Wet

“He drags his fingertips over her hips. His hands cup her ass as he imagines what it would be like to taste her.”

Elle runs her hands up along her neck. “Yes, tasting . . . lots of tasting! I want that,” she whispers.

I immediately get distracted imagining tasting Elle. Hot damn.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Elle says, her eyes grow wide with a suspicious look. “Are you sure you aren’t secretly a romance writer? This is starting to sound like one of my books.”

I arch my brow at her. “Did you forget that I’ve read a couple of your books? Believe me, I wouldn’t have come up with this stuff on my own. I’m just tailoring it to our story and with no freaking words like moist folds.”

“Oh my God, Paul! You’re so awesome. Well, whatever inspired this . . . don’t stop now. This story is h-o-t, hot!”

“Okay, let’s see where was I before I was rudely interrupted?”

“You had her naked and all worked up. Is he naked, too?”

I pretend smack her thigh. “Be patient!”

I focus again, picturing the couple in front of the shower. It’s not a coincidence that the naked girl looks exactly like Elle. I clear my throat to continue.

“He leads her to the shower and he’s burning up with want for her.”

“She wants him, too!” Elle cries out.

I nod, trying not to laugh at her outbursts. “He turns on the shower and leads her under the spray of the water, before stepping back to take off his clothes.”

“Oh yeah . . .” Elle purrs.

“Her gaze follows his hands as he pushes off his pants.”

Elle fist-pumps the air. “The anaconda is finally free and it’s huge!”

My head drops to hide my amusement. I haven’t seen her enjoy anything this much in weeks. I better read some more of that crazy shit since I sense this isn’t the last sexy bedtime story I’ll be telling Elle.

“She stands waiting for him as the water cascades over her lush breasts.”

“Lush?” she asks with a snicker.

I frown. “You don’t like lush? So what kind of breasts are we talking about: plush, perky, pillowy?”

“Ewww! What do pillowy boobs look like?” she squeals.

I fold my arms over my chest and roll my eyes.

“Okay . . . let’s stick with lush. Go on, go on!” she says as she cups her breasts with her hands and squeezes.

I let out a huff. “He pulls her forcefully into his arms, desperate to have his lips pressed against hers.”

“Oh my God! Can you imagine the epic kiss? The tongue action!”

“Well, yeah. I’m about to tell you about the tangling of tongues.”

“I can already feel it . . . from my head to the tips of my toes, and most distinctly between my legs.”

“Well why don’t you tell me about the epic kiss,” I tease.

“I’m not a writer like you evidently are, but if I were her I can imagine what it would be like to be held in your strong arms while the water poured over us. And your kiss would be a claim, marking me as yours. Your kiss would be a proclamation that I was not just your present, but your past, and future too.”

My eyebrows shoot into my hairline. “Wow, poetic, Elle. You’ve sure read a lot of that stuff. Hell, we could write it together.”

She grins. “See! You’ve inspired me.”

“So keep going.”

As she gets a faraway look I can suddenly see how exhausted she is. Reaching out, she grabs my hand and squeezes it before letting out a long sigh.

“You look really tired. Maybe this is too much?”

“Actually, you’re right. I think this is all I can handle tonight. Besides I want to go to sleep with the image of that epic kiss.”

“Are you sure? I was getting ready to really amp it up.”

“I know, and this isn’t the end of our story. We’ll continue it next time when I’m fully awake and ready for all of your sexiness.”

“I know. The sexiness can be overwhelming.” I wink at her.

Her expression suddenly gets serious.

“What’s going on inside that pretty head of yours?”

“Thank you for tonight.”

I shrug. “It was no big deal. Besides, I’ve had fun.”

“But you’re always doing stuff for me, and what do you get out of it? You’re the least selfish person I know.”

“You’re making me sound like a saint. Believe me, I’m not. I just like hanging out with you. We have fun.”

“We do,” she agrees but still seems unconvinced.

“So enough about how amazing I am. I’m going to head out before you light a candle for me or something.”

She studies me for several long seconds and then finally nods.

“Okay, but mark my word, Paul. Someday I’m going to do something extraordinary for you. I have no idea what it is yet, but it’s going to be grand.”

“Is that so? Why?”

“Because you deserve all the good things. You’re the best man I’ve ever known.”

“I think you’re overstating things but thank you anyway. You’re pretty easy to be good to.”

Her eyes go soft and glaze over.

I stand up because I don’t want her to cry. I can tell her hormones are on high alert and she needs her sleep. “So you ready to crash?”

She nestles down lower under the covers, yawns, and nods.

I lean over and kiss her on the forehead. “Sleep, princess. I’ll check in with you tomorrow from Orange County.”

She winks. “Goodnight, Prince Paul.”

The entire friggin’ drive to Orange County I’m wondering what to do about Elle. She’s on my mind all the time now and I sure as hell don’t treat her like ‘just a friend.’ She has to wonder what I’m up to, and why I can’t seem to leave her alone. But more than anything I wonder if I should tell her that I’m crazy about her. Well, not just crazy for her, I’m crazy in love with her.

Then I know that sharing my feelings could just freak her out considering all she’s facing with the baby and the Viking harassing her. She needs my support and friendship right now more than anything. Plus she’s said several times that she has no intention of falling in love with anyone, so am I ready for a one-way conversation on that topic? If I freak her out with my declaration she may just push me away. I can’t risk that. In my book an unfulfilled heart is better than a broken one.

By the time I get to the Newport Beach library I’m relieved to have something else to focus on. There’s a series of meetings pla

I check in with Elle after lunch, right before the meeting with the board, and her spirits are good.

“See, aren’t you glad you stayed home and rested?” I say.

“Actually I had to go to the convention center to deal with some outstanding issues but I’m about to head home, I swear.”

Oh, this woman.

I’m careful not to chastise her. “Well, if you’re working at least you sound happy about it.”

“I’m happy because I just met someone who could change my life.”

My i

“Her name is Do

I let out my breath in a wave of relief.

“Na

“I’ll say. We started chatting at the snack stand, and you aren’t going to believe it, Paul, but she had a similar story to mine. She had her kid out of wedlock and was at a loss how to manage everything. She ended up leaving her corporate job to start the agency so she would have more flexibility with her child.”

“All this was revealed at a snack stand?” I ask, not hiding the marvel in my voice.

“We’re women, Paul, that’s what we do.”

“Well, that’s awesome.”

“So she has a soft spot for women like me. We really hit it off and she said she will send me her best people when I’m ready to hire someone.”