bed with him, twined around him like she needed to touch as much of him as she could while she slept.
The light sifting in through the window said the storm had passed and the day appeared sunny and bright. There were a million things he could work on, but he had the feeling he was going to want to skip them in favor of making love to this beautiful woman again.
He had her for one week and one week only. He had no idea why those had been her terms, or what the secret was that she hadn’t wanted to share. Last night, in the heat of the moment, he hadn’t given a damn. Now though, he couldn’t deny he was curious. But not curious enough to push her and risk losing out on what time he had left with her.
It was going to be a week he would never forget. And one she would never forget. He’d make absolutely certain of that.
“Mmm...good morning,” she murmured.
He glanced down to see her looking up at him, yawning and blinking against the bright sunlight.
“Hi.”
She curled her arm tighter, tucking her leg a little more intimately, and cuddled close. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a man who’d run a marathon,” he admitted. “Something zapped all my strength last night.”
“I think that was me.” She might have been a cat for the satisfied purr in her tone.
“I told you the night we met that you should come with a warning label.”
“What would it say?”
“Caution: combustible female. Approach only when wearing protective gear.”
She giggled against his chest and traced a lazy hand down his stomach. “You wore protective gear last night.”
True, though he wished he hadn’t had to. The very idea of being buried inside her, skin to skin, was incredibly appealing. Unfortunately, he might never get that chance. Their relationship was very new, and short-term, and that kind of trust and intimacy usually didn’t happen right away.
“What are you thinking?”
He had to be honest, so he told her the truth.
She quivered delicately and he saw a warm flush suffuse her cheeks. “Mind reader.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’m all for being responsible, but the truth is, I’m on the pill and I thought about throwing those condoms into the fireplace last night.”
“It was probably best for us to talk about it first. I’d never put you at risk—you know that, right? I’m as healthy as a horse.”
“After last night, didn’t I prove I trust you?”
Oh, she definitely had, lowering her guard and surrendering herself to him in every way a woman could. Of course, he’d done the same. It was the most intimate he had ever been with anyone, which made the idea of him only having her for another week all the more untenable.
No strings. No emotions. That was the deal. And really, it was for the best.
Somehow, though, it was getting harder to remember that.
“And for what it’s worth, I haven’t been around the block a whole lot myself. In fact, before last night, it had been over a year since I was with anyone.”
“Have men in Los Angeles gone blind, deaf and lost their sense of smell, taste and touch since I was away?”
She giggled, the sound cute and unusual for her. “Well, I don’t usually go around asking guys to sniff me, and when I tell them to bite me, it’s not a genuine invitation.”
He couldn’t resist sliding down and nibbling her neck.
“So you’re saying?” he asked as he moved lower to kiss her chest, delighting in those perky, pouty nipples that cried out for attention.
She groaned and wrapped her legs around him. “I’m saying I want you inside me. Right now. Unless that’s a problem for you.”
It wasn’t.
He immediately moved between her parted thighs and tested her readiness with his fully engorged cock. She was wet and warm, soft and yielding. So ready.
“Absolutely not a problem,” he muttered as he buried himself to the hilt.
The sensation was blissful, all sweet heat and moisture, and he closed his eyes, giving in to the pleasure. Then they began to rock together, bathed in the morning light, connected in every way possible.
And not for the first time, he began to wonder how on earth he was ever going to let her go.
9
OVER THE NEXT couple of days, Candace found herself falling into a routine. She would get up early, and spend the morning with Grandpa, cheering him on with his rehab. Then she would come back to the house, have lunch with Oliver, have sex with Oliver,