Free TouchofTopaz by N.J. Walters Page A

drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Six
     
    Topaz woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and frying
bacon. She gave an experimental stretch, feeling the slight muscle twinges in
her legs and other more intimate areas. She’d slept long and hard, except for
the hour around dawn when John had woken her to make love once again. This time
had been long and slow, but no less explosive than what had occurred the night
before.
    She was still naked and with John gone the bed was much
cooler. Sitting up, she pushed her hair out of her eyes and yawned. She really
needed some coffee. The covers started to slip down to her waist so she grabbed
them and pulled them back up to cover herself. Shower first and then she’d get
her coffee.
    Before she could move, the door opened and John walked in.
It wasn’t fair. No man should look that good first thing in the morning. He was
wearing a pair of worn jeans that fit him to perfection and had topped it with
a long-sleeved Henley shirt in a heather-gray color that went well with his
pale-blue eyes.
    Unlike her hair, his was so short it was impossible for it
to be disheveled. Even though he’d been out of the Army for two years he was
still cutting it with military precision.
    He smiled and held out his hand, offering her a steaming mug
of coffee. She grabbed it like a lifeline and sipped. “Thank you.” The
heartfelt desperation in her words made him laugh.
    “Glad I could help.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
    She took another sip of the rich, dark coffee, fixed just
the way she liked it with sugar and no milk, and pondered how to answer his
question. She wasn’t about to tell him about her physical discomforts. Overall,
she felt good. “I slept well.” That was certainly the truth. She hadn’t slept
so deeply in months.
    “Good.” He tucked a finger under her chin and tilted it back
so he could drop a quick kiss on her mouth. “Breakfast is almost ready.”
    “Is there time for me to shower?” In spite of his efforts
last night, Topaz felt sticky and sweaty and desperately wanted to clean
herself up.
    “Make it a quick one.” He turned and left the room. When the
door closed she realized she was staring at his butt.
    “Get a grip,” she mumbled. Tossing back the covers, she
shivered and grabbed her robe off the chair. It covered her, even if it wasn’t
very warm, and that was all that mattered.
    It didn’t take her long to dig through her suitcase and pull
out clean clothes, her brush and toiletries kit. She dragged all of it, as well
as her coffee, into the bathroom and shut the door.
    There was a showerhead installed above the cast-iron tub and
a curtain that enclosed it. She turned on the water and while it was heating,
drained her mug. The caffeine kick-started her brain and got it firing on all
cylinders. When the water was warn enough she discarded her robe and stepped
beneath the spray, letting it cascade over her head and body.
    What had she done?
    She’d made love to a man who was dangerous to her sense of
well-being, a man who could destroy the emotional equilibrium she’d managed to
build over the years. She tilted her head back and wiped the water from her eyes.
    Was last night worth the emotional upheaval it would cause?
    Yes. Topaz grabbed the bar of soap from the edge of the tub
and began to wash. She couldn’t regret her time with John no matter what
happened when they returned to New York. He was what he was and she was what
she was. This was a time out of time. And it belonged to them.
    She reached out of the shower long enough to grab her
shampoo out of her toiletries bag and then washed her hair and rinsed her body.
When she turned off the water and stepped out onto the bathmat, she felt like
herself again—calm and in control.
    She noted several small bruises on her legs and arms while
she moisturized, but that was to be expected given their vigorous lovemaking.
She donned a pair of jeans and a