Page 8 of Coming Undone

He eyed her over a forkful of pasta.

“I may have been out to sea for six months, but I’ve still got a pretty good idea of how the logistics work.”

His wolfish grin stirred her more than the earnest touches of her last – her only – boyfriend after what had happened overseas. She had thought something was wrong with her for months while she’d dated Josh, a guy who worked for the agency who’d helped with publicity for her book and vetted the fan responses she still received on her memoir. She’d thought she wanted to move things forward with him and had blamed her lack of sensual interest on her ordeal. After all, she hadn’t been raped but she’d been abused and she’d shut down emotionally in a lot of ways afterward.

But maybe the simpler truth was that spark just hadn’t been there with Josh.

“I mean, where should we conduct this liaison? Here? Or would you like to come with me to my place in D.C.? For that matter, we can find a neutral location if you want to go out of town for a few days.”

He seemed to ponder the idea while he ripped off a piece of bread.

“Can you take some time off from your work?” He passed the breadbasket to her but she couldn’t eat another bite.

“I’m in a good position with work. A friend is filling in for me at the studio and I cleared my personal appointments for a couple of weeks.” She finished her water and then realized how that sounded. “Although, I was also giving myself a vacation. I don’t expect you to hang out with me all that time. I know you must have things to do here since you’re not home all that often.”

“Actually, I promised my folks I’d head home in a couple of days. I’m spending ten days back in Cape Cod so they can invite all the family and throw a big shindig for me the weekend before my brother’s wedding. It’s the only reason they didn’t meet the ship when I came home.”

“So you don’t have much time.” She bit her lip, wishing she had him to herself a little longer. Plus, knowing he’d only be here a few days put an awful lot of pressure on her to get this affair off the ground in a hurry. “Unless we could do this after you get back to Norfolk?”

She was already mentally rearranging her schedule. Beside her, Danny put down his fork on his empty plate.

“Why don’t you just go to the Cape with me?” He finished his water and set the glass on the table, his full attention back on her.

“With all your family? For a wedding, no less?” She knew a little about the Murphys thanks to her friend and former co-worker Christina Marcel, who was Danny’s cousin. They’d met at her house all those years ago, and it had been her reporter friend who’d introduced them.

The Murphy family was huge – five biological brothers and a sixth that they’d fostered. They were also wealthy beyond her imagining, with a hotel conglomerate whose interests spanned the globe. Danny’s father was a Fortune 500 executive, and he’d always expected Danny to go into the family business. She’d read a little more about the Murphys in the past year, which was how she’d worked up the nerve to phone Danny’s mom a week ago. No matter that the dad sounded like a driven business guru, the articles online had depicted Colleen Murphy as a dedicated humanitarian and down to earth person.

“Why not? There’s lots of room back home, so it’s not like we’d be right on top of everyone else. I usually stay in the gatehouse, so I’ve got some privacy while I’m there. And two of my brothers have places nearby so they wouldn’t be underfoot anyhow.” He propped an elbow on the back of the couch, facing her. “They’re not a bad group. Competitive as all hell, but they’re good guys. And the thing is, I hear they’ve all got women in tow now, so if you don’t go, I’d be the only stag Murphy in the bunch.”

“They’ve got women in tow?” Stephanie wondered if she should be offended. “Will I be in tow?”

“Okay. Poor choice of words. Technically, I’ve got two brothers engaged, one getting married, and two more sapped out over women they’re dating.” His hand strayed close to her shoulder and she imagined its weight on her skin. Its warmth smoothing over her bare flesh. “I haven’t even met Kyle or Axel’s new girlfriends so that’ll be a trip.”

“Won’t that be a lot of pressure for you to show up with me?” She wasn’t sure she was ready for family scrutiny when she’d only just barely worked up the courage to reclaim her sleeping sensuality after all this time. “I mean, will people expect us to be a real couple?”

“No one is going to expect anything.” He frowned. “But if it makes you uncomfortable-”

“No.” She didn’t want to miss out on the time with him. Family or not, she preferred to have more time with Danny since she didn’t expect to solve her intimacy issues overnight. As much as she wanted to test the waters with him, she worried she might take two steps forward and one step back. “I’d love to go to the Cape with you. Thanks for asking.”

“Great.” He settled deeper into the couch cushions, his fingers finally straying closer to her shoulder. He smoothed a touch along her upper arm, just below the seam of the white cotton fabric of the t-shirt. “That settles that. Now we just need to figure out what to do for the next couple of days until we leave.”

Was it her imagination, or had his voice grown softer? Seductive? The hooded look he gave her revealed nothing, but it sure heated her insides.

“I can go back to Norfolk.” She knew it was a foolish offer as soon as she made it. She’d asked him to recreate their affair, hadn’t she? Why back away like a scared rabbit now that he’d said yes? “I mean, I don’t want to infringe on your down time if you’d like a few days to rest and… whatever.”

“I think it would be great if you’d stay with me. Right here.” His touch circled a small patch of her skin, giving her goosebumps everywhere else.

“Ooh.” She cleared her throat to cover the small sigh of pleasure at his touch. “That would be nice. I left my car back near the base though. My bag is in the trunk.”

“Do you keep a spare key in the wheel well or somewhere underneath?” His touch skimmed higher, hitching up the seam on her t-shirt to touch the top of her shoulder.

“No.” She couldn’t help the shiver that went through her. “Why?”

“I have a friend who would drive it up here if I let him take my boat out in return. That is, if you don’t mind someone else driving your car.”

She had all she could do not to stretch like a cat under his lightly stroking hand. Why was it that she could let her guard down around him so easily when she’d been tense and agitated every time Josh came near her back when they’d dated? Was it that another year had passed? Or was it 100% Daniel Murphy?

“How will he get my keys?” She frowned, wishing she could have taken him up on the offer. The trip from D.C. had been more than enough time behind the wheel for her in a day.

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