feelings weren’t important. Right at that moment he had a pretty good idea what she’d been running from and why her confidence in herself was so low.
Well, he could make her feel better. And at the same time he could make himself feel better, too.
‘No thinking,’ he said, and began to move.
She wrapped her legs round him to draw him deeper and tensed her muscles round him.
‘That’s so good,’ he groaned.
She smiled, and did it again.
‘Do you know what I really want?’ he asked.
‘What?’
‘You on top of me. With that glorious hair falling over both of us.’
She looked slightly shocked. ‘You like my hair?’
How could she not know how glorious her hair was? ‘I love your hair.’
She smiled, and let him roll with her so that he was lying on his back and she was straddling him. Then she moved over him and tipped her head forward so her hair fell over them, just as he’d asked.
And the reality was even better than his fantasy.
‘You’re gorgeous,’ he said. ‘Totally gorgeous.’
She seemed to like being the one in control; she teased him the way he’d teased her earlier, letting the pressure build to almost fever pitch and then easing off just a little, then letting it build again.
By the time he climaxed, he was near to hyperventilating.
He felt her hit the peak again at the same time, so he wrapped his arms round her and held her tightly until it had all ebbed away.
‘I’d better deal with the condom,’ he said finally.
She nodded. ‘And I guess I ought to get dressed and call a cab.’
He glanced at his bedside clock. ‘At this time of the morning?’
She looked at the time, too, and grimaced. ‘I suppose it’s a little late.’
‘Stay,’ he said softly. ‘No pressure. Unless you have to be somewhere?’
‘I can be anywhere I choose,’ she said.
‘Then stay,’ he said, shocking himself. What the hell was he doing? He should be getting dressed and offering to drive her home, not asking her to stay. This was the first step on a very slippery slope towards letting someone into his life. Bad move. He was rubbish at being close to people. Work was fine, but anything emotional made him back off. Every single one of his girlfriends had complained that they needed more emotional commitment than Aaron could give them. But not one of them had made him feel strongly enough to want to change or keep the relationship going—and that reinforced what he’d always known, deep down. Love wasn’t for him.
So he needed to stop this. Right now.
But his mouth clearly wasn’t working with the plan. ‘I can make you breakfast. There’s a patisserie round the corner that does fantastic croissants.’
‘And would that mean more of your coffee?’ she asked.
‘Definitely more of my coffee.’
Where was his common sense? Why wasn’t he pushing her out of here as quickly as he could?
He made a last-ditch effort to put an obstacle in the way. ‘Do you need—well, insulin or anything?’
‘I’m sorted,’ she said.
He could hardly say now that he’d changed his mind and ask her to leave, could he?
OK. This was just for tonight. Spending one night with someone wasn’t the same as a declaration of everlasting love, was it? So it wasn’t as if he was going to screw things up totally. Even he couldn’t manage to do that with a one-night fling.
He went to the bathroom, dealt with the condom and came back to the bedroom. ‘There are fresh towels in the bathroom. Help yourself to whatever you need.’
She gave him an embarrassed smile. ‘I know this is going to sound crazy after what we’ve just done, but do you, um, have a bathrobe or something I could borrow?’
‘Sure.’ He took his bathroom from the hook behind the door and handed it to her. ‘And I’ll close my eyes.’
‘Thank you.’
She returned a few minutes later, smelling of his citrus shower gel and with her skin still slightly damp.
‘Do you want me to close my eyes again?’ he asked when she stood beside the bed.
She nodded. ‘It’s a bit pathetic, I know.’
No. It just meant she really wasn’t used to having a one-night fling.
But maybe this was what both of them needed, right now.
He waited until she’d got into bed and he’d felt the duvet being pulled up on her side, then leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. ‘Just for the record, it’s not pathetic,’ he said. ‘It’s kind of cute. And I’m very flattered that you chose me to—um, well. Be with you.’
‘Hmm,’ she said, but her eyes crinkled at the corners.
‘Let’s get some sleep,’ he said, and switched off the light.
It had been a long, long time since he’d spent the night with someone. He knew it wasn’t the most sensible decision he’d ever made; but right now it felt good to fall asleep curled round a warm body. So he’d go with it. And tomorrow—tomorrow, they’d have breakfast, they’d smile, they’d say goodbye and they’d walk away.
Joni was warm and comfortable, the body wrapped round hers holding her close.
Then she opened her eyes as the realisation hit her. The body wrapped round hers.
She’d stayed overnight with Aaron.
Uh-oh.
This could be awkward.
Last night was—well, last night. A crazy impulse, one she really shouldn’t have acted on.
Why had she stayed for that last dance? Why had she let him kiss her stupid and then made love with him? Why hadn’t she taken the chances he’d offered her to back away and flee to the safety of her own flat?
Panic seeped through her. What would Aaron expect of her this morning? Last night he’d talked about having breakfast. But would he think that they were now officially a couple because she’d stayed the night? Or would he, too, be having these doubts and panicking that she’d want much more from him than he was prepared to give?
She took a deep breath, held it, and listened.
He was breathing
