He shrugged and propped himself against the arm of her loveseat as he took a sip from his mug. She could smell that it was hot chocolate and saw that it made a little milk mustache on his upper lip. Yum. “A lot of travel,” he said. “And not the nice kind on your own with a truck or a bike. All schedules and sleeping on tour buses, then as Smidge got bigger it was schedules and flights and hotels. A lot of drinking and drugs, if I’m being honest. A lot of getting laid.”
“Not much like the office,” Nell said. “Except schedules. We have those.” The hot mint tea soothed her, put her in a better frame of mind. Wildforest’s premium tier of vacation properties all stocked a nice selection of good quality Harney and Sons teas. It crossed her mind to be glad this emergency site visit wasn’t at Winter Pine, since the economy tier of properties got whatever basic black tea could be had cheapest from their supplier, plus one caffeine-free option — usually something with chamomile, which made her gag. A quiet moment settled over them. She sipped her tea and watched the gas flames flickering in the fireplace.
“We should go to bed,” Eamonn said with a lazy stretch, spreading his arms over the back of the loveseat. When had he moved from the arm of it onto the seat next to her? Too much of his bare skin was disturbingly close to her — she didn’t let anyone into her personal space like this, especially not a half-naked and flirty near-stranger with a hot body and a dirty reputation.
“True.” She got up and crossed the room into the kitchenette area to put her mug in the sink. “I’ll take the quilt and some of the pillows and sleep on the daybed. You can have the big bed and keep the comforter.”
Sitting there, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, he was a picture of laid-back unconcern, but his eyes were bright with interest and appraisal. “You don’t want to sleep on that little cot, do you? King size is plenty of room for us to share.”
“Don’t start with that. We are not sharing a bed tonight, and that’s final.” Why had she added tonight to that? She should have told him they were not sharing a bed ever.
His slow smile challenged her words. “Why not, gorgeous? We’re both single grownups and we’ve got chemistry in spades. So what if we have a little cuddle? Who’d even know?”
“I’d know.” Nell crossed her arms and planted her feet, falling into her pissed-off martial arts instructor stance. He was like a bratty student, not paying attention, wanting to get to the fun stuff without doing the work. “Easy, you’re not sharing my bed because you haven’t earned it. And I’m not sharing your bed because I don’t know yet if I want to be there. When I make love with someone, it’s mutual, consensual, and respectful. And I’m not seeing that from you right now.”
He winced at her use of his stage name, apparently recognizing that she’d meant it as a reprimand. “Fuck me,” he muttered, sounding grumpy and put out. “Okay, whatever.” Then, with grudging resignation, “D’you want the big bed? A lady should sleep in comfort. I can take the daybed.”
“Pretty sure you’d be uncomfortable, given your height, and I’ll fit nicely. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“Enjoy your little bed, then.”
“I’m using the bathroom first,” she told him.
“Fine.”
After she was done in the bathroom, she snagged the quilt and two of the four pillows from the big bed and made up the daybed for herself. But she waited until Eamonn was taking his turn in the bathroom before skinning out of the bathrobe and diving under the quilt. She had no intention of letting him see the silly sleep set Amy had given her. She wasn’t that kind of woman, and she didn’t want him getting any more ideas than he already had. She set the alarm on her phone to wake her and propped it where she could see it before burrowing in.
He grinned when he saw her under the quilt on the day bed, tucked in right up to her nose. “You’re sure you’re comfy all alone there?”
“I’m perfect,” she said. “Get into your bed and go to sleep, already.” His striped pajama pants were adorable.
He turned down the fireplace and put out the lights. “All right, then. Sweet dreams, Nell Whelan. Dream of me, will you?”
“Ugh. You wish. Goodnight, Eamonn.” She heard the rustle of sheets and the sigh of the mattress as he got into the king-sized bed a few feet away. Then a bit more rustling and shifting, getting-comfortable noises, or… “You’d better not be masturbating.”
He laughed out loud in the dark. “Oh, babe, I love how you say what’s on your mind like that. Do you really think I’m such a pervert, that I’d lie here jerking myself off and thinking about you while you’re right over there listening to it? I don’t think I could be that quiet.”
“No, I suppose not. I don’t know why I…”
Eamonn laughed again. “I’d like to, though. Yeah, I’d enjoy the hell out of that. If I thought you’d be even halfway okay with it, I’d be reaching into my pajama pants right now and stroking myself until I came, pretending it was your hand instead of my own, knowing you were lying there in the dark hearing me gasp and groan as I got myself off. I’m so hard right now, I don’t know how I’ll be able to fall asleep.”
“That’s intense,” Nell muttered. Her skin felt like it had been touched by fire all over.
“You’ve got a banging body, Nell, but what really turns me on is your sassy no-nonsense talk and your sharp mind. You don’t
