Love in a Nutshell - Janet Evanovich [63]
Chicken breast with roasted autumn vegetables demolished, Kate set her fork aside. “Have I thanked you for Stella in the last ten minutes?”
Matt’s expression was a cross between amusement and resignation. “I just did what any other guy would have.”
“Not Richard.”
“No, not Richard.”
There were a lot of things about her ex she could have shared with Matt, but none of them really mattered.
“Luckily, he’s not my problem anymore,” she said.
Matt smiled at her, his eyes softened, and the room grew warmer as those big bed fantasies charged to the front of Kate’s mind.
“I’ll clear the cart to the hall,” Matt said.
Kate watched him push the cart out the door. This was it, she thought. Here they were in a romantic hotel room. Just the two of them … and Stella. Perfect, right? Wrong. Not perfect. For starters, she was wearing a T-shirt that advertised beer. Plus, she suspected her lipstick had gotten gnawed off at Myrna’s, and her hair was a wreck. He, on the other hand, was hot. His T-shirt molded suggestively to his gorgeous body. His butt looked great in his jeans. His hair was tousled just enough to be sexy, and he had a manly five o’clock shadow going.
Okay, don’t panic, she told herself. Get a grip. Should she stand? Should she sit? Should she lounge back onto the bed? Should she get undressed? No, definitely no undressing. She wasn’t ready for undressing.
Matt returned to the room, closed the door, and Kate jumped up from the bed.
“Well?” Kate said.
Their eyes met and held for a moment, and Matt glanced over his shoulder at the door.
Either he was checking to make sure it was locked, or else he was planning on leaving, Kate thought. Best not to take any chances on him leaving, she decided. It was now or never, so she moved in and kissed him. Definitely not her best work, but then in her defense, she was a little rusty.
He tilted his head and looked at her. “What was that?”
She stepped back while finding some way to hedge her poor move. “A good-night kiss between friends?”
“Really?”
“More or less.”
He looked at her with the same hot intensity he’d shown the night she’d sung in the karaoke contest. But this time she wasn’t scared. At least not much.
“I thought we were closer friends than that.”
“How close of friends?” she asked.
Matt didn’t answer with words. Instead, he kissed her deeply. Intimately. Kate could swear she heard herself moan as his hand moved to the small of her back. She’d been starving for this.
For him.
There was no point in fighting it. Her willpower was shot. He was too sexy. Too near. Too perfect. She wanted his body heat and the feel of him taking her to that place she’d missed so much.
“Hang on, sweetheart,” he said.
No problem, because she’d already wrapped her arms around his neck.
He scooped her up and settled her on the bed. He switched off the bedside lamp, and Kate reached for him. His weight settled over her, pushing her deep into the heavenly soft comforter.
She let her fingers flex into the muscles on the back of his shoulders as he claimed her mouth with his once again.
A low growl sounded. Kate was pretty sure it hadn’t come from Matt, and she was almost certain it hadn’t come from her. She nudged the pillow that Stella had to be occupying and got an angry grunt in response.
Matt moved on to kiss Kate’s throat. She arched her neck and asked for more while she tried to work his shirt free of his jeans. She wanted to touch skin. Now.
Matt knelt above her and pulled off his shirt. Kate wished she had the patience to focus on his body’s details but she was too far gone. She pulled him back down.
“We’ve got all night,” he said.
“Not good enough.”
“Trust me, it’s gonna be good,” he said in a low voice that made Kate’s body hum in excitement.
Kate fumbled with his belt, thinking the damn thing was like some sort of Mensa brain challenge.
Stella let loose a series of high-pitched yips. Someone in the next room added a couple of firm raps against