MoreThanWords by Karla Doyle Page B

surging through his veins. He stepped inside and she
triple-bolted the door behind him. Locking him in with her—fine by him. “I like
it when you say my name.”
    She smiled up at him while returning her dog to the ground.
“I like it too. I mean, when you call me Calli.”
    “It suits you. Very feminine, with a hint of incredibly
cute.” He shrugged his coat off and delivered it to her waiting arms. Watching
her move around, the simple act of hanging a coat on a hook, had him itching to
touch her. She caught him staring. Smiled a little, blushed a lot. Damn.
    Her hands knotted together in front of her waist. “Would you
like to come upstairs?”
    So sweet, so proper. So unlike the women he’d grown
accustomed to. If they were chatting online, he’d play on her words, tell her
it didn’t matter where he came, as long as it was with her. For now, he dialed
it back. “Very much. Lead the way.” He kept his hands at his sides as they
climbed the wooden stairs. Took all his willpower, but he didn’t touch her.
Just stared at her pert ass swaying in front of his face. His cock pushed
against his fly. Taking the edge off a few hours ago didn’t count for much now,
not with Calli’s bare legs mere inches away, tempting him to the point of
insanity.
    “You don’t have a heart condition or something, do you?” she
asked when they entered her apartment at the top of the stairs.
    “Nope. All my organs have been tested and checked as clean.”
    Again with the shy smile. “Just out of shape, then?”
    “I like to think I’m not. I run ten kilometers without
stopping and hit the gym at least three times a week.” To hell with it, he was
going for it. He stepped closer and lightly cupped her waist. “Decide for
yourself…put your hands on my stomach, or chest, or whatever else you want to
check the fitness of.”
    The top of her head barely reached his chin. She looked up
at him through those long, dark lashes. Reached out tentatively and placed one
palm on his chest. The second one landed a bit lower, sending a streak of heat
straight to his groin.
    “See, you’re doing it again.”
    “What’s that, sweetheart?”
    “Kind of huffing and puffing.” She caught her lip between
her teeth and worried it. Big blue-gray eyes looked up at him.
    Was she truly unaware that she was the reason for his short
breaths? “That’s on you, Calli. It’s been a while since a woman has wound me
this tight.” Wrong thing to say, since it caused her to pull back, stripping
him of their contact.
    “I don’t get it.” Her arms crisscrossed over her chest in a
hug. She shook her head and put more space between them by stepping around the
furniture in her living room. “Want something—to drink, I mean?”
    One step forward and two back. No problem. He’d dance with
her all night, as long as she didn’t kick him out again. “That’d be great.
Whatever you’ve got.” He followed her through an arch that separated the living
room from the kitchen area, then leaned on the counter beside her as she poured
two glasses of cranberry juice. He let his fingers linger over hers as she
passed him one of the purple highballs. “What don’t you get?”
    “You—being interested in me.”
    “Because we met playing Scrabble?”
    No answer, she just shook her head again. “So, do you want
to…sit, or…” Her eyes darted from the dinette set to the couch to a darkened
hallway. “I mean, I know you came over to…do stuff.”
    They’d gone from hot and heavy online to having an elephant
between them now that they were sharing air instead of cyberspace. And she
thought he only wanted sex—worse, she thought he expected it. No good.
    “Do you have my Scrabble board?”
    “Yes. In the living room.”
    “Let’s go in there and play.”
    “Scrabble?”
    “Yeah.” For starters. He nodded for her to lead the way,
then followed close behind. “But with a twist. Truth or Dare Scrabble.” She
stopped abruptly, half-spinning to