She could be stubborn, Will realized. And the truth was that one of the things he appreciated about her was her iron will. No one would ever hurt Jeremy while she was on watch. She would be the same way about her kids, he knew—protecting them with her life.
“We need to get home,” she told him. “Thank you for giving him a fabulous day. And,” she added with another one of those pretty blushes, “for the fabulous evening I had, too.”
Fabulous didn’t even begin to cover it. And even though he wasn’t nearly ready for the evening to be over, it was easy to guess that she didn’t want to sleep with him when Jeremy was in the house.
“I have several guest rooms. You don’t need to sleep in my bed.”
“Jeremy’s better with his routines at home.”
Clearly, Will wasn’t going to sway her. But he was going to leave his stamp on her one way or another, damn it, so he crushed her into his arms and took her mouth hard and fast. “Do you want to know my next intention?” he asked a beat later, his lips still touching hers. He could feel the rapid tattoo of her heartbeat against his chest. Her breath was fast against his mouth. She wasn’t unaffected—nowhere near.
“Will...tonight was a great break from reality, but it was—”
“Not a one-time thing.” It never had been, not for him, not when it was Harper in his arms. “I don’t want to lie to you. Not now, not ever. So you need to know I intend to do that again. Over and over. Every single delirious moment. And more. Whether you spend the night or not. Whether it’s in a bed or not.”
Then he kissed her one last time for the evening, a lingering moment of pure bliss that he hoped would make her long for him in the middle of the night as much as he’d be longing for her.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Will called early on Sunday morning, just after eight, but Harper was already up. “You and Jeremy want to come over for a little work on the car?”
God, how she wanted to. Inside, she wanted nothing more than to run to him. Being with him was so good but so dangerous. Too much of a good thing got you hooked. Besides, she didn’t want Jeremy to get too dependent on Will.
“Thanks, that’s nice of you, but we’ve got chores.”
He was silent for a moment, one in which she knew he wasn’t at all happy with her answer. But instead of pushing her, he said, “All right. But if you need anything—” He lingered on the word anything. “—don’t hesitate to call.”
He couldn’t possibly know how badly she wanted to say yes to his offer. But she shouldn’t do it. Not so soon after losing herself in his arms last night. And not so soon after he’d made his next round of intentions perfectly clear.
All night long in her dreams, his voice had echoed in her ears: I intend to do that again. Over and over. Every single delirious moment. And more.
“Thanks.” The fact that the word came out sounding a little breathless only solidified her decision to put some space between them, giving her time to recover from last night’s wonderland. She put on her best breezy and independent voice as she said, “Talk to you later.”
Because, for all that she worried about her brother, she was the one who could become dependent on Will if she wasn’t careful. Good sex was like chocolate truffles. Every so often, you gave yourself one as a treat. And she knew darn well that if she saw Will today, he’d manage to get her into bed. Or onto the workbench in the garage while he sent Jeremy off to have lunch with Mrs. Taylor. And then she’d end up even more deeply under his spell...
No, she couldn’t let herself forget that what she was doing with Will only worked as long as she didn’t let herself get too emotional or too involved. Short-term pleasure, that’s all this was. And when it hit its inevitable end, she needed to be absolutely sure that she could walk away with her head held high and no regrets.
* * *
Harper should have known better than to think Will would simply back off. On Monday, he wanted to talk to her while he was on Skype with Jeremy, but she told her brother she was too busy. A few minutes later, however, she had to step away to answer the doorbell…only to find a flower delivery guy waiting with a huge bouquet that Jeremy couldn’t stop marveling over. She might have done more than her fair share of marveling, too, when her brother’s back was turned.
On Tuesday, he had a gourmet lunch sent to her office, complete with chocolate and a split of champagne. She’d saved that for later when she got home.
The man was relentless. Which was probably why he was as rich as Midas. But she’d determined that she wouldn’t see him until Saturday. A week seemed appropriate. It kept things casual. At least, that was what she told herself during the day when she was rational.