Page 71 of Crossing Paths
“What caused this smile?” he asked huskily, kissing her gently as if he couldn’t resist.
As cheesy as she knew it’d sound, she had to tell him the truth. “You did.”
From the way he kissed her again, deeply and thoroughly, he didn’t think it was cheesy at all.
By the time the last of the conditioner was rinsed from her hair, the water was lukewarm. Norah knew from painful experience the final drop to frigid would happen very soon. She shut off the water, squeezing excess water from her hair as Dash watched with hooded eyes. With the shower off, some of the hazy, dream-world feeling faded, and she felt a little shy under his frank and openly appreciative appraisal.
Dropping her gaze, she gave a small shrug. “Our water heater’s ancient. We have a new one on our wish list, but it still kind of functions, so it’s not a priority.”
“How does that work with five women living here?” he asked, pulling the curtain aside and snagging a towel. She expected him to start drying himself off, but instead he handed the towel to her.
As she rubbed it over her skin, she was struck by what a commonplace action it was, something she’d done almost every day her entire life, but now it was full of lovely tension and undercurrents since Dash was here, watching her as he grabbed his own towel. It took her a few moments to recall his question, and she had to clear her throat before she could answer. “Five women and one man now—Bennett’s staying with Fifi in what used to be Mom’s room. We have a strict shower schedule when everyone’s here. Fifi’s really good at organizing that sort of thing. It’s much easier now that Mom’s gone too.” As she said the words, she was struck by how true they were. It wasn’t just sharing the bathroom either. Everything was easier…except for the mess Jane had left behind.
Pushing away thoughts of bail bonds and treasure-hunting burglars, she pressed the worst of the moisture out of her hair before wrapping her towel around her. Dash wore his low around his hips, and the sight was almost more alluring than when he was completely nude…almost.
She caught sight of her damp mess of a mane in the mirror and reached for a comb. When Dash took it out of her hand, she stared at him, confused, even when he started combing out her tangled hair. He started from the bottom, holding the handful so the motion didn’t pull on her scalp.
“Why are you so good at this?” she asked, allowing herselfto relax into the very different sensations of his fingers and the teeth of the comb. Opening one eye, she peered at his closely clipped head. “Did you used to have long hair?”
“No.” He started on detangling another section, intently focusing as if combing her hair was the most important task in the world. “I have a little sister.”
“Yeah?” Although he’d tipped her head forward so he could work on the strands covering her nape, she peeked up at him, charmed by the thought of him caring for a small girl who looked like him. “What’s her name?”
“Daphne.”
“Is she still in Arizona?”
“Minnesota. She’s a doctor at Mayo.”
He finished working through the tangles and ran the comb from the crown of her head to the ends of her hair. It felt so incredible that Norah couldn’t hold in a groan. The comb froze, and she felt Dash go still behind her, his body radiating that same feeling of immobile vibrating tension he’d had when she’d first touched him in the shower.
She glanced up at him and then couldn’t look away, caught by the ferocious need in his eyes. “Do you…want to see my bedroom?” she asked, her words sounding to her own ears like a corny cliché.
When Dash answered with a growled “Yes,” it felt like it’d been the exact right thing to say.
She led the way down the hall, Dash so close she felt like she was being hunted. Instead of making her nervous, having that solid wall of muscle stalking behind her sent her stomachbutterflies into a good sort of wild frenzy, her heart jumping from the thrilling, seductive danger of it all.
It wasn’t until he stepped into her bedroom that she remembered how very small it was, her hobbit-size closet with itsextremelytiny bed. She looked back and forth between the bed and Dash, completely unsure as to how things were going to work, logistically speaking, until Dash’s full-throated laughter drew her attention.
Entranced, she stared at him, fascinated by the way his smile transformed his face. Even though she really liked him while he was wearing his usual scowl, there was something about him looking sohappythat awakened an answering joy inside her.
“Don’t worry,” he positively growled, although there was still an amused current to his words. He pulled the door closed behind him, making the bedroom seem even more minuscule, which Norah hadn’t thought possible. “We’ll make this work. I want you so bad, I’d makeanythingwork.”
Her mouth dropped open a little at his raw admission, and then he was on her, kissing her fiercely. Her head spun with the intensity of it, and she took a half step back to catch her balance. That was all it took for her calves to meet the edge of her bed, and then she was falling backward.
Dash somehow turned her before she smacked into the wall, instead landing with her head on the pillow. He came down on top of her, taking his weight on his hands, his arms caging her in a way that felt both thrilling and weirdly safe.
“Good thing Warrant didn’t follow us up here,” she said breathlessly, not sure why she was talking about her dog whenthere was a gorgeous hunk of man currently hovering over her, his eyes positivelysmoldering. “With him on the bed, you definitely wouldn’t fit.”
Another laugh burst out of him, and before Norah could decide whether seductive Dash or happy Dash was more attractive, he lowered his head and kissed her. Instantly, she was caught up in a whirlwind of want, everything in her focused on Dash and how his lips felt against hers. Since the first time they’d kissed, she’d wondered a few times during moments alone whether she’d exaggerated the intensity of how she’d felt when they’d been together like this, if her mind was putting a romantic sheen on something that had, in reality, been rather ordinary. Now, in the moment, she could definitely say that kissing Dash was even better than she’d remembered.
He lowered his body until his chest pressed against hers, just a single layer of terry cloth separating their skin. Even that one towel felt like too much, and she pulled at it where it was tucked into her side. Although he was just resting a portion of his weight on her, it was enough to trap the towel. She wanted him to stay where he was, but she also wanted to feel his skin against hers.
As if he’d read her mind yet again, Dash pushed off her so she could pull the towel loose. It dropped to either side, leaving her bare. She tugged on his biceps, wanting him to kiss her again, to feel his skin against hers, but he resisted, staring down at her with hungry eyes. His intensity reminded her that she was completely naked, all her flaws exposed to the one person whose opinion in this matter she actually cared about. She gave a shy wiggle, dropping her gaze to the side.
“Hey.” His voice was a low rumble, bringing her eyes back to his. “You’re so beautiful. I didn’t expect… I mean, I thought about it a lot, but actually seeing you…”
His inability to finish a sentence made her smile. She’d managed to fluster the great Dashiell Porter. That was impressive.
