Close to You

his
senses.
    What was he doing? He’d promised
himself he wouldn’t try to save her, and here he was, riding over
there like a white knight just because she sounded
tired.
    No, he thought as he sped down Lincoln
Avenue, that wasn’t entirely why he was rushing over there. He
wanted to see her, to touch her. To pamper her after a long
day.
    There was nothing wrong with
that.
    As long as that was what his
motivation really was, he heard Rick’s voice say in his
mind.
    It was, but there was Margaret. He
needed to tell Eve that his mother was her nemesis. He’d let that
piece of information remain hidden for long enough. Maybe when he
confessed, he could help her deal with his mom.
    When he arrived at Grounds for
Thought, Eve stood in the window looking for him. She waved, locked
up, and hopped up into his truck. “I’m going to be horrible
company, you know. I’m likely to fall asleep on you.”
    She had faint bruises beneath her
eyes, but she was as beautiful as ever. He touched the corner of
her tired smile. “That sounds great. After your bath.”
    She perked up. “Bath?”
    He smiled. “Just wait.”
    They arrived at his house ten minutes
later, but she was asleep.
    So much for confessing. Tonight
obviously wasn’t the right time.
    Neither was it the right time to take
her, to make her cry out for him, like he’d been imagining all
day.
    He watched her, chest expanding with
feeling. Truthfully, he felt just as happy at the thought of
holding her all night while she slept.
    Rick would have called him whipped.
Treat didn’t care in the least.
    She stirred when he lifted her out of
the truck’s cab. “I can walk.”
    “ Let me carry you.” He
kissed her forehead and took her inside, straight to his
room.
    But he bypassed the bed and went into
his bathroom. Setting her down, he ran water for a bath, threw some
salts in, and set a towel for her.
    She frowned sleepily at the room.
“This is awesome. That view is amazing.”
    He smiled. The view of the Golden Gate
Bridge was one of the things that sold him on the house. He’d
deliberately replaced the wall next to the bath with windows so he
could enjoy it.
    Now he drew the blinds halfway up for
Eve’s privacy. “Do you need anything else?”
    Her brow furrowed. “Aren’t you joining
me?”
    He stilled. “You want me to join
you?”
    Her frown deepened. “I’m tired, not
dead.”
    And then to punctuate her words, she
shrugged out of her coat and yanked her shirt over her
head.
    Her bra consisted of patterned black
mesh, with a tiny red rose in the middle. The sheer triangles did
nothing to hide her nipples, and he swallowed thickly as they
hardened under his gaze.
    Without a word, she stripped out of
her pants to reveal matching panties that sat low on her hips. They
were equally sheer, and also had a tiny red rose, only more
strategically placed.
    “ I feel like a kid on
Christmas, faced with the biggest present ever.” He stepped in
front of her and ran one finger down between her
breasts.
    “ Then unwrap me,” she
whispered huskily.
     

Chapter Twenty
     
    Then unwrap
me .
    Eve had no idea where that’d come
from. She’d never been a siren before.
    With a growl, Treat palmed her butt
and pressed himself against her. He was already hard, and she could
feel the heat of him through his jeans.
    He wrapped his hands around her hips
and pushed into her, burying his face in her neck. She moaned when
he nipped her there and arched back against him.
    One hand still holding her hip, his
other moved up her ribcage and closed on a breast, squeezing before
focusing on the nipple. “We may not get to the bath right
away.”
    “ I think I can live with
that.” Fisting his hair in both her hands, she pulled his mouth
down to hers.
    As volatile as their kisses were
before, they were nothing compared to this one. She could taste his
hunger, as desperate as hers was, and it was delicious. Hooking her
leg around his, she rubbed herself against his hardness.
    He grasped her butt, one cheek in each
hand, and squeezed. His thick fingers dipped between her cleft,
inching lower and lower until he slipped under the panties and into
her wetness.
    They groaned in each other’s
mouth.
    He lifted his head a little. His eyes
were heavy-lidded and burning with intensity. “I’m not going to be
able to go slow. The first time is going to be fast and hard and
sweaty.”
    “ Good.” She tossed her bra
aside.
    He picked her up, carried her to his
bed, and threw