Page 34 of Edge of Desire

He stopped and turned. His eyes sought mine and held my gaze, but he didn’t utter a word. Then he finally said, “With great difficulty.” I eyed a plate of cheese and crackers, so I went and ate some. He turned back to whatever he was cooking and added, “Feel free to explore. I’ve set your things upstairs. If you’d like, you can take a shower or a bath. There’s a large tub in the master and you’re welcome to use it.”

That sounded heavenly. “That sounds nice.” God knew I could use a good scrubbing. Maybe it would wash away the memories of the last twenty-four hours. “How long before dinner?”

“Whenever. I’m making chicken chili. It can simmer, and the longer the better, so take your time.”

I headed up the steps without another word. There were several bedrooms up here and I went from room to room, exploring. I found mine because my polka-dotted bag sat on the bed. I grabbed some clothes to change into after the bath. It was easy to figure out which room was his, as it was the largest of all of them. The bathroom was awesome. It had an enormous glass window right in front of the large tub so I could sit there and watch the sun set over the mountains. I filled the tub and added some bubble bath, giggling as I did so. Preston and bubbles just didn’t go together in my book.

When the tub was filled, I got in and sighed. It was wonderful. Hot water eased the tension from the last day. It was exactly what I needed. Thoughts ran through my head over how I was going to have to job hunt again. Maybe my job at SoftwarePlus was still open. If I explained everything, there might be a chance of keeping it. Then I scoffed. Who was I kidding? Even if the job was still open, he’d fire me on the spot.

The water was almost cold, and the sun had set by the time I got out. My fingertips looked like raisins. I stood and then realized there weren’t any towels nearby.

“Damn,” I muttered. It was getting chilly now, so I stepped out of the tub and went in search of some. When I opened the bathroom door, I walked directly into a very surprised Preston. I screamed and then he yelled. Realizing I was butt-ass naked, my eyes darted around the room looking for a towel.

“You don’t have any towels,” I yelled.

“Yes, I do. They’re in the next room, on the towel warmer. I was coming up to tell you because I forgot.”

The chill fled as my face heated. The rest of my body quickly followed. I stopped and stared at him because he was ogling my body.

After what happened back in Seattle, shame descended as my hands tried to cover my privates. “Stop staring at me like that. You’ve made it clear that I disgust you and I’m embarrassed enough as it is.” Anger edged my voice.

His brow creased as he frowned. “Disgust me? Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Seriously? Do you think I’m a fool?”

“No. Why would I think that?” His voice was low and raspy.

“Because I all but attacked you and did everything but give you a blow—” I shook my head trying to dispel that awful memory. "You turned me down, remember? What else am I supposed to think? That was the most embarrassing thing ever. I do recognize I’m a large girl and I’m sure you don’t want to see this, so please?” I couldn’t look at him, so I stared at my lavender-colored toenails.

“Avery, you may be a lot of things, but large isn’t one of them. I think you’re perfect.”

“Perfect? Me?” My head jerked up to look at him, checking to see if he was making fun of me. I didn’t see any signs of ridicule in his gaze.

He nodded as he stared at me. “Yes, you,” he said seriously.

I frowned, trying to figure him out. “Then why did you ...?”

“It’s a long fucking story but has nothing to do with you. You’re so damn perfect I can hardly stand it.”

I’m not sure who moved first but it didn’t matter. We landed in each other’s arms and then he kissed me. Yes, Preston, hot DEA agent kissed Extra-Large Avery and he thought she was perfect.

His breath mingled with mine as he pulled me tightly against him and continued to kiss me. Heat poured off him as I grasped his waist, fastening my fingers onto his shirt, and hanging on for dear life. In the beginning his touch was tentative, almost as if he were afraid of hurting me, like I was a fragile little thing. But when he felt my response, things shifted.He pulled back and ran his fingers softly over my cheeks, sliding his thumbs across my lips.

“Don’t ever, for one second, doubt how absolutely gorgeous you are,” he whispered.

His lips collided with mine again as his fingers twisted in my wet and tangled hair. His tongue wreaked havoc inside my mouth. I moaned as he licked my lower lip and then pulled it into his mouth and sucked on it. My hands wandered up and rested on his chest for a moment, feeling his heart slamming beneath my palm. I placed my other hand on his cheek and slid my fingers into the hair around his temples. I opened my eyes because I wanted to see his face as we kissed. I wasn’t prepared to see him returning my gaze. There was no stopping the sound that escaped from my lips. You would’ve thought I’d just had the big O, and my body felt pretty darn close to it too. His eyes were soft and warm, making my belly tighten and flutter, so I pressed even closer to him. There was something about this man that made me want to rub myself all over him. And then it happened. I started purring. I’m not sure why being around him brought out the feline in me, but it did, and there was no stopping me now.

Pulling my mouth away from his, I rubbed my cheek against his and my hands moved, until he captured them in his.

“Avery, as much as I would like this to go on, I think we need to slow down a bit.” He was sincere. It was written in his lovely golden-brown eyes.

He was right. I didn’t need to be sinking my claws into him so quickly, but damn, he was hot. And I was bothered. But there was the tiny fact that I hated him for ruining my life.

I stiffened. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Avery.”

“Yeah?”

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