Page 86 of 7 Days and 7 Nights

JoBeth reached across Dawg to switch off the alarm clock before it rang. The move brought her breast in direct contact with his arm, and she saw him smile automatically in his sleep.

She wasn’t sure why she’d set the alarm when she’d had no intention of sleeping. At 3 AM, when he finally drifted off after their last round of lovemaking, she’d propped herself up on one elbow to watch him breathe, not wanting to miss a single minute of her last night with Dawg.

“Mmmm.” Dawg reached out one big hand and ran it slowly down the curve of her hip. His eyes remained closed, but hers were riveted on his face and the golden morning stubble that covered it.

Her gaze traveled down the massive chest with its curly golden-gray mat of hair. He was warm and solid and smelled of their lovemaking. Quietly she drank him in, branding this man and this moment into her memory forever.

When she couldn’t ignore the clock any longer, JoBeth eased gently out of bed, careful not to wake him, and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

It was the muted sound of the shower that penetrated Dawg’s sleep-filled brain, but it was the image of JoBeth climbing in all dewy and delicious that brought him fully awake. Rolling over and stretching contentedly, he considered joining her.

Instead, he lay there grinning. Lord, he felt good. Tired, even a little bit sore from all the gymnastics, but deep down good and satisfied.

He’d just hit town after a run up to the Northeast when he picked up the message from JoBeth. It had been too many days since he’d seen her, too many days in the cab of his rig with nothing to think about but their relationship. Days he’d used to hash out his feelings. For the first time, he was ready to discuss what might come next.

But for the first time in who knew how long, JoBeth had not been eager to discuss the future. In fact, she’d hardly seemed interested in talking at all.

Dawg settled onto his back and pillowed his head in his hands. He could hear JoBeth singing in the shower, and he grinned again as his mind played over the night they’d spent together.

She’d greeted him at her front door wearing the crotchless black teddy he’d given her for her birthday. When he’d tried to tell her what he’d been thinking about their relationship, she’d put a finger over his lips to shush him and crawled into his lap. All the blood in his body had immediately rushed to his head, and he didn’t mean the one that supported his baseball cap.

She’d teased him with the crotchless lingerie until he’d been wild with wanting her. He’d dropped his pants and taken her the first time while she bent way over into the refrigerator, supposedly looking for a bottle of wine. And a second time on the living room floor after she undressed him in the candlelight.

By the time they made it to the bedroom, the only sounds he was making were groans of ecstasy. It was a night he’d remember until the day he died.

Dawg blinked and sat up in bed as he realized just how strange JoBeth’s behavior had been. She’d always been a willing sexual partner, and they’d passed some great hours in bed, but he couldn’t remember her ever being quite so aggressive. And why hadn’t she wanted to talk?

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. After a brief knock on the bathroom door, he pushed it open.

“JoBeth, why don’t you come on out here and sit down so we can talk about us?"

He watched her wrap the white terry bath towel around her body and tuck one end in above her breasts.

“Can’t do it, Dawg. I’m already late for work.”

His eyes narrowed. “But what if I have something I want to tell you? What if I want to—”

She stepped forward and put a finger over his lips just like she had the night before. “No, Dawg. Let’s not spoil what we’ve just had. Didn’t you think it was the most awesome night?”

“Well, of course, I...”

She picked up a brush from the bathroom counter and ran it through her short curls. Her face glowed, and her lips looked all shiny and kissable.

“There’s really nothing to talk about,” she said. “I’m still floating on air from all the lovin’ you gave me.”

He heard the word “love” and opened his mouth to tell her what he’d been thinking, but she put her finger to his lips again and brushed by him on her way into the bedroom.

He followed her, trying to figure out just what was going on, and got there in time to watch her drop her towel and wiggle into a lacy white bra and panties.

“I really have to run. Noreen’ll never be able to handle the breakfast rush without me.”

She stepped into her uniform and pulled it up. Moving in front of him, she presented her back for zipping. He obliged and then put his hands on her shoulders, thinking he’d turn her around so they could talk, but she slipped out of his grasp and scurried over to the closet, where she poked around until she located her white cushioned loafers.

“But, JoBeth, I’m trying to tell you I—”

“I’m sorry to have to run off like this, Dawg. There’s coffee in the cupboard and some muffins in the bread box.” She smiled sweetly, but he was starting to think he’d been had. “Will you lock the door behind you when you leave? You don’t need a key to do it.”

“JoBeth, why don’t you just call in sick? I have something I want to tell you.”

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