Her lips were parted, and her hair looked sleepily disheveled under the oversized hood of her boxy wool coat. The coat was far too big, like it belonged to somebody twice her size. It made her look small and in need of protection as crazy as that sounded.
I wanted to wrap her in my arms and pull her close, to shield her from the cold and whatever else might be lurking in the dark. I wanted to kiss her like I meant it and to hear her moan into my mouth.
She'd done that sometimes during those make-out sessions in my vehicle.I'd liked it.It had made me wonder what other sounds she'd make if things ever went that far, which they hadn't.
But there was a reason they hadn't.At first, I hadn't wanted to rush her. And then, I hadn't wanted to share.
I wasn't that kind of guy.
During the past week, I'd been working like a demon – not just at the office, but in my own head, to keep thoughts of Lexie at bay, trying to purge her from my mind like she'd purged herself from my office all those months ago.
But now?
Now I was seeing things differently.
And from the look in her eyes, so was she.
Chapter 27
Lexie
His gaze warmed in the cold night air. And yet, it wasn't lost on me that if Cole hadn't just caught me literally on his own doorstep, we might have never spoken again. At the mere thought, I felt a dull ache in my heart. It was the same ache I'd been feeling for days –eightdays to be exact.And don't get me started on the nights.
I searched his face. "But if we hadn't met up tonight, what would've happened? Between us, I mean." My stomach sank. "Nothing?"
He didn't look away, but he didn't answer my question either.
If I had any dignity at all, I wouldn't be asking such a thing. But tonight – or technically this morning – dignity was in short supply, even shorter considering that I was still holding a giant wad of toilet paper loose at my side.
On impulse, I lifted my hand and gave the loose paper a menacing wave. "Just so you know, if you don't answer, I'm going to putallof this back on the wreath."
His lips quirked upward. "Would you now?"
"Yes, actually."
"I'd pay good money to see that."
I didn't get it. "But why?"
"Because you're cute as hell."
He had to be joking.Still, his words sent a warm tingle down my spine even as I protested, "I can't be. Notnow."
"Oh, yeah?" He gave me a long leisurely look, starting at the top of my head and traveling slowly down the length of me.
As he did, I tried not to cringe at what he was seeing.Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.
I was wearing an oversized coat that wasn't my own, faded gray sweatpants, and bulky winter boots. In my rush to get out here, I hadn't tied the boot laces or buttoned the coat, which was just as well because the coat's buttons weren't buttons at all, but rather old-fashioned toggles pulled through leather loops – except I hadn't bothered to pull through a single one.
Come to think of it, I hadn't bothered with a lot of things, like brushing my hair for starters. But in my own defense, I'd planned to be long gone by the time Cole showed up.
When he finished with his impromptu inspection, he flashed me a sudden grin. "You're not just cute. You're sexy, too."
I laughed in spite of myself. "Now Iknowyou're joking." I glanced down. "I mean, just look at me."
"I did," he said. "And I liked what I saw."
He couldn’t mean it.I was a total mess. Probably, he was just trying to distract me from my question.
