Page 79 of A Shot at Love
And they had shared something, some…connection. She could admit she’d never been so free and uninhibited with a man as she had been with Ky. Forget that he had the kind of body a woman, any woman, would want to run her hands and tongue over. Forget that just hearing the raspy, seductive bedroom timbre in his voice made her want to get naked and busy in a heartbeat. And forget the way he’d been considerate enough to give her multiple outs before they got too hot and heavy. Forgetting all those things, she actually liked him.
She’d been more intimate with him than with any other man she’d ever been with, and, in reality, they hadn’t even slept together. They’d done everything but, and she’d felt more fulfilled, more satisfied, more just plain wanted than she could remember ever feeling.
Before he’d asked her to spend the night in his bed, she’d been wondering how she could broach the subject and ask him if she could stay without sounding needy or clingy. She’d been telling him the truth when she said she never stayed over at a lover’s house. Gemma didn’t feel the need to cuddle and share a bed for the night. Sex was one thing; tenderness and affection were something entirely else. She didn’t do intimacy, didn’t share emotions.
Until last night.
Last night, she’d wanted to fall asleep with Ky’s arms around her; wanted to lie next to him all night, luxuriating in his warmth, listening to him breathe; she wanted to wake up with him.
He’d stripped her of all the protective maneuvers to safeguard her heart and pride.
Never let a guy get close enough to see your heart, your true self. It was a creed she’d lived by all her adult life, in every dealing with men she’d had.
Gemma dated. Often. Dinner, drinks, a few Broadway shows and a nightclub now and then. She didn’t sleep with most of the men she dated, though. The guy usually got the message he wasn’t wanted in that way and the offers to go out stopped. But they would remain cordial to one another, and no hearts were ever fractured or broken. It was a system she’d cultivated, and had some measure of success with, since none of her dates ever had a bad word to say about her.
But she hadn’t dated Ky, and yet, somehow, he’d gotten her to break all her rules and personal commandments.
How? How had he done it?
Gemma shook her head. She wouldn’t think about that now, afraid the answers might not be the ones she really wanted to hear.
In the past, Gemma had been gone before breakfast had ever been a thought. Not possible now since they were basically imprisoned in the house. She had to face Ky, face what they’d done. Face what they’d shared.
For some strange reason she couldn’t name, she wasn’t as unnerved by the prospect as she would have thought she’d be.
Her one hope was he’d felt the same connection she had. Until she knew, though, she’d play it cool. It wouldn’t do to have him know how much she’d treasured the night.
She opened the fresh bread Rick had brought with him, took the eggs and milk from the refrigerator, and snooped around in the cabinets until she found some nutmeg, cinnamon sugar, and apple pie spice.
The pan had just come to temperature, the butter sizzling, when Ky came out of his bedroom adjusting the collar on his shirt.
She’d told herself she wouldn’t react to him until she was able to gauge his mood. The moment their gazes connected across the counter, she knew that was impossible. The fingers holding the spatula gripped the utensil harder. The quickened sound of her breathing filled the small cooking space, making it sound as if she stood in an echo chamber.
He looked, well…like a man who’d spent the night having sex: content, relaxed, sated. And as drop-dead gorgeous as usual. His sun-kissed hair was damp from the shower and finger-combed in place, his skin faintly flushed. His eyes were alert and when they zeroed in on her, she watched them rake across her face, a silent question in them.
“Good morning,” she said, hating the tiny tremble in her voice.
Ky nodded. “Morning.”
“I-I’m making French toast. For breakfast. We never got to eat yours the other day, and I, well, I’ve been craving it ever since then and now that we have the ingredients, I figured, why not? We haven’t exactly been eating too well for the past few days.”
