sundress skimmed her curves that yanked his awakened libido like an angler setting his hook.
Last nightâs kiss at the restaurant had rocked him with a tsunami of unexpected hunger. The one at the airport this morning had rocked him, too. And that was before heâd seen his soon-to-be wife looking like this.
He wanted her. Need pulsed in his gut. But heâd promised to abide by her no-sex rule until she said otherwise.
And dammit, he prided himself on being a man of his word.
That didnât mean he wouldnât try to change her mind. But not until after the wedding. Judging by the wariness in her eyes if he tried to seduce her tonight heâd be missing a fiancée before the ceremony tomorrow.
âMy bedroomâs across the den.â Desire roughened his voice.
âOkay.â She looked and sounded relieved.
If he wanted to sleep better tonight than he had last night he needed to get out of this room, out of this house before he started picturing Lauryn wearing nothing but sleek, wet skin and a dusting of bubbles in that whirlpool tub. With him beside or beneath her.
Too late. He stifled a groan.
âWhere are your glasses?â he asked in an attempt to sideline his illicit thoughts.
White teeth pinched her bottom lip and she wrinkled her nose. She looked so damned adorably guilty he almost whimpered. âIâ¦um, donât really need them.â
âWhy in the hell did you hide behind shapeless clothing and ugly glasses?â It made no sense. The women he knew flaunted their assets. Hell, they paid good money to have bigger, better assets implanted.
âI learned not to draw attention to my looks a long time ago. Men assume if youâre pretty, youâre stupid and available.â
âAnd you arenât available?â He knew she wasnât stupid.
âNot at the moment.â
Her flip response stirred something unfamiliar in him. Possessiveness? No. Determination to make sure this plan worked. He couldnât afford slip-ups if he wanted the council and his brothers to believe heâd fallen for his straightlaced accountant and settled down. âAnd you wonât be until after weâre divorced.â
âThat wonât be a problem.â
The certainty in her tone raised red flags. Holy hell, was she gay? Did that explain why no one had seen her on a date? South Beach had a large gay population. Was that the real reason sheâd moved to Florida? Because her story about her father had seemed a lame reason to move three thousand miles.
No, Lauryn couldnât be gay. He hadnât imagined the attraction between them or the hunger in her eyes. Heâd felt the softening of her lips beneath his when heâd kissed her, and heâd heard her breath catch each time heâd touched her.
He wanted to kiss her now. To prove his theory.
But he wouldnât. Not yet.
Even though his neglected hormones had him in a tailspin.
Forget the candles, flowers and prepared meals heâd asked Cassie to arrange so he and Lauryn could play out the love-birds-needing-privacy farce. He couldnât handle a romantic dinner on the deck tonight. He needed crowds. Loud music. A noisy restaurant. Distractions. Anything but an intimate dinner for two.
âWeâre eating out tonight. Be ready in ten.â
Laurynâs brow creased. âCassie said sheâd filled the refrigerator with local dishes for us.â
Damn. Heâd hoped his half sister had neglected to mention that detail. âShe did.â
Lauryn swept back her champagne locks with a newly manicured hand tipped in pearl-pink polish. The muscles of Adamâs abdomen ripped as if sheâd scraped those short nails across his flesh.
âAdam, Iâd rather postpone the whole putting-on-a-show-for-the-locals thing, if you donât mind. I know we have to eventually, but itâs our first night here and Iâm kind of whipped. Cassie is a shopping machine.