Something to Prove (18 page)

Ten minutes later, he returned to the front and saw no change. Deep down, he knew
the bottles wouldn’t magically appear. He flicked off the last light and peered around.
The bar was clean and ready for a new day.

Now he had to face Elizabeth and let her know they had a thief.

Colin grabbed his extra set of keys from Ryan’s office at O’Leary’s and went upstairs.
The kitchen light he’d left on still glowed. He glanced around. There was no sign
Elizabeth had even stepped foot in his apartment, except for his key ring lying on
the counter. He went to the bathroom first, wanting to take a shower before he woke
Elizabeth. In the bathroom, he noticed the subtle indications that someone else was
in his home. An extra towel hung on the bar. Her clothes were folded and piled neatly
on the toilet tank.

He stripped and stepped into the shower. He tried to figure out how to tell her about
the missing liquor. Somehow he felt like this was his fault. He’d allowed the bottles
to be stolen, and he’d further fucked up everything by the way he’d handled the employees.
He toweled off and went to the bedroom.

Thoughts of easing Elizabeth awake and hearing her moan made him hard. He left the
bathroom light on and approached the open door. Instead of finding Elizabeth snuggled
in his bed sleeping soundly, she was curled into a tight ball.

“Hey,” he called quietly, not sure if she was asleep.

“Hi,” she answered, her voice strained. She didn’t move.

“Are you okay?”

Now she swung her legs off the side of the bed and tried to sit, but doubled over.
“My stomach’s still bugging me.”

Her arms wrapped around her middle and a pained expression blanketed her entire face.

“Can I get you something?” He thought of all the antacids he’d watched her chew on.
“Do you want to go to the doctor?”

“For an upset stomach? What’s next, want to call my mommy?”

“If it’ll make you feel better, sure.”

“I think I just need to eat something. Then I’ll be fine.” She pushed herself up to
stand, but it took effort. “Do you have any bananas?”

“Yeah. Sit down, I’ll get you one.” He walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a
banana. It wasn’t normal for someone to be in this much pain so often. Maybe she needed
a prescription for heartburn. Tomorrow, he’d get her to go see a doctor. Back in the
bedroom, he handed her the banana.

The sight of her standing there, wearing his shirt, gave him an odd, comfortable feeling.
She’d chosen to wear his old Blue Balls team shirt. Blue balls indeed. He tugged on
a pair of underwear, knowing that getting laid was not in his immediate future.

With a mouth full of banana, Elizabeth said, “Why are you getting dressed? We had
plans.”

“Our plans can wait until you’re feeling better.” He pulled her close, kissed her
head, then climbed into bed.

“I’ll be fine in a minute. Once the food hits my stomach, I’ll be good.”

“Yeah? For how long? You’ve been a mess all day. Let’s get a good night’s sleep. I’m
not going anywhere.” He settled under the covers and waited for her to join him.

She finished the banana and drank from a glass of water. After leaving to get rid
of her trash, she lay down beside him. Her hand rubbed his thigh, and he fought the
urge to climb on top of her.

Remembering the pained look on her face when he’d walked in, he stopped her hand.
“Get some sleep.”

“I don’t want to sleep. I want to fuck.”

“Talking dirty will get you nowhere.” God, he sounded like such a chick.

“Afraid you can’t deliver on your promises?”

He rolled to his side, grabbing her hip and pulling her body to his. “I can definitely
deliver.”

He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. His tongue swept into her mouth, and
he forced his hand to stay at her hip. If he touched her more, he wouldn’t be able
to stop, and she needed rest.

When he’d adequately proven his point, he pulled away. “I’ll deliver tomorrow, when
you’re better.”

“We’re seriously not going to have sex right now? Why the hell am I here?”

“I planned on having sex multiple times tonight until I saw you in pain. Lie down
and get some rest. You’ve been working crazy hours and you’re under a lot of stress.
Is a good night’s sleep really a bad thing?”

“Whatever.” She pulled the blanket over her and turned away from him.

He pulled her to his body again and reveled in the feel of her curled into him. His
dick was still hard, and he tried not to let her feel it, or she wouldn’t give up.

“How was work?” she whispered.

The first thing that hit him was how intimate it felt to lie in bed with this gorgeous
woman and discuss his night at work. The second thing that hit him was that he was
going to have to lie to Elizabeth.

“It was fine. We’ll talk in the morning.”

Elizabeth woke to a sunny day, a bright glare shining through the window. She felt
well rested and her stomach no longer hurt. Maybe Colin had been right and a night
of quality sleep had set her straight.

She looked to her right and saw Colin asleep beside her, his breath even and quiet.
She couldn’t believe he’d turned her down for sex last night. Wasn’t that the point
of this . . . relationship outside of work? Getting together to just sleep was not
part of the bargain. It was far too couple-ish.

She slid out from under the covers and tried not to wake him. Standing next to the
bed, she watched him sleep. It wasn’t fair. No one should look that good all the time.
Stubble shadowed his jaw, and his hair was mussed in a way that made her want to run
her hands through it. And if she didn’t know better, he wore a slight grin, a mere
flicker of the one he had while awake. The sheet barely covered his hip and the unmistakable
bulge told her he was always ready.

Remembering the huge to-do list on her schedule, she made her way to the bathroom
to get ready for the day. She opened the medicine cabinet in hopes of finding a spare
toothbrush. Colin struck her as a considerate enough lover that he would have extras
for whoever might spend the night.

“Didn’t your mom teach you that it’s not nice to snoop?”

The sound of his sexy, gravelly, just-woke-up voice startled her, and she knocked
his deodorant into the sink. She set it back on the counter and answered, “I wasn’t
snooping. I was looking for a toothbrush.”

“Bottom drawer.”

“Thanks.” It was then that she took in the sight of him in nothing but boxers. He
was no longer erect.

“Why are you up so early? I thought we were sleeping in.” He scratched at his chest
and moved toward the toilet.

“I have a lot of calls to make about the bowling equipment, and I need to deal with
last night’s receipts. You did bring those home, right?”

He nodded.

As she put toothpaste on the brush, she wondered if she was supposed to leave to give
him privacy to pee. From the corner of her eye, she saw that her presence didn’t seem
to affect him, so she started brushing. After he flushed, he stood behind her and
wrapped his arms around her to reach the sink to wash his hands.

She stiffened and tried to concentrate on brushing. The heat from his body relaxed
her muscles, and he stepped even closer. He flicked off the faucet and nuzzled her
neck. His wet hands dripped on her thighs and he wiped his hands on her shirt. His
shirt.

In the mirror she looked at him and he simply smiled. She bent over, thrusting her
ass into his groin, and spit the toothpaste out of her mouth.

“Doing things like that will make you late for whatever job you think you’re going
to do.”

“Threats don’t scare me.” She straightened and wiped her hands on the towel hanging
above the toilet, but didn’t turn around.

“I don’t need to threaten. You look like you’re feeling better, so you owe me.”

“Sorry, you said you didn’t want to be rushed, but I’m on the clock.”

He pulled her to his body and his hands crept under the shirt, feeling that she wore
nothing underneath. “You can be late. I know the boss.”

One hand moved to her breast and the other began stroking between her legs. In the
mirror, she saw Colin’s blue eyes darken as her body began to melt. He rolled a nipple
between his thumb and forefinger and pushed one finger inside her. His palm rubbed
her clit, and her head lolled back onto his shoulder.

“You are so damn sexy. I think I just want to watch you come.”

She was already panting, her hips wiggling against his hand, but she said, “You’re
not the kind of guy who can just watch. You like to be in the middle of the action.”

A second finger joined the first and his hand moved to the other breast. Elizabeth
reached up and held onto Colin’s neck. Her legs were trembling. If she didn’t move
soon, she would be nothing more than a puddle on the floor. She forced her right leg
forward to disengage herself from him.

“Uh-uh. Where do you think you’re going?” His hand left her breast and held her waist
tight against him.

“Back to the bedroom.” It was barely more than a whisper, and she sounded defeated
because she knew he wasn’t going to let her move. His fingers picked up the pace,
and her eyes fluttered shut. He was going to make her come standing right here in
the bathroom.

His hard-on pressed firmly into her back as she rocked to his rhythm. He bit the side
of her neck and then licked the spot to soothe it. The good kind of tension coiled
in her stomach.

In that moment she felt nothing but mindless pleasure. Every nerve stretched taut
and she balanced on the brink of sanity.

“I’ve got you. Let go,” he whispered against her ear.

And she did.

Every muscle in her body spasmed with her release. When she reopened her eyes, her
gaze caught Colin’s in the mirror. He wasn’t kidding; he wanted to watch her come.

She wasn’t sure if her skin was pink from pleasure or embarrassment from having him
watch her. She shrugged it off and turned around. “Your turn.”

Her fingers circled his thick shaft. He pulled her shirt over her head and started
walking.

“I’m not ready for my turn. I’m not done with you yet.”

His words sent a shiver down her spine, but she tried to hold her ground. Between
her weak knees and his strength, it was a futile attempt. He simply kept walking until
they were back in the bedroom. While she walked, she stroked his chest and shoulders,
marveling at the toned muscles.

“Being a bully doesn’t work for you,” she said.

“I make you come, and you call me a bully? Those are fighting words.” He gave her
a shove and knocked her onto the bed.

A squeal popped from her lips.

“Don’t move,” he said. “I don’t want a black eye.”

“Now who’s being mean?” She was going to say something else, but the words evaporated
because he started kissing his way up her body. Starting at her hip and across her
stomach. When his mouth found her nipple, she moaned.

His stubble rubbed against already sensitive skin and it hurt but felt good all at
once. He moved up to her neck, kissing, licking, and nibbling. His dick was so close
to where she wanted it—needed it. She wrapped her legs around his hips and drew him
to her body.

He nestled between her legs, rubbing against her, but not entering. He was clearly
intent on torturing her. She whimpered, trying to move into a position to take him,
but he pressed her into the mattress.

“What’s your hurry?” he asked teasingly.

“Please, Colin.”

A low growl rumbled against her skin. She’d found his weakness. Sweet talk.

She softened her voice. “I want you inside me. It’ll feel so good. You know you want
it too.”

“Not. Yet.” His words were short but required effort. He was wound up every bit as
much as she was. His hands continued to explore.