“I’ll be right back.”
He disappeared with the flash of a grin, retreating into the darkened corridor. Of course. Jess remembered the condom. Inconvenient things.
Her naked, perspiring body felt suddenly chilled without the furnace of Sean’s presence nearby. And with that chill came a creeping sense of mortification. She’d met him, what, less than an hour ago? She’d begged for his touch, run her hands all over his body and—if she was perfectly honest—would love to do it all again.
But the idea of waiting for him, of cuddling with him on the sofa, enjoying the afterglow? It was all a little too...intimate. A strange thing to think, given what they’d just done.
Suddenly, all the fears and hesitations she’d successfully suppressed earlier in the evening came back in a wave. A cold, horrible wave.
Get out of here. Now.
Jess scrambled to her feet and found her dress. It took a moment to sort out the folds of fabric—she’d removed it in haste and left it in a pool on the floor—but once she’d found the hem, she pulled it over her head and was smoothing it down her body when Sean returned to the room.
“I thought you might like—” His words cut off abruptly when he saw she was dressed. He was still naked—still astoundingly, eye-wateringly gorgeous—and he held a bottle of wine and two glasses in one hand.
The man was sex on legs. What was she doing? Jess knew a strong, clenching feeling of regret at the thought she’d not get to experience being with him again, but the more solid certainty that she needed to leave won out.
“Sorry.” She gave him a smile. “I have to get going.”
“But...” He trailed off.
Jess had the definite impression that women didn’t walk out on Sean Paterson very often.
“Thanks, though,” she said, gesturing to the wine. She could feel a muscle in her cheek twitch with the forced smile she’d plastered on her face. Her breath was coming a little too fast and she forced herself to slow it down.
“Oh.” Sean dumped the bottle and glasses with a clatter on the table. “How will you get home?” he asked. “Do you want me to drive you?”
“No,” Jess said too quickly. It was absurd to be disappointed that he hadn’t tried to object to her leaving. “It’s late. I’ll get a cab.”
“I’ll call one for you.” He took a step toward his discarded suit, presumably to seek out a phone.
Jess put a hand on his arm to halt him. Oh, so hard and so velvet soft all at the same time. Really, Jess, would it be too much to ask to hang around for more? She shook the annoying inner voice away.
“It’s fine. I’ve caught cabs from here before. There’s no point calling one at this time on a Saturday night, it’ll take hours. I’ll just walk up the street to the main road and hail one.”
He blew out a breath and Jess wondered for a moment if he was going to argue or finally get around to asking her not to go. But then he shrugged. “Okay. Give me a minute to put some clothes on and I’ll walk with you.”
“No!” It came out louder and more forceful than she’d intended. “I mean,” she said, modulating her voice, “I’ll be fine on my own. I’ve done it hundreds of times.” A slight exaggeration. Maybe twice.
He gave her a look that made him seem older than his years. “Jess, forget it.” His tone brooked no protest. “I’m either driving you home, walking with you to hail a cab, or we call one and you wait for it here. I’m not letting you head off into the night by yourself. It’s just not happening.”
His commanding tone made Jess bristle. “I’m a grown woman. Old enough to look after myself. Older than you, remember?” He probably usually slept with nineteen-year-old airheads who’d get into a stranger’s car when offered candy, Jess thought, knowing she was being more than a little ridiculous. But the strange feeling of panic was growing, and her every instinct was yelling at her to escape.
Sean muttered something under his breath, then reached for his clothes. Jess told herself not to watch, but it was impossible. He pulled on his suit trousers without bothering with underwear and zipped them up in front of her, seemingly unconcerned by her close observation.
“What’s it to be?” he asked, ignoring her protest.
The quickest option would be to have him drive her home. Waiting for a cab at this time of night could, literally, take hours. It was impossible to know how long waiting for one on the street would take. From previous experience, Jess knew it could be minutes—or not.
All the options meant spending more time in close company with Sean. And Jess wasn’t sure what was going on, but her gut was screaming at her to get away from him. She didn’t know why. She needed to be alone to work out why she needed to be alone.
Her indecision must have shown on her face, because Sean reached out and took her hand.
“Look,” he began with an exaggerated air of patience, “I’m not sure why you’re freaking out like this, but—”
“I am not freaking out—”
He talked over her protest. “But everything’s fine, okay? You’re good, I’m good and we just had a helluva lot of fun.” He grinned. “I was kinda hoping you’d hang around a little longer so we could do it again, but I get that you might’ve had enough. And that’s okay. You only need to tell me how you want to get home.”
Faced with his sensible, emotionless dissection of the situation, Jess’s reaction felt like hysteria. A colder, more unpleasant feeling settled in her belly. If she didn’t know better, she’d call it disappointment.
“I’d like for you to drive me home,” she said after a moment. Logic won out. Of all the options, it meant getting home fastest. “If that’s okay.”
He squeezed her hand and then let it go. “That’s fine. Just give me a sec to grab a T-shirt.”
Jess had put on her shoes but still hadn’t located her underwear by the time he returned, wearing sneakers, a tight gray T-shirt that hugged his shoulders and chest, and his tuxedo pants. It should have looked silly, but instead he looked effortlessly sexy and it made Jess’s resolve weaken. Would there really be anything terribly wrong with staying a little longer? Maybe even sleeping over till the morning? If it had been a long time since her last sexual experience, it had been even longer since she’d slept with a man’s arms around her. Jess liked that feeling. Missed it.
Yeah, right. Sean had said he wanted her to stay so they could enjoy round two—nothing about breakfast in the morning. She was sure that after round two was done, he’d be the one bundling her into his car or calling for a taxi. All she was doing was speeding up that eventual outcome. And in doing so, staying in control of the situation. That was what was important.
“Ready?” he asked.
Jess opened her mouth to say something about her missing underwear, but the idea of going on a search for it seemed too...undignified.
“Sure, let’s go.”
* * *
SEAN THOUGHT he’d encountered pretty much every postcoital reaction womankind was capable of. This was a new one on him, though. He’d seen tears. Giggling. Snoring. Even one unfortunate episode of throwing up, but they’d both been very drunk and it had been a long time ago.
He’d never seen ruthless efficiency. He wasn’t sure what else to call the reaction from Jess Alexander. It was a pity, because he hadn’t been finished with her—not by a long shot.
She’d barely said a word since they’d left the house, just brief directions on how to get to her home. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, the silence in the car magnifying the soft rustle of her dress. The silence reminded him uncomfortably of the final weeks