get recalcitrant people to talk to me.”
“And if that doesn’t work, then you crash their parties.”
She shook her head. His easy banter was making her relax. She’d been worrying about what was going on between them, but Conner wasn’t treating her any differently than he had before.
“That was only for you,” she said. She finished washing her body and though it was an odd-numbered day of the month and normally she didn’t wash her hair on those days, she went ahead and did it anyway.
“I’m honored,” he said. “Would it bother you if I joined you in the shower?”
She hesitated. She’d been hiding in here so that she wouldn’t have to face him, but now she didn’t want to anymore.
“Not at all,” she said. “In fact, I’m almost finished.”
“Good. I’ll be quick.”
He opened the shower curtain and stepped in. She couldn’t resist reaching out to touch him. He gave her a sexy smile.
“I can’t make love this morning,” she blurted out.
He shook his head. “Okay.”
She handed him her loofah and the shower gel and then switched places with him. “I’m going to leave you to it.”
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
“Of course not,” she said. But she knew she was acting like a ninny. She never let anyone shake her, but Conner was. “I just don’t want to tempt you when I know there isn’t time to do anything about it.”
“I’m always tempted by you,” he said, and leaned against her, putting his hand on the wall behind her head and kissing her.
She closed her eyes and tipped her head back. His mouth on hers was soothing and arousing. It made most of her doubts fade away, and she was suddenly very glad that Conner was here with her this morning.
He canted his hips forward and she felt his erection nudge her stomach. Then his hands slid down her body to caress her breasts.
She ran her hands over his wet body as well, finding his hard-on and caressing the entire length of him. He continued kissing her and then put his hands on her waist to lift her off her feet. He leaned back against the wall and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.
“I thought you didn’t have time,” he said.
“Stop gloating,” she said.
She shifted until she felt him poised at the entrance of her body. She slowly took all of him and then rocked her hips against him. He kissed her deeply, driving her on, the tips of her breasts brushing against his chest.
He thrust up into her hard and deep until she felt her orgasm wash over her. She pulled her mouth from his and lowered her head to his shoulder as she felt him jetting his own completion into her body.
She slowly let one leg fall to the floor of the shower. She was dazed by the passion that seemed to flare so effortlessly between them. He pulled himself from her and kissed her softly on the forehead before he gently washed her body and then his own.
She opened the shower curtain and grabbed her towel from the rack, drying off quickly. Then she went back into the bedroom, leaving Conner alone in the bathroom.
She could no longer pretend that last night hadn’t changed everything.
Conner knew she’d been hiding from him in the bathroom. All night long she’d tossed and turned next to him. Neither of them had had a good night’s sleep. He knew that, for him, it was second thoughts about what he’d agreed to let her write about him and his family.
But he hadn’t made a success out of all his business ventures by backing down once a decision had been made. He’d see it through and manage it so that he was in control.
And that was what this morning had been about for him. Making sure that she didn’t have too much time to think about her story. He meant to ensure that she kept her focus on Conner as her lover, not the subject of an interview.
He turned off the shower and realized that he smelled sweet. Glancing down at the bottle of shower gel she’d given him, he groaned when he saw it was “birthday cake”–scented. Damn, he didn’t want to walk around all day smelling like this.
He got out of the shower and found a clean towel in the small closet. He dried off and then wrapped it around his waist. He needed a shave and didn’t have deodorant or a change of clothes, but that was okay—he’d already sent a text to Randall asking him to pick up those items and bring them over.
The telephone rang and he hesitated for a moment before leaving the bedroom. He heard the muffled sound of Nichole’s voice.
When he entered the bedroom, he found Nichole standing in front of her closet with a cordless phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear.
“Yes, Mom, I’m doing fine. I’m sorry I didn’t call you last night,” she said.
Nichole listened again as she pulled a dark sapphire-blue sheath dress from her closet. She hung it on a hook and then turned, but stopped midstride when she saw him standing there.
“No, I wasn’t out on a date. I just went to a dinner party at Jane Macafee’s.”
She smiled at something her mother said.
“She’s just as charming in person as she appears on the show,” Nichole said. “I have to go. I’ll call you at lunchtime.”
Nichole listened again.
“Love you, too.”
She hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed. It seemed to Conner that she and her mother had a really good relationship. But how could that be, based on her past?
“My mom calls me if I don’t talk to her every day. Even though I’ve been living here for more than ten years, she’s still afraid something bad will happen to me,” Nichole said.
“My mom is the same way,” Conner said. “She pretends she’s calling to ask me about business or other things but she manages to talk to me every day.”
She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a matching bra-and-panty set. This one was cream-colored and had a lace trim on the edge. He knew he should be getting dressed as well, but he enjoyed the intimacy of watching Nichole slowly clothe herself.
“Are you going to keep staring at me?” she asked.
“I can’t help myself. You’re gorgeous,” he said.
She gave a quick curtsy. “I’m so glad you think so.”
She was funny and quirky and every second he spent with her made him want more.
And that made her dangerous.
Who would have thought that this woman would be able to rock his world the way she had? He was used to dealing with powerful, beautiful women, but Nichole was different.
She dressed quickly and he went over to his own clothes and began putting them on. When she was seated at her vanity table, he glanced over at her and noticed that she had been watching him in the mirror.
She quickly picked up a makeup brush and drew it across her face, refusing to meet his eyes in the mirror. He understood that she was a complicated woman and that no matter how much she’d enjoyed the sex with him, there were bound to be some heavy emotions inside her this morning.
“Are you okay?” he asked, thinking he probably sounded pretty inane. “I guess we can see that I’m definitely not a reporter given my lame questions.”
She gave him a sad half smile. “That’s for sure. And I’m fine. A little tired.”
“Tired sounds like an excuse,” he said as he buttoned his shirt. “Do you regret last night?”