LITMIR.BIZ

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“I know this is awkward.”

      “It is. Here, I can use my cell phone to light the way,” she said.

      “Don’t use your phone as a light. It’ll kill the battery. I can get us there.”

      “Okay.”

      He grabbed her hand this time, his grip firm and warm, and she stayed close as he navigated perfectly to the stairs.

      “You didn’t change any of the displays,” he commented as they climbed.

      “I don’t, typically. I want people to find things easily when they come back for a second or third visit,”

      she said. “I have an area for new items, and they know where to find those, too.”

      “Makes sense.”

      She did use her phone as a light for a quick minute to insert her key into the lock and let them in, finding her apartment as well in total darkness. It felt comfortable talking about the store, something neutral.

      “We’re both pretty soaked from the rain,” she said.

      It had been coming down so hard even the short walks to and from the cab had been drenching. “My brother left some things here after his last visit. They should fit you well enough, if you’d like to change.”

      In spite of being soaking wet, the heat and humidity made the apartment muggy, and she felt a fine sheen of perspiration on her brow. Or maybe it was repressed arousal.

      “I’d appreciate that,” he said simply.

      “Wait here. I’ll get the clothes and some towels.” She carefully walked into the guest bedroom and found the Levi’s and a silky black T-shirt in a drawer where Tim had left them behind.

      Her brother, a criminal defense lawyer in Chicago, wasn’t quite as broad in the shoulders as Jonas, but they were about the same height and weight, she figured.

      She shivered in anticipation, in spite of herself. The storm didn’t seem to be letting up. Jonas might be here for the night.

      Maybe … No.

      There was no way she could sleep with him. He’d just think she was using him again, to get back at her father or for some blue-collar thrill, whatever. He’d memorized her home, her store, but didn’t he get to know her better in those weeks when he’d been guarding her?

      Apparently not.

      Could she have been imagining the chemistry between them?

      She thought back to their encounter in his apartment, earlier in the day. It felt ages ago. He wanted her—he just didn’t want to want her.

      Though in all honestly, she was partly to blame for what had happened to him. She wasn’t guilty of the things he accused her of, but she did bear some responsibilty. She’d set her sights on him, flirting, tempting, and did whatever she could to break his control.

      That had backfired big-time. She also hadn’t believed in the threat that he was guarding her from, and he had ended up paying the price for that.

      So maybe he had good reason to be angry with her. And maybe this was her chance to make amends.

      “Well, I have the clothes, but as to skivvies, I don’t have anything like that on hand, unless you would like to try on something of mine,” she teased lightly as she entered the living room.

      He did chuckle then, a gravelly, masculine sound that warmed her blood.

      “Not necessary,” he said, and that turned her tease into a groan as she thought about Jonas and nothing between her and him but the thin denim.

      Her mouth went dry as she put the clothes in his hands, and then the towels.

      She licked her lips, impossibly turned on by him being here, so close and about to take his clothes off.

      “You can use the bathroom,” she said quickly, turning back to her bedroom to change her own clothes, and promptly slamming her shin into the table leg.

      “Are you okay?”

      “Yeah. Though I feel stupid for not being able to find my way around my own apartment in the dark,” she admitted.

      “It gets easier with practice. Maybe you should use your phone for light before you really hurt yourself.”

      She frowned, but did light her way back to her room as he disappeared into the bathroom with no trouble whatsoever.

      Stripping out of her wet clothes, she dried off and applied some smoothing sage and lavender lotion to her skin, enjoying the calming scents. Her phone dimmed a bit, and she knew she was losing the charge, so tried to finish her ministrations in the dark.

      Peering out the window as she was slipping on a pair of light capris and a tank, she couldn’t see a thing. Rain hit the glass so hard that the entire view was obscured, and everything was pitch-black, including the streetlights.

      She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through this night. She wanted Jonas, but he clearly had no such intentions toward her. They were stuck together, and she’d make the best of it, but she ached inside and wished things could be different.

      Making her way back out to the main room, she did as he instructed and walked slowly forward, until she caught the edge of the flip-flop she wore on the throw rug, pitching forward and landing with a thud on the hardwood floor.

      A lamp fell from the table beside her and she cursed loudly. That was her favorite lamp, a one-of-a-kind that she had handmade by a glassblower in New York.

      “Are you okay? Where are you?” Jonas called, emerging from the bathroom.

      “Yeah, I just stumbled over the rug, and I think I broke a lamp.”

      “Don’t move, you could cut yourself on broken glass.”

      The next thing she knew, he was there, his hands finding her in the dark.

      The scent of sweet-smelling lavender and sage lotion on her skin rose between them as he helped her up and over to the sofa. As he sat down with her, he didn’t let go.

      She’d dabbed some patchouli oil on her pulse points earlier in the day. The sweet, earthy scent was traditionally one used in erotic ceremony, and connected historically to sensual practice. Right now, combined with the humidity in the room and Jonas’s manly scent, it was a heady mix.

      Or maybe it was the way one of his hands lingered on her back, and the other on her wrist. The storm raged outside, but Tessa hardly noticed.

      “I shouldn’t be here,” he said.

      “And yet here you are.”

      She saw the green light in the tense posture of his body, as if he was using every muscle he had to hold himself back.

      Time stopped. The world outside the window was invisible, everything was swallowed by the storm. It was only the two of them, here, alone, and suddenly nothing else mattered.

      “Jonas,” she whispered, but it was all he allowed her to say before his mouth was on hers, and they fell back to the soft cushions of the sofa, forgetting everything else.

       4

       7:00 p.m.

      JONAS KNEW HE was playing a dangerous game, but when he had Tessa in his arms, her scent intoxicating him, he couldn’t stay away.

      He didn’t ask for this. If James hadn’t called, he wouldn’t even be here. But he was, and being this close to Tessa without touching her was proving impossible. It had been a mistake of grand proportions to accept this job from James, but it was too late now.

      He wanted her more than he wanted his next breath, and in one move, he slipped off the thin tank she’d put on, and pressed her bare flesh to his. They both groaned as she twined her arms around his neck.

      “You’re

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