Chapter 6

Tara lay in the darkness, perfectly content to listen to him simply breathe. She felt the weight shift next to her but didn’t open her eyes. The next thing she noticed was the scent of him, of them wafting together to begin the hum in her veins. She felt a single finger brush across her cheek and heard his voice, soft and warm. “You are so beautiful.” She repressed the sigh of satisfaction wondering what he would do next. She was surprised when she felt him move away from her. Bare feet were almost noiseless on the carpeted floor. Cracking one eye she caught a flash of his powerful thighs and perfect ass as he disappeared into the bathroom. She heard the water in the shower come on and closed her eyes once again, imagining the sight that would greet her should she decide to follow him. The hum became a steady flame centered in her core.

Seconds later she was reaching for the knob on the small bathroom door. Steam engulfed her as she slipped inside and reached for the curtain separating his naked body from hers. She didn’t suppress the groan that issued from her lips as she took in the sight of the water gliding down his broad shoulders to fall over his back and down the length of his legs. His hands were in his dark hair, splaying the muscles of his back and she couldn’t make her hands still as she reached out to trace the lines in front of her. His eyes met hers over his shoulder and the sexy smile curved his lips invitingly.

Snaking her hands around to his chest she pressed her body against his. Her hands moved across his abdomen and he heard the rush of breath in his ear as her hand closed around him. Her teeth sank into the back of his neck and he thought he would lose all control right then.

He let his eyes slip shut, fingers curling uselessly against the tiles as her small hand continued to work him. He had thought a shower would help him relax. It had been torture to lay next to her sleeping form those lush curves pressed so intimately against him. He had been loathe to wake her to assuage the need he felt burning through his veins.

He had also been half afraid that she would think badly of him for it. Just because it had happened once didn't mean he now had Carte Blanche where her body was concerned. He was too much of a gentleman for that kind of thinking, though he was quite sure there were a number of guys they worked with that wouldn't have the same compunction.

Tara let the other hand dance across the wet skin of his abdomen and chest, her fingernails scratching lightly. The longing she felt for him began to deepen beyond a physical need and she felt the prick of apprehension crawl across her skin.

As Davey turned gray eyes blazing with an all consuming need she wondered if it was anywhere near as strong as what she felt for him. His lips came crashing down on hers bringing the rush of desire that had been simmering beneath the surface since she had woken under his gentle touch and soft words.

As he ravished her mouth with his, she felt his hands slide down her sides to grip her hips. Sliding her up his body, he needed no guidance to drive home. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he moved inside her. Her head thrown back, eyes tightly shut she felt the cooling water cascade over her but even that couldn't dampen the fire raging inside of her. The only thing that could accomplish that was him.

He stared into her turquoise eyes as he continued to drive into her welcoming body. Dimly part of him wondered if he really meant anything to her or if he was only convenient. Looking into her jewel toned orbs he found it difficult to believe that she took just anyone to her bed. Her gaze was so open exposing more than she was probably aware of that he found it tough to maintain eye contact. Burying his face in the crook of her shoulder licking and sucking on the sensitive flesh of her neck.

Davey didn't notice the now ice cold water as he felt her walls tighten and heard her breathing quicken and then still. The sensation drove him over the edge as he let go of the climax he'd been struggling to hold back from her first touch.

He left a trail of hot wet kisses along her jaw to her mouth. Pressing a sweet gentle kiss to her lips his hand coming up to cup her cheek tenderly. He pulled back staring down into those drowning deep pools he let his thumb brush over her kiss swollen lips. Absently he noted the temperature of the water pelting them. Reaching out he shut off the taps never breaking eye contact with her as their heartbeats slowed back to normal.

She could see the unspoken question in his eyes and bit her lip, averting her gaze. With a deep breath he turned from her and reached for a towel. Handing it to her he didn't look at her again before stepping out of the shower.

Tara wanted to reach out to him and tell him... Tell him what, she wondered, watching as he wrapped a towel around his lean hips. Tell him that this was just a momentary lapse of sanity? She snorted at that thought. Once might have been temporary insanity but twice was another matter all together. She wondered how she had fallen so quickly and so hard for someone she had just met. It was official if Sara ever got wind of this she was going to stab her with a fucking pencil!

Davey heard the sound and it pricked at his pride. If he was just a piece of meat to her, he wished she would have said so up front. Ordinarily, he didn't have a problem with sex for the sake of sex, but somehow he knew, just knew that this had been something else entirely...at least for him. He exited the bathroom, mentally kicking himself for expecting anything more. She'd never said one way or another and he hated the fact that he had obviously read more into the situation than she had been ready to give. Sitting down on the bed with a sigh he buried his face in his hands.

When Tara appeared, several minutes later that was exactly how she found him. "Davey?" her voice was tentative."I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

“Didn't mean to what,” he asked cutting her off sharply. His stormy gray eyes pinned her where she stood, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “Play me for a fool? Cuz you did a brilliant job of that,” he spat. He regretted the words almost as soon as they left his mouth.

His words cut like a knife. She felt the tears sting her eyes. "I'm scared," she admitted quietly.

“Scared of what,” he asked more harshly than he'd intended. He couldn't stand to see a woman cry and it killed him to know that he was at least partially responsible for them. Standing he took a step forward cursing silently as she retreated from him.

She brushed angrily at the tears. She hadn't cried in years and certainly not over some damn condescending man. She glared at him "Do you know how long it's been since I felt anything but contempt for any man?"

“I'm guessing ten minutes ago,” he snapped in kind even knowing it was his wounded ego speaking and not the man that should have been.

"Davey, don't make me stab you with a fuckin pencil," she said heatedly.

Richards glared at the redhead as he rose from the bed, smirking slightly as she backpedaled away from him. Reaching out he grasped the pencil that had been embedded, forgotten in the door. Handing it to her eraser first he leaned down their faces almost touching. “Take your best shot,” he sneered shoving the pencil into her hand.

Her eyes widened then narrowed. Apparently the fact that she had been willing to stab Ki hadn't fazed him in the least. "Are you fucking high?" she hissed. Give a bitch a pencil and she would stab a motherfucker.

Davey realized he had pushed this too far as he watched her arm draw back. He barely had time to avoid serious injury as she swung her arm forward. He hadn't been quick enough. He felt the tip of the pencil graze his arm. “You're fuckin' crazy,” he snarled backing away from the irate redhead.

"Which is precisely why you don't want to get involved with me."

“Don't you think I should get a vote, especially in things that concern me,” he snapped tapping a finger angrily against his chest.

Her eyes flashed and the words spilled from her lips before she had a chance to censor herself, "Not with my heart you don't."

He didn't know who was more shocked by her outburst, her or him. Of all the things she could have said he highly doubted that was what she had meant to say. He couldn't help the swell of hope beginning to bloom that maybe, just maybe, he hadn't been wrong about her after all. Knowing that she was waiting for him to say something, anything he opened his mouth then just as quickly shut it. “I...I don't know what to say to that,” he finally managed to get out.

"You don't have to say anything. I just..." she could feel her body tremble and decided she'd already committed herself. She moved past him to perch on the edge of the rumpled bed. She looked up at him, "I never meant for this to go this far...I mean..." she pounded herself in the forehead. "Stupid bitch," she muttered more to herself than him. This was precisely what Sara had been afraid of, and rightly so.

Davey grabbed her wrist gently forcing her to look at him. “C'mon Tara, it can't be as bad as all that,” he said softly, sinking to his knees before her. “Talk to me.”

She took a deep breath fighting to calm herself. Looking him in the eye she cleared her throat, "What I am about to say goes no farther than the two of us, nor is it to make you feel obligated."

Brushing his thumbs over her knuckles he nodded reassuringly. He wasn't sure what she was about to confess and had to fight to contain his burgeoning hope. For all he knew she was getting ready to tell him where to go and how to get there.

"I haven't been with any man, coworker or not in far longer than I care to admit. Not for lack of opportunity, but lack of desire...I did that once before...and," she looked away from him momentarily when her gaze returned to his the look on her face told him it hadn't ended well. "Anyway," she continued, "I thought this could just be about sex for me...the second I laid eyes on you I knew we'd end up here...and I should have known better."

His grip on her hands loosened as the meaning of her words sank in. He was shocked, amazed, thrilled, flattered, and a whole host of other things he didn't wish to examine too closely at the moment. He couldn't help the grin slowly stealing over his face. He framed her face with his hands unwilling to say anything that might ruin this fragile moment.

She watched the emotions play over his handsome features and held her breath waiting for him to say something, anything. "Did you really think I felt any differently Tara?"

Biting her lower lip she dropped her gaze though it got no further than his delightfully kissable mouth. “Honestly, I didn't know what to think. Hell, I still don't know what to think about what's going on here,” she confessed in a small voice.

Cupping her chin he brought her face up until her eyes met his "Don't think, just feel," he whispered.

“I'm good with that,” she whispered as he reached for her towel. Her eyes slipped shut as his hands blazed a path over her sensitized skin, losing herself in the magic of his touch.

He willed himself to take it slow, even as his own body screamed at him to take her. He didn't know how long this was going to last but he vowed to enjoy every second.