She shoved herself off the bed and went into the bathroom. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” She ranted at herself the entire way across the carpet to the tiled floor.
Her stupidity had already gotten her into this mess. She didn’t need to compound it further by actually falling for his seven-day “let me convince you I can be there for you and the baby” game. Especially since any guy who kept extra toothbrushes on hand clearly needed them for a parade of women.
Furious at herself, she brushed her teeth hard enough to take off the top layer of enamel, then washed her face. He hadn’t offered her any pajamas and she definitely wasn’t going to get into his bed naked.
Wouldn’t he just love that?
At least, she thought with a small measure of comfort, he didn’t keep women’s pajamas in his house to go with the toothbrushes. She’d never gone through someone else’s things before—Lori was the snoop in their family—but Sophie didn’t feel at all bad about opening his closet to look for a T-shirt. She hated sleeping in her bra, but she needed something to cover her in lieu of the white cotton she had on.
She found a black shirt and as she quickly pulled off her skirt, sweater, and bra, she tried not to appreciate the fact that the shirt smelled like Jake. A clean, masculine smell that went straight to her head.
Hearing footsteps, she all but threw herself onto his bed and beneath the thick covers, only to find his mattress deliciously comfortable. Clearly, from what she’d seen of his house so far, he bought the best for himself. She could only imagine how much a bed like this must have cost.
Oh, but it was worth every single penny.
She hadn’t thought she’d be able to sleep a wink in his bed. But it was so comfortable...and she was so tired.
Before she knew it, Sophie’s brain turned off and she was down for the count.
* * *
Jake stood in the doorway, so struck by the picture of Sophie asleep in his bed that he couldn’t actually make his feet move forward. Yet again, he couldn’t do anything but stare at her, watch as her chest rose and fell slowly, her hair spread out across his pillow, her expression so serene.
His chest clenched tighter as he finally moved into the room. Her scent was already everywhere, wrapping around him, winding through him, drawing him closer.
Sixty seconds later he’d stripped his clothes off. All of them.
He wanted her. Badly. He hadn’t just wanted her since the moment he’d found her standing outside his front door, hadn’t just needed her for two and a half months, ever since they’d made love in the rental house in Napa. No, the truth was he’d wanted her so much longer than that.
He pulled back the covers, slid in next to her, and wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her into him, her soft curves fitting perfectly against him, her hips a soft, warm cradle for the erection that wouldn’t go away. Jake slid one hand into her long hair, breathing in her sweet scent.
It shouldn’t feel right to have Sophie Sullivan in his bed. But nothing had ever felt quite so right before.
“Good night, princess.” He whispered the words against the top of her head, pressing a soft kiss there. Sleep claimed Jake long before he thought it would, with the one woman he’d never thought he could have safe and warm in his arms.
Chapter Twelve
Sophie felt so safe, so warm, as she floated in that in-between space between sleep and coming completely awake. She knew exactly where she was, knew precisely why she felt so good. Jake was holding her, his arms curled protectively around her shoulders, with one of his hands splayed flat over her stomach beneath the T-shirt as if he were trying to protect more than just her.
And he was completely naked.
She could feel the rigid flesh of his erection against the small of her back, the hairs on his thighs against the smooth skin of her legs, and as desire swiftly stole through her, she couldn’t stop her half-asleep body from wanting to get even closer.
She’d assumed night would be her enemy, those dark hours during the seven days she’d promised. But now she knew it didn’t matter whether it was day or night, light or dark.
She was her own worst enemy.
Jake wouldn’t have to ask her for a darn thing. Just to be near him like this, if only to know the sweetness of his touch for a few seconds, she’d give up everything.
Obviously hearing her secret admission, Nice Sophie came completely awake inside of her and started yelling at her to protect herself from being hurt any worse than she already was. Nice tried to remind her of the pain she’d felt for two long months, tried to hold out those truths she’d made herself face the day before.
But Naughty Sophie, the part of her that had clearly been held down for way too long, wanted to go back to that place where Jake had been touching her, teasing her, taking her to heaven and back. She’d be careful this time. She wouldn’t be foolish enough to blurt out her love for him—or even to admit that she felt it—no matter how good he made her feel.
Of course, when Jake softly blew the hair away from her neck and pressed his lips to the sensitive skin there, it was inevitable that Naughty would win the battle over Nice. Rather than trying to fight it, knowing it was pointless to even try to pretend she didn’t want to be his lover for the next seven days, Sophie did what came naturally and arched her neck to give his mouth better access.
His low groan of pleasure rumbled from his chest to hers as he pulled her hips even more tightly against his, his hand never leaving her stomach. His tongue slid over her exposed neck and she shivered at the delicious sensation of being tasted. Savored. And when he blew over her damp skin, she felt the tips of her br**sts become sharp points of need. Her br**sts were more sensitive now, probably due to her pregnancy. And, oh, how she wanted his hand to move those few inches, up from her waist.
But then his mouth was back on her neck, nipping at her skin, causing a trail of thrill bumps in its wake before latching onto her earlobe, and the breath Sophie hadn’t realized she’d been holding whooshed from her chest as his teeth bore down on the soft flesh.
More ready for sex that she’d ever been in her life, she instinctively pressed her hips into his erection, trying to widen her legs for him, so that he could take her. But his thigh between hers held her captive.
“Jake,” she pleaded, barely awake and already begging.
“Shhh,” he soothed, and she might have pressed her case for quick and fast if not for the fact that he finally started moving his hand.