She turned so quickly, the hem of her short nightie caught air. ‘You haven’t slept yet?’
He was still alert enough that his gaze snapped down to her legs. ‘I had to get out in front of things.’
‘But…’ Now she felt guilty about sleeping so soundly. ‘I could have stayed up to help you.’
His gaze was dubious as it lifted.
‘I’m crafty,’ she insisted.
‘You’re distracting.’
Her cheeks turned pink, and it had nothing to do with the fire raging before her. Maybe he hadn’t forgotten about that kiss either.
‘What am I supposed to do while you sleep?’ she asked.
He stopped as if she’d stumped him again and looked around the house. How much time did he spend here? Did he live out of his office more than he lived here? ‘I don’t know. You could watch TV or read. There are books around.’
Her lips twisted. ‘I’m not much of a reader.’
He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Do whatever you want. Have your run of the place. Just don’t go wandering off.’
‘So I’m staying?’
He rubbed his temple again as if she was only making his headache worse. ‘For the time being.’
He moved past her and started down the hallway. ‘I’ll be up in a few hours.’
‘You need more sleep than that.’
He shook his head. ‘I need to stay out ahead of this. Besides, if I sleep too long now, I’ll be up all night. Then what would I do?’
She tapped her finger against her lips. ‘I can think of a few things.’
‘Bed,’ he said simply.
‘That’s one,’ she called.
‘Good night, Jenny.’
‘Good night, Brody. Sleep tight.’
* * *
Sleep tight. Like that would happen with her in his house.
Brody headed down the hallway to his bedroom and closed the door behind him. Adrenalin had carried him through the morning, but fatigue had leapt onto his back on the Metro ride back from DC. He’d had to crank Fall Out Boy to ear-splitting levels for the drive back from the lot where he’d left his car, but one step inside his house and his energy levels were spiking again.
Holy hell. He was a guy who prepared for contingencies, but who could have foreseen that he’d find her making herself at home, wearing that…that…that phenomenal achievement in lingerie design?
He ran a hand through his hair. He was only human.
He tossed his tie in the hamper and stripped off his jacket and dress shirt. She was right, it was way too warm in this place. He braced his hand against the wall and tried to rein himself in. He should have gone to his office and caught a few winks there. It would have been more convenient and definitely a lot smarter, but all morning he’d felt a crazy need to get back to her.
Because she was unpredictable – not because he was concerned or felt responsible for her or wanted to see her…
Although seeing her like that? It was a definite perk.
He glanced down to the front of his pants. Oh, yeah. Definite perk.
He paced over to the bed. This wasn’t helping. He needed to be sharp right now, on point. She needed him to be that way. She was as caught up in this mess as his actual client. He rubbed a hand over his face. He couldn’t let himself be distracted like this. Sleep. He needed to sleep. Then maybe he could rebuild his immunity to her so he could see straight.
Determinedly, he flipped back the covers on the bed and toed off his shoes. He stripped off his pants, but cursed when he saw the state of his erection. His cock was certainly alert and at attention. He crawled into bed and flung an arm over his eyes.
He had to ignore the damn thing.
That worked about as well as ignoring her had.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he concentrated on all the other hard problems of the day. Gunderson’s schedule was locked up, and his aides would take him straight home afterwards. They weren’t going to let the media near him, but that didn’t mean that the Hill reporters wouldn’t be digging into things from every angle. The hotel employees would be contacted. TMI News would be swarmed. Even the beat cops might be asked questions, and then there was the likely possibility that other hotel guests would come forward, wanting to share the spotlight. He’d gotten ahead of as much of it as he could, but he needed to be ready to react to the things he’d missed.
Or the things he didn’t even know about, like the doozy Genieve had just dropped on him.
‘Ball-peen hammer,’ he muttered. He felt a suspicious tickle in his throat. That didn’t even make sense. Did she even know what one of those looked like?
He shifted on the bed. He hated that she knew that about the senator – and why. He didn’t like thinking about how she made her money.
But damn. The tickle in his throat turned into something that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. It was the wrong time for his sense of humour to return, but he’d never look at breakfast the same again. Bacon with an egg.
A short laugh escaped him, and his erection stiffened.
‘Ah, Jenny,’ he said in exasperation.
She was somewhere in his house right now, maybe just outside his bedroom door. Was she still wearing that little slip of a nightie? Was there anything underneath it? She hadn’t been wearing a bra. He knew that for certain. She’d filled out the flimsy cups of that purple confection. Her nipples hadn’t been stiff, but he’d seen their outline. The bigger mystery was if she’d been wearing panties. Or even a thong? That negligée had been frustratingly short, allowing him to see miles of leg, but hiding the tempting curve of her ass.
His cock surged, making his briefs pull uncomfortably tight. He groaned in defeat and slid a hand under the covers.
Did she even remember the kiss she’d laid on him last night? The one she’d planted on him as she’d come out of the shower with her hair damp and her skin all dewy? Because he sure as hell did. It had jumpstarted his brain and kept it running most of the night.
He got rid of the briefs that were trying to hold back the inevitable and wrapped his hand around his cock. He was rock hard – harder than he’d ever been with the designer she’d figured out he’d bedded.
How the fuck had she known that?
And had he made up the jealousy he’d heard in her voice?
Probably, but he could use it for what he needed right now. He stroked himself up and down and held back a groan. He couldn’t believe he was doing this with her here, but somehow that made it even hotter. Giving up the fight, he grabbed the lubricant from the nightstand to make things even better.
He blew out a hiss of air as he got down to the serious business of jacking himself off. She’d been so soft and sleepy. It had probably been habit when she’d kissed him last night, but he kicked that thought aside and concentrated on how surprising it had felt. How damn good.
He imagined himself coming home again and finding her in his kitchen. He’d liked how comfortable she’d been around him, how trusting she’d been as she’d let him look his fill. He felt the sizzle of attraction on his skin and the way his body warmed.
She’d been within arms’ reach as she’d burned that contract in the fireplace. He pictured himself pulling her up close and kissing her to celebrate. He could feel their lips meshing and their tongues gliding against one another’s. The tent in the covers grew as he pulled up a knee to brace his foot against the mattress. His pumps became faster as he imagined sliding his hands under that purple slip and tugging it over her head. He wanted to see what she’d been hiding underneath it so badly that his balls tightened.
In his mind, he took her right down to the floor in front of the fireplace. With the sun shining through the windows and the fire heating their skin, he stripped her bare. He tore off her were-they-there-or-were-they-not panties and his mouth went to her breast. He had his hand between her legs before she even said his name.
A low groan rumbled through his throat. Oh, yeah, he wanted to hear that. He wanted to hear
her moaning his name. He wanted to hear those soft sex sounds she made when something made her feel good.
His hips swung up off the bed when he felt her fingers biting into his shoulders and those primal, sweet sounds filling his ears. He laved her nipple with his tongue. It was hard now and peaked. Her hips rolled as he plunged his fingers into her. She was wet and soft. He thrummed her clit with his thumb.
‘Brody,’ she gasped.
He grabbed the headboard as his hand beneath the sheets pumped his rod urgently. His breaths were coming hard. He imagined her hands tearing at his pants and pushing them down over his hips. He wanted at her as much as she wanted him inside her. Maybe more.
He was tired of watching from afar. He was tired of seeing her with men who paid her for what should come naturally.
He rubbed his thumb over the crest of his raging cock and felt wetness that didn’t come out of a tube. He was so close, his back arched.
He imagined her spreading her legs wide as she lay beneath him. He slid his hand under her bottom and lifted her to just the right angle. His hips jumped as he thrust into her to the hilt. He heard that high-pitched panting again, and became lost in the fantasy. His butt bounced on the mattress as he fucked her hard on the floor in front of his fireplace. Her breasts cushioned his chest as he fought for air, and her fingers dug into his back as she took him eagerly. Her flame-red hair was spread across the floor, and he kissed her smart mouth senseless.
He groaned aloud when her ankles locked at the small of his back. They were rocking together in sharp, deep thrusts. He felt his balls pull up even tighter, right on the edge of agony.
‘Brody!’ she cried as she came, her inner muscles squeezing all around him.
Brody clenched his fist tight. He came in an explosion, and the sheet above him turned wet. ‘Jenny,’ he groaned, gritting his teeth as it kept on going.
And going.
When it was over, he sagged into the pillow-top mattress, all his muscles turning loose at once. He worried briefly that he’d been too loud, that he’d actually called out her name. He glanced at the closed bedroom door, but in that moment, he didn’t give a damn. The orgasm had used up all the energy he had left. He closed his eyes and sank right back into the fantasy.
He fell asleep dreaming of her smiling as she looked up at him. She stroked her hand down his belly to where they were connected. ‘I like my bacon with two eggs,’ she whispered.
He was laughing as he rolled with her in his arms.
Find somewhere else for her to stay? He didn’t think so. She was staying right here with him.
Chapter Five
Brody slept longer than he’d intended. Longer and more deeply. When he woke, the sun was shining from the west. A glance at the clock on the nightstand showed it was late afternoon.
‘Shit,’ he said, throwing back the covers.
He headed for the bathroom. He should have set the alarm or just stayed up. But he did feel like a new man…His body wasn’t dragging, and the fog had left his head. He hit the shower and was reminded of at least one reason why he’d zonked out so completely. Damn. He bowed his head under the spray of water. The last time he’d been so horny jacking off, he’d been a teenager. Even then, he hadn’t had a red-hot redhead running around his house practically naked. What other choice had he had?
Other than to do something about it for real.
On cue, his cock started to stir. Cursing, he turned down the temperature of the water. The icy rain made him shudder, but it did the trick. He hurriedly cleaned up. He skipped the shave, threw on some clothes and went in search of a television or computer. If he’d missed something—He skidded to a stop in the living room.
He never would have forgiven himself.
He stared out the window into the back yard and his iced-out hard-on came back with a vengeance. Genieve was outdoors in a tank-top and Daisy Duke shorts that were short enough to give him heart palpitations. Was he going to have to expect that every time he turned a corner now?
He stared helplessly. She’d somehow found gloves and a trowel. He watched as she squatted down to pat the earth around a flower she’d just planted. She was doing his gardening for him – outside where anyone could see.
He hurried to the sliding glass door. ‘Jenny!’
A big grin was on her face when she lifted her chin. ‘You’re up. Did you sleep well?’
‘Yeah, yeah.’ He waved at her. ‘Get inside.’
She looked at the plastic seedling tray by her feet. ‘I’ve just got one more to plant.’
‘I’ll get it. Come on.’
She brushed the dirt off the gloves and peeled them off. Standing, she pressed her fists into the small of her back and stretched. The pose lifted her breasts in a way that made his brain seize.
‘Hurry,’ he said.
‘Keep your pants on,’ she grumbled as she walked towards him.
She had a walk that broke men’s necks on most days, but add the short shorts and Brody could barely stand it. He slid the door open all the way and hooked an arm around her waist to usher her in.
Instead of passing by, she turned into him. She settled her hands on his chest and looked him over. ‘Speaking of pants, you own jeans.’
‘Yeah,’ he said uncertainly. What about it?
‘All I’ve ever seen you wear are those stuffy suits. They’re sexy, but this…’ Her green gaze slowly browsed over him. He wasn’t wearing a tiny nightie, but Brody got the definite feeling he was being ogled. He shifted uncomfortably. She’d better not look too closely at those jeans.
Her eyelids were heavy as she ran her hand over the Guns N Roses T-shirt he’d grabbed on the run. ‘It’s a good look on you.’
Right. He got it now. Payback was a bitch. He’d objectified her; she was objectifying him.
Settling his hands on her waist, he moved her away from the open doorway. ‘You can’t be outside like that. People are going to be looking for you.’
She arched an eyebrow. ‘That’s why I wore the hat.’
He’d turned her loose in his house, and she’d obviously taken him up on the offer. He didn’t know where she’d found the Nationals baseball cap. It looked cute as hell on her, but he took it off, careful not to tug loose the ponytail of red hair that hung out of the back.
‘You should wear that to protect your skin anyway,’ he said. He tossed it onto the coffee table. She had the fair skin that went with being a redhead, and it looked as if it had been a sunny spring day. From the little he’d seen of it, anyway. How long had she been out there? Had anyone seen her?
‘What were you doing?’ he asked.
‘I found those flowers outside, and they needed to be put in the ground. They were shrivelling up and dying.’
Brody scowled. That was his bad. He’d bought them with every intent of planting them himself, but work priorities had gotten in the way. He’d meant to hire someone to do it for him, but he’d never gotten around to it.
‘You don’t have to earn your room and board.’
‘It was fun,’ she insisted.
‘I can see that.’ Unable to stop himself, he wiped a smudge of dirt off her cheek. Her skin was as soft as it looked. From sensual vixen to the girl next door. Was there any angle she didn’t have covered? ‘But if someone sees you here, we’re going to have even more explaining to do.’
Her lips flattened stubbornly. ‘It’s your back yard. Who’s going to be looking there?’
‘I have neighbours.’
‘Is it that uncommon for you to have female guests?’
‘Redheaded bombshells who are all over the television news? Yes.’
Her ponytail swished as she tilted her head. ‘You think I’m a bombshell?’
‘In more ways than one,’ he muttered. ‘Things around you tend to go boom.’
He stepped out the door to look around for Peeping Toms or cameramen with long-range lenses. He even cast a glance at the sky for television news copters.
‘Seriously
?’ she said, folding her arms over her chest. ‘I was planting petunias.’
‘And I thank you for that,’ he said, remembering his manners. ‘It’s just…You shouldn’t go outside right now.’
She let out a grumble of displeasure. ‘Then you’re going to have to plant that last one.’
‘I will,’ he promised.
‘Tonight.’
He nodded. He wasn’t accustomed to taking orders, but she had meant well – and his yard looked better than it had for a while. She had a good eye.
‘You’ll have to grill the burgers, too.’
His chin came up. ‘Burgers?’
She was already heading to the kitchen. There were seasoned patties waiting on a plate on the counter. ‘I figured you’d be hungry when you woke up. I planned on eating outside by the fire pit, but if I’m not allowed, I suppose we can eat in here.’
He looked around in confusion as she began pulling plates out of the cupboard. ‘You didn’t have to do all this.’
She turned with a frustrated sigh. ‘I thought you told me to do what I wanted.’
‘I did, but—’
She pushed the plates into his hands. ‘It may take me a while to get going, but I don’t lounge around. I like to keep busy.’
‘OK. Fine, but I don’t have time for a sit-down dinner. I need to get caught up on how things went today.’
‘Do you think that’s not important to me, too?’ Her green eyes sparked. ‘I kept watch. I would have woken you if anything had gotten out of hand.’
‘But—’ Just the thought of her waking him up brought all kinds of new visions to his head.
He rubbed a hand over his face and tried to concentrate. Would she know if it was getting out of hand? He had to keep an eye on the smallest of indicators. He was a crisis manager. He knew better than anybody how a tiny spark could turn into a raging flame. He put down the plates and leaned his hips against the kitchen table. ‘OK, give me the rundown.’
She pushed the burgers at him this time. ‘I like mine cooked medium-well.’
He scowled at her. ‘Jenny.’
She scowled right back. ‘You have to eat, and I’m hungry. I waited for you.’
Courting Gossip Page 7