do.
CHAPTER FIVE
C ONCENTRATING on the two deep grooves bisecting her brow in the bathroom mirror, Eva forced her fingers to release their death grip on the sink.
Hiding out in Nick Delisantro’s bathroom for the rest of the night is not an option .
The metallic tinkle of rain hit the fire escape outside and she shifted her attention to the partially open window. Then sighed, stifling the urge to leap onto the vanity unit, wedge herself through the small gap and run off into the night.
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she whispered to her pale reflection.
Apart from the fact that she was stark naked under Nick’s oversized robe, her bag was still on the kitchen counter and it was the middle of the night, she was in a strange city in a strange country and it was pouring with rain. If she didn’t die of hypothermia, she’d probably get arrested. So running away was not an option either. The frown on her forehead deepened.
Plus she had an important appointment with Nick tomorrow, which she couldn’t duck out of. As difficult as it was going to be to assume any kind of professional etiquette after sleeping with him, he’d probably throw her out on her ear if she showed up after doing a vanishing act in the middle of the night.
Which left option number three: be mature and dignified, something that had eluded her so far this evening, face up to her responsibilities, and give the man some kind of explanation— before she ran out on him.
She straightened away from the sink and glanced at the door. Assuming, of course, she ever got up the guts to stop cowering in his bathroom.
Not that she intended to tell him the truth—that her secret fantasy life had taken one wild leap into reality during the space of one motorbike ride. Not only would that be way too much information for a one-night stand, but he’d probably think she was a lunatic.
She twisted on the tap, and splashed one last dose of cold water on her cheeks. The scarlet hue making her freckles look like bullet points faded to a dusky pink.
At least she’d had one lucky break. She hadn’t bled very much, so he need never know what a pathetic cliché she actually was. A twenty-four-year-old virgin, whose experience of menand sex up until fifteen minutes ago had been gleaned from the pages of romance novels.
Unfortunately she now knew the truth. That the novels had lied. Or at least been guilty of omission. They really ought to have mentioned how mortifying it was to face a complete stranger who had given you two stunning orgasms after the haze of afterglow had cleared.
Time to stop prevaricating—and face the fire. She could save the self-flagellation for tomorrow, when she was safely on the plane back to the UK, with his signed agreement to a DNA test tucked in her bag.
She yanked the lapels of the robe up to her chin and retied the belt. The sooner she faced Nick, the sooner she could start putting her night of insanity behind her. The next ten minutes were going to be awkward in the extreme. No question. And it was a pity she hadn’t considered that a bit sooner. But the good news was he’d probably be just as keen to get this whole episode over with now as she was.
Her courage rallied as she gripped the door handle in a determined fist. You never knew, he might even have fallen asleep, then she could simply leave a polite note.
Eva took two paces into the room, then stopped dead, her heartbeat and her pheromones both leaping into frantic action as her gaze landed on the bed.
With his back propped against the headboard, Nick Delisantro sat watching her.
‘You’re still awake.’ She winced at the inane remark and the rush of blood to her nether regions. With his arms crossed over his chest, his pectoral muscles looked even more well defined than she remembered them.
Oh my . She took a steadying breath, riveted to the spot. How could she have forgotten how beautiful he was?
‘Hello, Eva. Long time, no see,’ he said dryly.
She felt the dusky pink rise back to
CHAPTER FIVE
C ONCENTRATING on the two deep grooves bisecting her brow in the bathroom mirror, Eva forced her fingers to release their death grip on the sink.
Hiding out in Nick Delisantro’s bathroom for the rest of the night is not an option .
The metallic tinkle of rain hit the fire escape outside and she shifted her attention to the partially open window. Then sighed, stifling the urge to leap onto the vanity unit, wedge herself through the small gap and run off into the night.
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she whispered to her pale reflection.
Apart from the fact that she was stark naked under Nick’s oversized robe, her bag was still on the kitchen counter and it was the middle of the night, she was in a strange city in a strange country and it was pouring with rain. If she didn’t die of hypothermia, she’d probably get arrested. So running away was not an option either. The frown on her forehead deepened.
Plus she had an important appointment with Nick tomorrow, which she couldn’t duck out of. As difficult as it was going to be to assume any kind of professional etiquette after sleeping with him, he’d probably throw her out on her ear if she showed up after doing a vanishing act in the middle of the night.
Which left option number three: be mature and dignified, something that had eluded her so far this evening, face up to her responsibilities, and give the man some kind of explanation— before she ran out on him.
She straightened away from the sink and glanced at the door. Assuming, of course, she ever got up the guts to stop cowering in his bathroom.
Not that she intended to tell him the truth—that her secret fantasy life had taken one wild leap into reality during the space of one motorbike ride. Not only would that be way too much information for a one-night stand, but he’d probably think she was a lunatic.
She twisted on the tap, and splashed one last dose of cold water on her cheeks. The scarlet hue making her freckles look like bullet points faded to a dusky pink.
At least she’d had one lucky break. She hadn’t bled very much, so he need never know what a pathetic cliché she actually was. A twenty-four-year-old virgin, whose experience of menand sex up until fifteen minutes ago had been gleaned from the pages of romance novels.
Unfortunately she now knew the truth. That the novels had lied. Or at least been guilty of omission. They really ought to have mentioned how mortifying it was to face a complete stranger who had given you two stunning orgasms after the haze of afterglow had cleared.
Time to stop prevaricating—and face the fire. She could save the self-flagellation for tomorrow, when she was safely on the plane back to the UK, with his signed agreement to a DNA test tucked in her bag.
She yanked the lapels of the robe up to her chin and retied the belt. The sooner she faced Nick, the sooner she could start putting her night of insanity behind her. The next ten minutes were going to be awkward in the extreme. No question. And it was a pity she hadn’t considered that a bit sooner. But the good news was he’d probably be just as keen to get this whole episode over with now as she was.
Her courage rallied as she gripped the door handle in a determined fist. You never knew, he might even have fallen asleep, then she could simply leave a polite note.
Eva took two paces into the room, then stopped dead, her heartbeat and her pheromones both leaping into frantic action as her gaze landed on the bed.
With his back propped against the headboard, Nick Delisantro sat watching her.
‘You’re still awake.’ She winced at the inane remark and the rush of blood to her nether regions. With his arms crossed over his chest, his pectoral muscles looked even more well defined than she remembered them.
Oh my . She took a steadying breath, riveted to the spot. How could she have forgotten how beautiful he was?
‘Hello, Eva. Long time, no see,’ he said dryly.
She felt the dusky pink rise back to
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