Page 52 of Wine and Research
Chapter Sixteen
At first, when Jeremy heard the knock on his door, he’d considered ignoring it. But on the off chance it was Elle, he pushed up from his mattress, where he’d been laying on top of the covers in a pair of sweats, staring at his ceiling. For the past half hour, he’d been willing sleep to invade his body so he didn’t see Owen’s lifeless gaze whenever he closed his damn eyes.
No luck, so far.
He headed down the hall wondering what it was about Elle that had motivated him to get off the bed. Tonight, was not a good night for them to get together. He was too disgusted with himself to be good company.
But it was a work night, so he was worrying for nothing. No way would she be knocking on his door. Elle had stuck to his rules without incident, sometimes too firmly, but that thought and the slight rippling through his chest were best left to dissect another day.
Another knock echoed through his house. Since it wasn’t a loud rap, he knew it didn’t belong to any of his buddies. Besides, they understood his need for solitude, so it had to be a female.
Probably his sister.
He’d noticed the concern in her eyes a second before he’d shifted his attention to Elle. Her gaze was also full of concern, along with something he didn’t recognize but made him feel good.
If she hadn’t been there with her friends, Jeremy knew he wouldn’t have left. In just those few minutes of sitting by him, she’d eased the tightness from his body, something the remarkable woman was good at.
Hell, she was good at a whole lot of things.
One more thing for him to dissect another day.
Exhaling, he walked through his living room, which opened to a vaulted entryway. He was prepared to convince his sister he was fine and send her home. Jenna was sweet, and Jeremy appreciated her concern, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He also didn’t want to talk, and that would no doubt be her number-one priority.
With that in mind, he opened his door and shock instantly rocked his heart. Elle stood on his porch, looking beautiful and sexy, and a crazy thing happened. Air caught in his lungs.
“Hey,” she said, color washing into her face as she stared at his bare chest. “I…Oh, sorry, were you sleeping? I didn’t mean to wake you.”
He shook his head. “No. I wish.”
She frowned, and that concern from earlier trickled through her gaze. “I know today and tomorrow are work days for you, and we aren’t supposed to do get-togethers, but I felt I needed to be here.”
Indecision, joy, and dread, along with a lot of need rushed through Jeremy at once. Incredibly, something cracked in his chest, allowing warmth to seep in. She’d looked at him with hunger and happiness before. This was different. This time, compassion, warmth, and concern filled her eyes. And damn, that warmth seeping into his chest increased.
But he believed in being honest. “I appreciate it, Elle, I do. But like I said before, I wouldn’t be good company. I’m not up for talking.”
“Then we won’t talk,” she said, stepping closer, sending his pulse on a race it would never win. “You had a rough day. I want to make you feel better, and we’ve proven we are pretty good at that without talking.”
His lips twitched. “Agreed.”
She rocked his world and, God, he needed that right now. Needed her.
“It’s up to you,” she said, lifting a hand to lightly touch his chest.
And just like that, his world righted itself, his footing firmed, and warmth returned to replace the bone-chilling cold from his body, bringing with it a deep-seated need.
Oh, yeah, he needed this woman. Needed to lose himself inside her sweet warmth. Needed to hear her hitched breaths and long, drawn-out moans more than he needed to breathe.
Helpless against the pull of her, Jeremy crushed Elle close, capturing her lips as he tugged her into his house, kicking the door closed behind him. They staggered into the entryway, mouths fused, hands touching everywhere. He couldn’t get enough.
They were both breathing heavily when he pressed her against the wall near the small table, and they broke for air. She removed her purse and sweater and set them on the table at her side. Using his body, he trapped her against the wall again and was rewarded by the sound of her sucking in a breath—not born out of a need for air—but one full of desire.
With the need to hear it again, Jerermy lowered his head to kiss her jaw and the column of her neck, lingering on the sweet spot beneath her ear, because, yeah, that’s where she made the sound again and clutched his shoulders.
He was pretty sure that she was developing feelings for him, and even crazier than that was the fact he had feelings for her, too. He wasn’t developing them, though. Hell, no. They were there, front and center. He had no idea what to do with either. Somewhere over the past few weeks, their well-laid plans had hit the fan.
She was strong, beautiful, smart, possessed a killer wit, and an amazing way of making him feel important and accepted.Jeremy craved contact with her in a way he’d never experienced before. But instead of feeling out of his league, he felt encouraged by the way her cheeks were flushed, her lips were parted, and her gorgeous eyes were heated, telling him that he affected her every bit as much as she affected him.
“Can’t think when you look at me like that,” she murmured, her gaze wild with need.
