Page 31 of A Shot at Love
“No, I—. No.” she shook her head, trying to force the image of him naked and wet in the shower from her mind. “Whatever you make is fine.”
It was his turn to nod. “There’s plenty of hot water. You can shower now, if you want, as well. No need to wait.”
She wouldn’t let words form in her mouth. She was afraid that if she spoke, she’d give voice to her thought that they share a shower, so she simply nodded once and followed him up the stairs.
Chapter Five
Ky let the icy water sluice down his neck and shoulders as he bit back an oath from the freezing shock of it against his bare skin. He’d told Gemma there was plenty of hot water, but he wasn’t taking advantage of it.
He needed to cool down.
Christ, he needed to calm down. He was so hard, walking up the two flights of stairs to his bathroom had his hands shaking and sweat pouring off him.
If sanity hadn’t taken over just when it had, he’d have flipped Gemma flat on her back again and given in to his roaring desire to possess her mouth.
And possibly more than just her mouth.
From the moment he’d turned and found her staring at him, her eyes wide and filled with nerves, he’d been fantasizing about what she would taste like, feel like. In truth, she hadn’t been far from his thoughts from the moment he’d shut his eyes the night before until he opened them again.
Gemma was an enigma in every way imaginable.
She’d shown him a stubborn side, a determined side, and even a vulnerable side of her personality. She’d been flirty and quick-witted with his partner, something he imagined she was in her daily dealings with men, but reserved and self-contained with him. She was passionate about her profession but obstinate about her safety. She’d actually argued with him when he told her she needed to move the desk in her room from under the window for fear anyone on the street could look in and see her. Pouting like a three-year-old and insinuating he knew nothing about technique or lighting, she’d done as he’d asked.
So many conflicting facets written into one woman.
To discover her hidden talent and finesse with weaponry had almost been too much for him to take in.
Beauty, brains, talent, and she was skilled at martial arts. He’d had to fight to keep the smile from his face when she questioned his own abilities with the escrima sticks. What would she have done if he’d confessed the numerous trophies he’d won in the sport? Or that he’d been studying the discipline longer than she had?
He had no doubt she’d have still consented to fight with him, her own pride and sense of self-worth would have made it impossible to refuse.
Where the thought to spar with her, hand to hand, had come from, he could only guess, but the unshakeable need to touch her, to have his hands all over her, to have her willingly consent to it, had pushed the question from his lips.
He’d thought to hold back, go easy so she wouldn’t reinjure her knee, but she’d proven her defensive skills were exemplary, outmaneuvering him twice. He could have argued it was because he was distracted by how perfect her lean, toned body felt against his, or how cottony-soft her skin was under his fingers, or even how she smelled like ripe cherries.
But they would have just been excuses.
Gemma Laine, he’d been thrilled to learn, was a worthy opponent on several levels.
When she’d reversed him to his back and settled over his growing-by-the-second erection, he stopped fighting and simply reveled in the exquisite, erotic feel of her body against his.
The raw need that surfaced as he’d lain there overwhelmed him to the point of the almost-kiss. He’d forgotten every rule, every regulation, every oath he’d ever taken. In that moment, all he knew, all he could see, feel, and want, was Gemma.
She’d been as caught up in the moment as he’d been, he was sure of it. While he watched her head bend down, bringing those amazing lips closer to his, Ky had sensed something floating in the air between their bodies: something frightening, something real.
He’d pulled back at the last moment when the realization of what it was came to him. Equal parts thankful and regretful the kiss hadn’t happened, Ky knew down to his core he had to keep a close watch on his emotions from now on and think with his head and not other parts of his treasonous anatomy where Gemma was concerned. He couldn’t give in to his desire for her, couldn’t allow it to surface again no matter how strong or forceful it was.
