Page 67 of Counted

“Yes, I did.”

She was flushed and soft and affectionate. She pressed a sweet kiss against his shoulder. “Good. Me too.”

His heart might actually expand so much it would blow a hole in his chest. For a moment the damage felt inevitable. “You drank more than usual. Do you feel all right?”

“Yes.” She licked her lips—the lipstick she’d put on was long gone now—and stared at a blank spot in the air. “I’m good. Although to tell you the truth, I might be a little bit…” She stretched up and whispered in his ear. “A little bit buzzed.”

He chuckled and ran his hand down the length of her hair. “That’s okay. You’re allowed to get buzzed if you want.”

“I guess so. But I usually don’t. Now I’m afraid I might embarrass myself.” Her expression sobered, as if that possibility had only now occurred to her.

“Why would you be embarrassed?”

“Because I’m usually good at behaving myself, and I’m not feeling very well behaved at the moment.”

He laughed for real, tilting his head down to nuzzle the side of her neck. “You don’t have to behave. I’ll make sure you don’t do anything to embarrass yourself.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. That’s my job.”

“It is?” She was staring up at him with something like awe.

He frowned slightly. “Of course it is. I’m your husband.”

“Oh.” She blinked twice. “Right. You are my husband.”

“So I’ll take care of you. I’ll make sure you don’t do anything too embarrassing. So you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Okay.” She reached up to stroke his beard. “But see, the problem is that right now I want to take off all your clothes and crawl into your lap and ride you until we both collapse. But that wouldn’t be appropriate behavior, would it?”

He gulped, his body immediately responding to the contrast between her sexy words and her utterly earnest expression. “Notin the restaurant, no. But we can go back upstairs and do that if you want.”

“Oh.” She glanced around, clearly trying to sort through the logic of his suggestion. “I guess that would be okay.”

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.” He would be brutally disappointed if she changed her mind, but he would never press his advantage while she was in this condition.

“So you’re saying we can stay here and do it?”

He gave a huff of amusement, then narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized her face because he thought he caught a flicker of her characteristic intelligence on her face. “Are you teasing me right now?”

She giggled and reached up with both arms to hug him. “Just a little. You’re being so sweet, and I’m definitely not at my best.” She pulled back slightly. “But I do want to have sex. And not here in the restaurant. Just maybe give me a little while for the wine to settle. Right now I’m not sure I could walk a straight line, much less coordinate the moves necessary for sex.”

Thrilled by the promise of what was to come, he gestured for the server and asked for more water. Then he had her drink two glasses in a row, and they waited until she declared herself good.

She was still relaxed and giggly as they left the restaurant and went back upstairs. She wouldn’t let him touch her in the elevator because, as she explained, she desperately needed to pee. And she didn’t want things to get messy.

He was laughing soft and low the whole time—almost as much as she was. They made it back to their suite, and she ran for the bathroom. They both usually showered before they had sex, so he was reminding himself he couldn’t grab her and fuck her the moment she reappeared. He needed to control himself and be patient even though that was the last thing in the world he wanted to do.

Eve emerged from the bathroom after only a couple of minutes. She’d washed her face as well as her hands, and her skin was still damp. She’d also taken off her shoes.

He smiled at her, wondering how the hell he hadn’t realized how irresistible she was before last month. He’d spent most of his life having no idea what he was missing.

He’d thought she was simply pretty. Pretty and clever but nothing particularly special.

He’d been utterly blind.

She smiled back at him. Then she was suddenly moving toward him—fast and eager. He had no idea what to expect when she reached him, but he braced himself anyway. She threw herself into his arms and dragged him down into a kiss.

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