Page 18 of Bit's Bliss
“Shh,” I soothed. “All we’ll do tonight is sleep in each other’s arms.”
When she took a breath as if she was about to say something more, I kissed her again.
“Sleep, little dove. I’ll still be here when you wake up. I promise.”
While Eberly eventually slept,I lay awake as thoughts raced through my head. The first thing I should be considering was how to revert to a purely professional relationship between us after holding hernaked in my arms, but I pushed that aside. Now that I knew how perfectly our bodies fit together, there’d be no resisting touching her in every way she’d let me.
As far as her father’s whereabouts, the logical explanation was that he was holed up with the woman he’d brought to the ball last night. Except, why wouldn’t Eberly have thought of that?
My next question was who had been trying to gain access to her front gate so late at night and why had they left right before the sheriff arrived?
Then again, anyone with nefarious intentions would hardly call from the gate to be admitted. They’d sneak in some other way. A peripheral look at the Warwick security system told me it was antiquated.
After making contact with Eberly’s father, the next most urgent matter was the bank threatening foreclosure. Depending on the amount they required to delay the action, that should be easily solved. At least temporarily.
However, if the Warwicks’ financial issues were so bad that it had gotten this far, how would they come up withanysum of money?
While none of this was my damn business, Eberly needed help and she’d come to me for it. Regardless of how wrong a sexual relationship between us would be, I could still be her friend.
Right.Even when her naked body pressed against mine was a memory, I could live to be a hundred and never forget how good it felt.
She rolled to her side, so her back was to my front, giving me the perfect opportunity to relinquish my hold on her. Instead, I rolled too, leaving my rigid cock nowhere to settle other than between the cheeks of her pert ass.
When I opened my eyes,the rosy hues of dawn streamed in through the window and Eberly was no longer beside me. I sat up, relieved when I heard her soft footfalls outside the bedroom door.
Given I was typically a light sleeper, I was surprised she’d managed to get up without waking me. But hadn’t I slept better than I had in years two nights ago, when she’d soothed the pain of my migraine?
I rolled out of bed, pulled a pair of sweats out of a dresser drawer, and spotted her black lace pantieslying on the floor. “Fuck,” I muttered when the sight of them made me instantly hard—something the pants I intended to wear wouldn’t hide. Instead, I grabbed a pair of jeans, not that they were much better.
“You’re up early,” I said, opening the door, then wishing I hadn’t. She stood in my kitchen, wearing the shirt I’d had on last night and—considering I’d spotted her panties—nothing else.
She turned around and rested her behind against the counter. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“You didn’t.”
She looked away.
“What’s goin’ on, Eberly?”
She raised both hands and covered her face. “I feel like an idiot.”
I stepped closer, grabbed her wrists, then lowered them. “There’s no reason you should.”
“I’m sorry about, you know, last night.”
I grinned. “Yeah? Which part? Cause if it’s what happened in my living room, I can tell you I’m not.” What was I doing?Jesus.Every word I spoke was in direct conflict with myjusttelling myself to be her friend and nothing else.
“I’m not exactly the seductress I may have appeared to be.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “See? Even now, I sound like an idiot.”
I rested my forehead against hers and tightened my grip on her wrists. “Stop it.”
“I should, um, probably get home in case my dad showed up or shows up.” She looked up so I could see her eyes. “I really need to figure out what to do about our house.”
“Have you tried calling him?”
“It rang a few times, then went to voicemail.”
I let go of her wrists. “I’ll be happy to take you home so you can pick up a few things, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay there alone. Not until we find out who was at the gate last night. I’ll call Vader, err, the sheriff later and see what they know.”
