Page 83 of Nothing to Deny

Throwing back the covers, he leaped out of bed, driving a rapturous laugh from her lungs when he scooped her up to toss her over his shoulder. Nothing wrong with his exuberance or his stamina. He was on a mission and wasn’t leaving her behind.

Fine by her. The bathroom at least had a locking door, which should prevent potentially embarrassing interruptions. There may be a lot of couples in the building, sure, but she had no idea how her aunt and uncle felt about the younger generation getting intimate while in such close quarters. Wasn’t a topic one could just casually bring up while passing the peas at dinner. She hadn’t heard anyone else having fun the previous night, then again, she’d been dead to the world.

Baer set her on the vanity and went to turn on the water.

Tempting though it was… “I don’t think my aunt will let us stay in here all day. Someone will come looking for us eventually.”

“Yeah, I figured,” he said, returning to peel off her top. “Maybe if we ignore the door and stay real quiet, they’ll give up and go away.”

Unlikely. And if she let him follow through with what was on both of their minds, staying quiet would require Herculean effort.

This time, she didn’t hinder the nudity and planted both hands behind her to lift her hips when he slid off her shorts.

“Quiet wouldn’t be a bad plan, we shouldn’t be loud…” He scooped his hands beneath her jaw to tilt her head back and kiss her. “Was anyone else loud last night?”

“Didn’t hear anyone.” Did that mean Donoghue and Nickson were good discreet lovers, sucked in bed, or were thwarted by Kelly and Holly given their parents were in the next room? “I don’t care about them.”

Tilting her head the other way, he angled his kiss to push deeper, though still kept his tongue from her mouth. Why was he—no, ignore the frustration. This wasn’t a bad thing, it was a good thing. Restraint. Wasn’t that what she asked him to exercise? If he aroused her too much…

“No sex, remember,” she panted, clinging onto her last vestiges of composure.

“You meant the full penetrative kind though.”

“Did I?” she teased, helping him lose the boxers. “We have to be good.”

This wasn’t a moment for “What would Roxie do…?” Because her friend, right then, with a guy she was crazy for…

The money. She had to remember the money going to Squires. While Baer was being paid, the full penetrative kind was definitely off the table.

Just like her.

He picked her up, both hands gripping her ass, and slid back the glass to take her under the hot spray. Oh, it was good to be in his arms, her own looped around his neck, levering her up until she finally got to taste his tongue.

Other parts of him wanted a taste too, wanted to slip over her threshold, and she wasn’t immune to the temptation. It would be so good… Why couldn’t they…? Oh, her and her rules. Yes, they were good rules. Rules that wouldn’t muddy the waters of the true them…

“Is this crazy?” she whispered, arching her body into his descending mouth that tantalized her throat.

“I’m taking advantage before you get smart and kick me to the curb. Gotta build those memory banks.”

“Crazy…” she said, writhing against him. “To think we’d ever resist…”

Inviting him into the shower was a hell of a test right up front. Naked, her body was ready, hot, wet, desperate… very accessible to his. And this guy knew sex. Was she an idiot? If anyone could do shower sex without a designated plan, it was a guy in his line of work.

She didn’t bring protection. Packing it would’ve been tempting fate, admitting her weakness, admitting just how muchshe wanted to—maybe he brought condoms. Always prepared, right? Work product. It was a professional necessity. Bringing them might look presumptuous, would he think that? Could be a work policy to bring them no matter what, Conrad didn’t know her rules. The boss might’ve forced Baer to take them. Except Baer could’ve worried about giving her the wrong idea. Like that he could tempt her into abandoning her rules. Wrong idea? Uh, given where she was, and what they were doing, that should be the right idea. The very right and incredibly amazing—

“Baer!”

Her eyes opened as his mouth left its post. So much for no interruptions; that voice was close. Close like right on the other side of the bathroom door perhaps. Did they lock the door? Having a lock made no difference to interlopers if they hadn’t used it. She’d been otherwise indisposed, and Baer had other things in his hands when they entered.

“Who is that?” she whispered, which was stupid because no one would hear her over the shower spray.

“Don,” Baer grumbled and put her on her feet. “Goddamnit.”

They could ignore it, ignore him, like Baer suggested… Except they should probably be giving Donaghue a reward, he might have saved them from what they’d almost given into.

Though it was a little unsettling that…

“Did he just walk in our room uninvited?”

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