Holiday Treasure (Billionaire Bachelors #10)(26)
Author: Melody Anne

“The bathroom is ready,” he said, making her jump. “Sorry.”

“I’m sorry, Tanner. I just…” Again she stopped, and then her sweet lips turned up a fraction of an inch and she stood up and walked toward him. “Thank you. Really. You are too good to me and I don’t know why, but you are.”

She took his breath away when she leaned against him and brushed her lips lightly across his. Before he was able to grab her, pull her tightly against him and lose complete control, she stepped back and then walked into the bathroom.

He nearly had a stroke when she left the bathroom door open a few inches and he could see her shadow flickering on the wall. Moving quickly away from the temptation — he wasn’t a Peeping Tom, dammit — he headed to his bedroom and decided to light another candle. Then he found himself sitting on the edge of the bed.

Should he change? Climb beneath the covers? What was she expecting from him? What was he expecting from himself?

It was cold in his apartment, but as he listened to the sound of water running in his bathroom, he felt a nervous sweat break out on his skin because he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to be strong enough to last with her beside him all night.

When what felt like an hour passed, but was probably just five or ten minutes, he almost jumped at the sound of his own voice. “Are you okay in there?”

When there wasn’t an answer, he stood up, moved toward the bathroom door and tapped on it. “Kyla, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Give me another minute” came her reply and he could hear her nerves loud and clear. They were definitely both feeling the sizzling atmosphere.

Why was he nervous? Why should either of them be nervous? They were adults. They weren’t virgins. Sex was natural, it was needed, it was the one true thing that really made the world go round. So if the two of them burned the sheets to help keep them warm and to make the despair of the night disappear, there was nothing wrong with that.

But were they rushing this? Hell, no. He’d been wanting her in his bed since he met her nearly three weeks ago. It was long overdue — if anyone cared to ask him. So why in the world was he so antsy? He was never nervous about having sex. And if they didn’t have sex, he wouldn’t perish.

Well, maybe he would.

The candlelight flickered softly, casting a warm glow about the cold room. It was the perfect scene for a night of hot sex. Plus, hadn’t someone once told him women preferred candlelight because it made everything seem so much more beautiful, hid flaws and all of that? Not that Kyla had a single flaw on her perfect body. Again, he had to remind himself that she’d just asked not to be alone. She hadn’t asked for him to make love to her. A groan of frustration barely missed escaping his throat.

When the creaking of the bathroom door alerted Tanner that she was emerging, he looked up and watched her shadow approach before she made it into the bedroom.

“Wow, this is…beautiful,” she said, her voice trembling, her nerves obvious.

“The power is out. We needed more light than we had at first.” Sheesh. Talk about belaboring the obvious… Would he win an award for Lame Response of the Year? And why was he in this pathetic state?

“Yeah, I know, but it’s still beautiful. I’m sort of enjoying the fact that the power is out right now.”

She shifted awkwardly. Maybe not all men would find her stunningly beautiful in a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt, but right now, he couldn’t imagine a more perfect woman.

Maybe if they were back at his penthouse suite, she would have emerged in a lace teddy with scented oils caressing her skin, but they were in this dive apartment complex, and he just didn’t care. All he cared about was that soon she would be lying next to him. Or on top of him. Hmm…

“Maybe I’m being too irrational, and maybe staying wasn’t the smartest idea. I…uh…I’m…” She trailed off and Tanner found himself not being able to breathe, let alone speak. “I mean, I’m a big girl. If I get this frightened of the dark, there’s a real problem.” She didn’t look him in the eyes as she shifted on her feet again.

Oh, heck no. He wasn’t going to let her leave. With two quick strides, he was right there in front of her; he pulled her to him and felt the shiver travel down her spine. The last thing he wanted was to let her go, even if that meant a night of suffering for him. Tanner was surprised that he would be willing to do nothing more than hold her. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try to convince her the two of them could make a hell of a lot of magic if their bodies came together though.

Bending down so his words were a warm breath on her neck, he murmured, “We can keep each other warm.”

“I’m scared, Tanner.”

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” He just hoped she’d want to do it all. Yes, he would probably end up with permanent damage to what he had beneath the belt, if he’d been wearing one, but she was worth it. And his pain was worth being able to hold her close.

“Are you sure?”

He suddenly had a terrifying thought. “You’re…um…not a virgin, are you?”

That made her head come up and she finally looked in his eyes before smiling ruefully. “No. But, to be honest, I’m not very experienced…at all.”

“That’s okay,” he said, relief filling him. The longest this could last was one more week, and he didn’t want to be responsible for taking her innocence. When he left this building, he wasn’t taking anything with him, especially not another person.

So if they made love tonight, that’s all she would get — his body, not his mind, his soul, or his love. He needed to tell her this, but the words were trapped in his throat. This was new. He’d never before had difficulty letting a woman know that he could only give her sex, nothing more. But what if the natural light that shone from her eyes dried up? What if he did take her body and then left her empty? Could he live with that?

She cupped his cheek with a gentle hand and leaned forward, kissing him softly before stepping back. She was lighting him on fire. Who needed a freaking furnace? Without another word, he took her hand and led her to the bed.

“Are you trying to seduce me, Tanner?” she asked with a nervous smile.

“Yes.” Why should he lie?

“It may be working,” she said, then gave him a look that had his breath rushing from him in excitement.