank even as relief loosened the tightness in his throat. Without looking at his sister, he asked how much she’d had to drink.

“Two drinks over the past two hours, Eric. I’m fine.”

“I’ll drive you home anyway. That way I’ll know.”

Tessa gave a long-suffering sigh. “Look, Dad, I’m fine. I swear. One of those drinks was that awful white wine spritzer you got me.”

He cringed as he always did when she called him Dad, but Tessa just laughed and kissed his cheek. “Come on. I’m fine. But you can tuck me into my car.”

He walked her out to her car, as he would’ve done on any evening, but this time he kept his eyes peeled for another woman. But Beth Cantrell