out.”
“All right,” he said softly, clearly uneasy with the discussion. “But if you need anything, I’ll be close by.” He sent her a sideways glance and, in that instant, Ellie saw the desire in his eyes. But for some reason he’d chosen not to act on that desire tonight. What had changed?
Liam reached out, hooked a finger under her chin, then gave her a quick kiss. “Sleep tight,” he murmured. “I’ll see you in the morning.” With that he turned and walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Ellie sat on the sofa and pulled a down comforter around her shoulders. Things had been going so well. Though they hadn’t spent a night in bed together, she sensed that their relationship was moving forward. But now it had come to a full stop.
“He’s just another man,” she muttered, reaching for the light. She flopped down on the sofa and pulled the comforter up to her chin. “Nothing special.”
She pinched her eyes closed, but as she tried to relax, her head spun with thoughts of Liam. She settled on an image of him lying in his bed, naked, the sheet low on his waist. She’d never seen him completely naked, but Ellie knew what was beneath the shirt—a broad chest and narrow waist, muscled arms and a smooth back. She could almost feel his skin beneath her fingers and she clenched her hands into fists to banish the sensation. And she could certainly guess at what was beneath the jeans.
Though she tried everything she could to relax, nothing worked. At first she thought it was the upset over her apartment, but after considering all that had happened during the day, Ellie decided that the reason she couldn’t sleep was lying in a bed just a few short steps away.
After an hour of tossing and turning, Ellie threw the comforter off and sat up, cursing softly in the dark. She walked to the small kitchen at the back of the flat and pulled open the freezer door. When she couldn’t sleep, a pint of gourmet ice cream always did the trick.
“Oh, my,” Ellie murmured. Half the freezer was stacked with frozen pizza and the other half with a variety of ice creams. She pulled one carton out after another. “Rocky Road, French Vanilla, Cookies and Cream.” Ellie grabbed another carton. “O-oh, Chocolate Chip Mint. I love that.” She rummaged through the drawers until she found a spoon, then opened the first carton, leaving the freezer door ajar so she could gaze at her selection.
Ellie had never trusted herself with more than one pint of ice cream in her freezer at a time. The temptation was just too great and ice cream was her drug of choice when she felt depressed about her social life. She opened the carton of Rocky Road and scooped out a spoonful, then let it melt in her mouth.
“This is better than sex,” she murmured.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
A tiny cry slipped from Ellie’s lips, as she spun around, her spoon clattering to the floor. Liam stood in the kitchen, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts that rode low on his hips. A wave of mortification washed over her and she quickly turned and stuck the ice cream back in the freezer. “Sorry,” she murmured. “I just thought something to eat would…”
He raked his hand through his dark hair. “No, it’s all right.” He reached around her, his chest brushing against her arm, the heat of his skin against hers making Ellie feel a bit dizzy. “I came out for the same thing.”
He grabbed the open carton and handed it back to her, then selected Chocolate Chip Mint for himself. Ellie handed him a clean spoon. Liam scooped a spoonful out of the carton and held it out to her. Hesitantly, Ellie leaned forward and let the ice cream slide onto her tongue to melt in her mouth.
“Mmm. Good,” she said.
Liam grinned, then took a bite himself. “What do you have?”
He reached over and scooped out some Rocky Road and held it out to her. But as she took the spoon into her mouth, a bit of melted ice cream dribbled down her chin. Liam reached out and caught it, then held his finger in front of Ellie’s lips.
She took his finger in her mouth and only then realized what she was doing. Ellie glanced up at him and slowly pulled back. “Yum,” she said, her voice cracking slightly.
They stared at each other for a long moment and Ellie