Page 28 of Prognosis Bad Timing

Do not think like that about the woman holding the hatchet over your head!

Thankfully the trip to Carrie’s place was brief and she was content to stare out the window and not converse. He was excruciatingly conscious of her though - even without her chatter.

He should have shut his mouth and let her get an Uber.

Carrie unclipped her seat belt, a chorus of alarm bells ringing in her head as Charlie also unclipped his and opened his door. She placed a stilling hand on his arm. ‘You don’t have to see me in.’

Charlie glanced at her hand. It burned like a brand through the fabric of his shirt and he wondered how hot it would feel on other areas of his body. ‘What about the burglar?’

She gave a half-laugh. ‘The gnome-napper? You’re kidding, right?’

“No.” Charlie looked at her place, at the lush tropical jungle that seemed to clump and loom from every available inch of dirt. Anyone could conceal themselves in the dense foliage. He climbed out of the car and away from her hot little hand.

Carrie took a deep breath and also exited the vehicle. She was ultra-conscious of him behind her for the short trip from the street through the gardens to her front door. Ultra conscious of his gaze on her ass and the way her nipples had tightened.

Ack! She couldn’t do that with this man.

‘Right, well, as you can see, no one lurking in the bushes.” She dug around her bag for her keys. “You can go now.’

Charlie almost laughed out loud at her dismissal. Like she was a schoolteacher and he was a naughty pupil. He remembered how intimate it had felt the last time he’d been standing at her front door, holding Dana and wanted more of that.

‘What?” he teased. “You’re not going to invite me in for a nightcap?’

Carrie stopped her search, staring at him. Was he mad? ‘No.’

He chuckled. ‘A coffee?’

Stark, raving,obviously. ‘Coffee keeps me awake,’ she said primly.

Charlie almost laughed. Was she seriously going to be able to sleep with this hum happening between them? He was going to lie awake thinking of her straddled across him in his car, her blouse torn open.

Goaded to tease her a bit more he said, ‘Then how about breakfast?’

Carrie’s stomach lurched and heat flushed her face. She was thankful for the night’s dark shadows as a low-level buzz sensitised long-forgotten parts of her body. It had been many years since she’d felt so aware of a man.

Still, this was not a conversation they should be having. ‘Thanks for the lift,” she said, pointedly ignoring his earlier innuendo, ‘but my bed is calling.’

Charlie watched as realization dawned. She’d put her bed out there now. ‘Right.’ He swallowed trying to pull himself together. What the hell was he doing? This was insane. ‘I should go, too.’

Carrie looked into his eyes and nodded, trying to forget her gaffe. Hell - why had she mentioned her bed?

Her big, lonely, empty bed.

‘Yep,’ she agreed. Except neither of them moved. ‘Thanks again...for the...lift.’ His intense stare was making her stumble over her words.

Put the key in the door, Carrie, and go inside.

‘My pleasure,’ he murmured, staring at her mouth. Beckoning him, bewitching him. How much pleasure could he find in those glistening, delectable lips?

Turn around now, Charlie. Go back to the car.

Carrie didn’t move a muscle. She couldn’t — even her diaphragm was having trouble performing its usual function. She was conscious only of his eyes and the way he was looking at her mouth. Her breath was uneven and her heart fluttered madly. He took a step closer to her and the flare of hunger she could see in his grey eyes stole the rest of her breath.

Had anyone ever looked at her with such naked need?

She took a step back, her ass and shoulder blades bumping against the front door.

An inner voice warned Charlie against the next step. But he was too far gone, too caught up in the pout of her mouth, her intoxicating aroma, the catch of her breath.

‘Tell me to leave.’ It was no more than a husky plea.

‘Leave,’ she whispered automatically even as her whole body tingled in anticipation, her gaze fixed on his mouth, wanting him more than she’d ever wanted another man. His eyes were hooded now as his tall, broad frame blocked out the ambient light.

Charlie shook his head at her paltry, half-hearted response. ‘Mean it,’ he whispered back.

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