Free Bad in Bed by Faye Avalon Page B

His hair was damp at the edges,
evidence of a recent shower.
    A trifle disappointed, since she’d hoped to
join him, Amber walked toward the hand he held out to her.
    “Morning, gorgeous. What’s with the pout?”
    “Nothing. This is the morning me. Not my best
time of day.”
    He pulled her into an embrace. “We can always
change that.” He wiggled his brows. “Or maybe you’ve had enough of me?”
    “Maybe.” She softened it with a grin and kissed
him.
    “Not sore?”
    “A bit.”
    He gave her that lopsided smile that melted all
her defences and sent her hormones into overdrive. “Want me to help with that?”
    “Sadly, no. I have to get to work.”
    He frowned. “On Saturday?”
    “The work of an event coordinator is never
done.” She kissed him lightly. “We’ve got to go through plans for a civic event
next Tuesday. My manager is paranoid because there are visiting dignitaries who
really push the boat out when it’s their turn to host. What about you? Don’t
lifts break down on weekends?”
    “If they do, it won’t be me fixing them. That’s
why I have employees.” Again that grin. Almost irresistible. Almost.
    “Well, if I don’t get my butt in gear and get
to work, I might be applying for an apprenticeship with your company.”
    “Seeing as I have firsthand knowledge of your
skills, I might be willing to take you on.”
    Unbidden, her old doubts and fears came rushing
back. How could she even begin to question them after the night they’d just
had? Ethan had been as exhausted as she was, had certainly seemed to enjoy
himself. When would she be able to put this ridiculous question mark over her
abilities to rest? And what happened to valuing herself as a person rather than
a sexual object?
    With his uncanny ability of seeing right into
her head, Ethan tipped her chin up until she looked straight into his eyes.
“Leave it.” His tone was firm. “You are one hot woman. You’ve worn me out,
given me more hard-ons in one night than I’ve had in a month. You’re
responsive, beautiful, and probably more than any one man can handle.”
    His words warmed her heart, made her feel as if
she really was all those things he said. Then a little memory popped into her
head, one that she’d been meaning to ask him about since the moment in the
restaurant. “When you first introduced me to Marco and he said that thing about
me being his present? You said something like, ‘not this time’. What did you
mean?”
    He looked a bit sheepish, his eyes flickering
left and right and not landing on her. “Private joke. Stupid.”
    His obvious discomfort had her antenna buzzing.
“Have you gotten him women as presents before?”
    “No.” He had the grace to look insulted, then
turned from her and went to the kitchen counter where he poured coffee. “Not
exactly.”
    Intrigued, she came to stand next to him. “What
does that mean?”
    “Want breakfast? I’ve got eggs, cereal, and
bread somewhere.”
    She moved closer, a woman on a mission now.
“Just coffee, thanks. So, how exactly?”
    “Uh?”
    “Marco. Not exactly getting women for him.”
    He grabbed a cloth to wipe up coffee he sloshed
on the counter. “Look, it’s just a stupid thing we did. It didn’t mean
anything.”
    “Then it won’t matter if you tell me.”
    He placed the cloth to the side, turned, and
handed her a cup of coffee.
    Since he didn’t look as if he was about to
offer anything further, Amber didn’t take the coffee but stood looking at him.
    With a sigh, he placed the cup down. “You’re
not about to let this go.”
    Amber remained silent.
    “All right. Marco and I shared a woman once.
Twice, technically.”
    She tried not to look shocked, although her
insides did a flip. They’d shared a woman and remained friends? “Did you both
know? That you were seeing the same woman?”
    His eyebrows came together. “What?”
    “It must have been a real shock. How did you
find out?”
    He ran his hand over his mouth.