Page 8 of Santa Crush
A grin tugged at his mouth, and he wondered what she'd say if he asked her out.
Hours of sitting in the bar nursing a beer had given him plenty of time to think.About what he wanted and how he could go about getting it.
Before he did anything they had to get through the next three days.
Asha wanted their commitment to the cruise line finished before they started anything.
Ifthey started anything.
For all he knew she might not want to date him.Maybe she was one of those women who preferred hooking up, sex with no strings.
Hell, he'd been that kind of guy for the last decade.After his divorce he'd pulled away from anything more than the occasional one-night stand.
He couldn't even remember the last time he'd had sex.
He'd thought about the possibility of finding a willing partner while on this cruise.Of course, he hadn't known he'd be sharing a room with the one woman who had starred in all his fantasies the last few years.
Now that he thought about it, the last time he'd hooked up was about six months before Sarah moved to Winter Lake to take the dispatcher job.He'd been in New York City for a two-day conference and met a woman in the bar the night before it began.
They'd gone back to her room, and he'd left soon after the deed.Fuck.He wasn't even sure if he'd seen her at the conference after that.
Not that either of them had wanted more than one night.
The sex had been good but nothing to write home about.It had satisfied a physical need but nothing more, it wasn't meant to.
Asha knew without doubt that sex with Sarah would be nothing like his previous hookups, it would be life changing.
"Are you going to get into bed or stand there brooding for the rest of the night."
Sarah's sleep roughened voice jolted him out of his thoughts."Sorry.Didn't mean to wake you."
"You didn't.I don't sleep well in strange beds," she murmured.
Now that he'd disturbed her, and he couldn't change his mind about sleep beside her he panicked.He hadn't thought about what he'd wear to bed.
Normally he slept in his briefs or nothing at all.Shit.He couldn't pack pjs because he didn't own any.
He could sleep in the shorts and shirt he wore.He probably wouldn't sleep anyway, so being uncomfortable wouldn't be a problem.
"Asha?"
"Hmm..."He glanced at his suitcase and mentally ran through everything in it.
"Stop standing over the bed like a serial killer and get in it.I promise your virtue is safe with me."
A bark of laughter left his throat.He wanted to say she could have his virtue.She could have him.Except he'd planned on waiting until after their two-day stint as Santa and elf before making any kind of move or suggest they see where the sparks between them could go.
Chuckling, he stripped out of his shorts but left his briefs and t-shirt on.Sitting on the edge of the bed he pulled off his socks and tossed them on top of his shorts.He'd pick everything up tomorrow when it wasn't the middle of the night, and he wasn't keeping his roommate awake.
He slid his legs under the covers and laid down on his side, his back to Sarah.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?"she asked.
Smiling, he ignored her question and murmured, "Night Sarah."
He wished he could roll over, pull her into his arms and kiss her goodnight and maybe, if he were lucky, they would move their relationship passed being friendly coworkers and he'd get to do that before the boat docked back in Miami two weeks from now.
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