Bachelor Untamed - Brenda Jackson [36]
Deciding a cold shower wasn’t such a bad idea, she was about to turn toward the bathroom when she heard a pounding downstairs on her front door. She sucked in a quick breath the same time her pulse began racing. There could only be one person at her door. The same person she had performed her little act for at the window. Evidently, he’d been awake. He had watched. He had interpreted her message.
And he wasn’t waiting until tomorrow to let her know that he’d received it.
She stood glued to the spot, not sure what she should do. Maybe if she didn’t do anything he would assume she was asleep and go away. Fat chance. She had a feeling she had unleashed the uncontrolled beast in her neighbor, that same wildness she had detected the other day. A controlled Uriel she could handle. An uncontrolled one she wasn’t so sure about.
The pounding stopped and she wondered if he’d gone away. Or…had he decided to come into the house anyway? Because her aunt had been getting up in age, both Uriel and his parents knew Aunt Mable kept a spare key taped underneath the cushion of her wicker chair. Would Uriel be so bold as to enter her home uninvited?
Deciding not to wait and find out, she quickly put on her robe and moved toward the stairs. As soon as her feet touched the living room floor the pounding at the door started again.
Nervously, she walked over to the door, having a good idea of the voraciousness of the lust she might have released, not only within herself but within Uriel as well. When she got to the door she leaned on it, could actually feel the fierce pounding of her heart against the heavy wood panel. “Who is it?”
“Uriel.”
Hearing his name spoken from such a deep, throaty voice effectively made her heart beat even faster. On tiptoes she looked out the peephole, and although it was dark, she could make out his muscular form in the shadows. At that moment her entire body intensified with a need she hadn’t known until tonight that she was capable of feeling.
Her racing pulse didn’t abate as she flipped the lock and slowly opened the door. She pulled in a tight breath when they stood facing each other. It was as if he’d walked straight out of his bedroom, wearing nothing more than a dark pair of scandalously sexy shorts and slippers. She held his gaze as intently as he was holding hers, saw that his breathing was just as rapid. Noticed the center of his throat and saw how his pulse rate was beating just as fast as hers.
She was tempted to lick her lips with her tongue, and then thought better of it upon remembering what the action had sparked within him the last time. Instead she swallowed deeply and said as calmly as she could, “Uri, is there something that you wanted?”
“Yes.” He advanced forward, which prompted her to back up when he crossed over the threshold and closed the door behind him. He didn’t stop walking until he stood directly in front of her. “There’s something I want. And you’re it.”
Uriel studied the look on Ellie’s face. He sharpened his gaze. She knew why he was here, although he could tell she was surprised by his appearance. Did she actually think her little performance at the window wouldn’t prompt him to rush right on over and take her up on what she’d been offering?
“I saw you at the window,” he said, and when she didn’t respond he raised his brow and added, “I assume that was to let me know you’ve decided on the summer fling. Am I right or wrong?”
She held his gaze and for a second he thought she would claim that he was wrong, and that she had no earthly idea what he was talking about, and that he must have imagined the whole thing. But she didn’t. He watched as she gave a little bit of relief to those lips she had pressed so tight and said softly, “No, you’re not wrong.”
She drew in a deep breath and then added, “But I didn’t expect you to come tonight.”
He took another step toward her, coming so close the nipples of her breasts pressed against his bare chest through the material of her robe. “You actually thought I would wait?”
“Yes.”
His scowl eased into a smile. “Baby, if