Page 46 of Karma
If she didn’t have to be in Connecticut early, she’d definitely want to spend the morning getting reacquainted with Dare and his amazing body. Once had been all he’d allowed last night. He was insistent on watching out for her head. Which, she realized, didn’t hurt all that much this morning.
“I’d join you, but you’d never get out of here on time.”
“I know.” But visions of them together in her shower, warm water licking over his tanned skin, had her trembling.
“Go.” He lightly pushed against her. “I’ll make breakfast and shower when you’re finished,” he said and headed for the kitchen, leaving her alone and sexually frustrated.
No doubt about it, she’d be thinking of him for the rest of the day, which had her wondering if that had been his intention all along.
***
Twenty minutes later,Liza had showered and dressed. Her head didn’t hurt nearly as much as it had the day before. Dare Barron was more potent than any medication a doctor could prescribe. She’d enjoyed last night and was unwilling to let any stray thoughts get in the way this morning. She met him in the kitchen, where he was finishing a bowl of cereal.
He wore his jeans, unbuttoned and slung low on his hips, and no shirt, revealing the ripple and pull of muscle. Liza swallowed hard. She was suddenly hungry, and it wasn’t for food.
She looked him over, her gaze settling on the tattoo on his left arm. She’d been too busy focusing on his other body parts to pay much attention to it last night. Curious, she walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey.” She settled in the seat next to him where he’d laid out a similar breakfast for her.
He looked her over, his hot gaze devouring her, and he whistled. “Nice outfit.”
She couldn’t withhold a smile. She’d chosen her favorite sexy beige suit and killer pumps just for him, not that she’d admit it. The man’s ego was big enough.
“I thought you said you were making breakfast,” she asked, glancing at the cold cereal on the table.
She did like teasing him.
“This is as good as it gets,” he said with an easy shrug. “Might as well get used to it.”
She wasn’t about to touch the last part of that statement, she thought. “At least you make a mean toast and jelly.”
“Glad you think so.” He tilted his head in acknowledgment. “How’s the head?” he asked.
“Much better, actually.”
“Great.” He smiled, obviously pleased she was feeling better.
She had no doubt he’d helped her speedy recovery. She glanced at him, and once again, her gaze found his tattoo. “Dare?”
“Yeah?”
She pulled her chair closer to him and lightly traced the tattooed band around his arm. He stiffened at her touch but didn’t stop her from studying or touching the intricate design. At a glance, it appeared to be a basic tribal band, but there was also what looked like a symbol woven into it that she couldn’t see well, let alone decipher.
The one thing she did know was that she found the inking extremely sexy. “What does the tattoo mean?” she asked, genuinely curious.
“It’s nothing,” he said in a sharp voice that took her by surprise.
She jerked her hand back, hurt by his cold tone. She narrowed her gaze and studied his suddenly closed expression.
In an instant, the relaxed man she’d come to know over the past couple of days had vanished. The happy, easy-to-laugh, easier-to-smile guy had disappeared.
Shut her out was more like it, and that hurt more than it should.
“It was just a question.” She rubbed her arms, annoyed with herself for being bothered by the sudden chill.
He didn’t reply.
Thiswas why she didn’t do relationships. Relationships involved emotion, and emotion led to disappointment. She looked at the cereal in front of her and decided she was no longer hungry.