Back in the Bedroom Read online

  “Eddie talked about me?”

  “He mentioned you on my first day of work. In fact, Eddie’s so young himself, I actually assumed you were just a kid.”

  “He had me when he was a teenager.” Far before he’d finished sowing his wild oats, which had left Reilly alone with his teenage mother, Cheri. But because Eddie hadn’t been a cruel kid, just a stupid one without a condom, he’d given them half of the trust fund he’d been born with. Cheri had saved every penny for Reilly’s college, which he’d gotten halfway through, studying business and finance, before Eddie decided he wanted back in their lives.

  Ten years later, both mother and son were still resisting Eddie’s efforts.

  “You didn’t grow up with him?” Tessa asked.

  “No.” He could feel her breath against his chest, could feel her waiting for more. “I told you, I’m not good at this.”

  “Well, we could always escape instead.”

  She was something, he’d give her that. Determined and spirited and brave as hell. But against him she felt so tiny, and he knew she’d be utterly defenseless in a fight against those four. He traced the bruises on her throat and felt an odd and unwelcoming urge to keep her safe. “It’s almost dawn. I’ll go soon.”

  “But—”

  He put his finger over her mouth before it could start running again. Had he wanted to protect her? Well, who the hell was going to protect him, and not from the perps, but from her? “I said I’d go.”

  She pulled his hand from her mouth and blinked those dewy eyes up at him. “Okay.”

  “Why do I get the feeling you don’t really mean okay?”

  “No, really. I’ll…be patient.” She shot him a wistful smile. “Just tonight I was wishing for more adventure and excitement in my life. It’s why I took the job with your father in the first place. I figured a variety of different tasks at different places would help provide some of that. But now that I’ve had a real adventure and real excitement, all I want is my own bed, and maybe a bubble bath to go with it.”

  In spite of himself he smiled. “A bubble bath?”

  “Strawberry-scented. What are you wishing for?”

  A bottle of something aged and expensive. A faceless woman. A break from the nightmares this night had brought back.

  But he’d settle for just being out of here. Alone.

  “Reilly?”

  What the hell. “Sex.”

  “What?”

  “Forget it.”

  “No, no,” she said quickly. “I asked.”

  Yeah, she’d asked. He lay there on the small cot with her, soaking up the feeling of being so close to another human being, trying not to think of what they could be doing to pass the time.

  Maybe silence wasn’t the way to go after all, because when her mouth wasn’t running off, his other senses sort of took over, starting with how her soft curves felt against him.

  “Reilly? What do you do? For a living?”

  “Why?”

  “Just filling time.” She cocked her head. “Is it a secret?”

  “Accounting.”

  “You’re an accountant.” Her tone was disbelieving.

  “Yep.”

  “What did you do before that?”

  “Why?”

  Now her lips curved and he couldn’t take his eyes off them. Since she was still staring at his mouth, he figured it was only fair.

  “Is that a secret, too?” she asked.

  “Actually, yes.”

  Her eyes widened. “Really?”

  No. He just didn’t want to get into it. He didn’t like to talk about it, and he wouldn’t start now with the woman who was plastered against him from head to toe, feeling soft and sweet and everything he didn’t want but suddenly craved.

  “It’s just that you don’t really seem the accountant type to me,” she said. “More like…secret agent man or something.”

  Since that was so close to the truth, he didn’t say a word. For distraction, he looked beyond her, out the small window, and saw the pink tinge to the sky. Thank God. “Time,” he said, and carefully disentangling himself from her curvy little body, stood.

  Tessa stood, too, and watching the enigmatic Reilly Ledger stretching his long, beautiful body, she felt…confused. Several times now she’d actually thought she’d seen a gentler side to this man, it was part of what had made her melt all over him, what had let her allow him to kiss and touch her like he had, and yet then she’d blinked and it had vanished.

  It occurred to her how little she really knew about him, other than he had a king-sized alpha attitude. Oh, and that he kissed like heaven.

  Good thing she wasn’t attracted to attitude, not in the least. Nope, give her a kind, warm, safe, beta man any day of the week.

  Please give her a kind, warm, safe, beta man. It was her turn for one.

  But that kissing like heaven thing…that could be a problem. “You wanted to wait until daylight,” she said, trying not to sound as ruffled as she was. “For safety reasons or whatever.”

  “It’s nearly daylight now.” He eyed the access above them with the look of someone about to undergo a root canal without drugs.

  “You’re just trying to get away from me.”

  He looked so startled, she had to let out a low laugh. “Don’t worry. I often have this impact on people, especially…” Her smile faded, and embarrassed at what she’d nearly blurted out, she lifted a shoulder.

  “Especially?”

  She looked out the window.

  “Oh, now you’re going to go shy on me?”

  “On men,” she finished. “I often have this impact—that need-to-run impact—on men.”

  He didn’t say anything so she risked a look at him. “What, no comment?”

  He was looking at her, his light eyes inscrutable. “I think a guy would be an idiot not to want you. If he was looking for a woman, that is.”

  “But you’re not looking.”

  He gave a slow shake of his head. “I’m sorry. I’m not looking.”

  She managed a wobbly smile. “You’re very sweet to be so kind about it.”

  “Sweet and kind are two things I’m most definitely not. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Too much confession going on?”

  “Too much something.”

  She looked out at the brightening dawn. The Angeles Crest Mountains were blooming, as was everything, because in April in Southern California, that’s how it went. Just another beautiful day. They were all beautiful days.

  Reilly stood on the bed. He was going to get them out and then she’d probably never see him again. Suddenly she couldn’t remember what her rush was to get out.

  If they got out.

  His big, beautiful body was tense, his hands in fists at his sides as he stared up at the access, and despite the utter toughness emanating from him in waves, she once again sensed that there was more, much more to this man. “Reilly—”

  “Watch out.” He easily reached the ceiling. His arms were taut with strength. Corded tendons stood out in bold relief as he worked the square cover of drywall loose. Under his arms were soft, sparse tufts of dark hair that matched the light spattering across his chest. And those legs…long and delineated with strength. She’d never really understood the debate between boxers and briefs, but the way Reilly filled out his black clingy knit ones made her a firm believer in boxers—

  “Tessa?”

  “Hmm?” She jerked her gaze off his body, a little horrified to have been caught gawking at the guy who’d been hit on the head, stripped and was now doing his damnedest to get them out of their hell.

  His disconcerted gaze told her he knew exactly what she’d been doing and that he hadn’t found it so flattering. He had the drywall off and was handing it down to her.

  She took it, set it against the wall and turned back in time to see him pulling himself up with the agility of an athlete. His head and chest disappeared, leaving just the bottom half—which was not a bad view at all