Page 36 of So That Happened
‘As you can see, we’re not finished here yet,’ he said. ‘Not even close.’
9
When Josie woke the next morning, it took a few seconds for the events of the previous day to rush back. Heat swept through her, bringing with it a crushing mixture of embarrassment and lust.
Had she really yelled swear words across the idyllic French landscape and then shagged her business partner’s estranged brother? She wouldn’t be surprised to find she’d dreamt it. It was all so surreal.
Sitting up, she took a slow breath before turning to look at Connor, sleeping soundly next to her. He was lying on his side, facing her, his top arm slung forward across his bare chest. In the semi-darkness she could only just make out the contours of his face, his strong jaw and high cheekbones, the slash of his eyebrow.
He was quite something to look at.
She allowed herself to imagine for a second what it would be like to wake up next to him every day. The thought made her tremble. He unnerved her. He definitely wasn’t the type of guy she usually went for. He was too unpredictable, too unstable. She liked men she could feel secure around. Men she could control. And that wasn’t Connor by any stretch of the imagination.
It had been an oddly cathartic experience, talking to him about what had happened at work, and he’d been really sweet about it, but she was furious with herself for letting her guard down like that. What must he think of her? And the sex. Oh, God, the hot, desperate, messy sex. She’d been totally out of her mind last night.
Shuffling to the edge of the bed and swinging her legs out slowly, she found she was twitchy and on edge. How was one supposed to act after a night of hot sex with a virtual stranger? She had absolutely no idea.
Grabbing some clean underwear, a pair of shorts and a vest top, she quietly left the room so as not to wake him. She needed a strong cup of coffee and some time to compose herself before she faced him again.
After taking a speedy shower in the bathroom she swiped mascara onto her lashes and took stock of herself in the mirror. The sun had turned her usually creamy skin a subtle honey colour and she was pleased to see it rather suited her. She could almost pass for healthy-looking.
Down in the kitchen, she was watching the last bit of coffee drip into the jug when she heard a noise behind her and turned to find Connor leaning against the doorjamb. He’d put on a pair of shorts, but he was still bare-chested.
Her heart nearly leapt out of her body at the sight of him.
When she was finally able to drag her gaze up from where the perfectly contoured triangle of his hips disappeared into the top of his shorts she attempted to focus on his face. Had she really kissed him all over last night, running her tongue along the lines that delineated his muscles and ending up somewhere very delicious indeed? It was almost impossible to look him in the eye with those memories flashing through her mind.
‘Morning,’ she said. Playing it cool was the only way she could deal with this.
He smiled in an I-know-just-what’s-going-through-that-dirty-mind-of-yours way and ran a hand through his bedhead hair.
Her mind flicked to the image of him asleep. The look of peace on his strong face had made him seem more vulnerable somehow, but there was no trace of that left now. He was back to being the bear of a man she was used to.
‘Morning, Josie. How’s your head today?’ he said.
Clearly, he was having no problem whatsoever with the fact that they’d screwed each other silly last night. She envied him his total imperturbability.
‘Fine. Good. It’s not… er… it’s fine. Thanks.’
Where had her power of speech scurried off to?
Connor grinned and sauntered over to where she was hovering by the coffee maker. Leaning across, he grabbed the jug and poured them both a mugful before handing one to her without a word.
She leant back against the worktop, grateful for its sturdiness in the face of her sudden inability to support her own body weight. She focused on him slotting bread into the toaster to calm herself. God, she loved how he moved.
How was she ever going to function normally in his presence again? She really needed to get things straight here before she lost her mind.
‘So, what happens now?’ she asked, casually flicking her hair over her shoulder and simultaneously sloshing coffee onto the floor by her feet.
‘We drink coffee.’ He glanced down at the floor in amusement. ‘Preferably out of our mugs.’
‘No, I mean how is this going to work? You and I?’ she asked, ignoring a hot flush of embarrassment.
He turned to look at her and smiled. ‘Do you want me to write you a schedule of events?’
Despite her awkwardness, Josie couldn’t help laughing. ‘That won’t be necessary, thanks. I meant… Oh, I don’t know what I meant. I have no clue what to think about all this.’
He moved to where she stood against the worktop and put one hand on either side of her body, trapping her. The heat of his presence warmed her clammy skin.
