I was dressed and ready by four forty-five. I sank down on the edge of my bed, smoothing my hands over the thighs of my skinny jeans. I glanced at the clock. Only one minute had passed since the last time I looked at it. Seven seemed a long way off.

An idea hit me. Grabbing my keys, I decided to get this night started.

I PULLED IN FRONT of Shaw’s house at half past five, the heavenly aroma of meat, cheese, and fried goodness wafting to me from the passenger-side floorboard. At five, there was no line at Mulvaney’s. I only had to wait ten minutes for them to prepare my order. I assumed a guy like Shaw could eat his weight in food so I’d ordered two large sides of Tijuana fries and fried pickles to go along with our burgers.

I eyed Shaw’s truck, relieved he was here. Only after picking up dinner from Mulvaney’s had it occurred to me that he might not be coming from home before meeting me.

Hefting the warm bag from the floorboard, I exited the car. My boots thudded up the front porch steps. I knocked on the front door and hit my heels into the porch, shaking loose some of the snow so that I didn’t track it into his house. A full minute passed before I knocked again, not wanting to appear overly impatient. Maybe he hadn’t heard my first knock.

Another minute passed and I was starting to feel foolish for coming here unannounced and debating whether to knock for a third time or just skulk away. I could toss the food and show up at seven like we had originally planned.

God, when did I turn into one of those girls? The kind who was always second-guessing herself when it came to a guy.

Not that he was any guy. Clearly. From the first moment I met him he had been different. I had been different.

I’d started to turn away when the door was suddenly pulled open.

“Emerson.”

I turned, my hand shifting slightly to the bottom of the bag and the heat practically singed my fingers, but I didn’t care. It was nothing compared to the heat that swept through me at seeing him standing there damp from the shower, a towel wrapped loosely at his waist.

“Hi.” My voice was strained and breathless. I lifted the bag in my hands. “Change of plans.”

His dark eyes scanned me and the bag, his mouth quirked in that sexy half grin I was coming to love. “We’re eating in?”

“Hope you don’t mind.”

“Are you kidding? A beautiful woman just showed up on my doorstep with food. I might be in love.”

My smile froze on my face. Heat swarmed my body and I knew I must be every shade of red from the neck up.

It was just an expression. A joke. Of course it was a joke, but everything inside me seized with a mixture of fear and hope.

And that’s when I knew I wanted the words to be true.

“C’mon inside.” He waved me in, either unaware of or prepared to ignore how his words had just shattered me. He couldn’t know what they did to me. How badly I wanted them to be real.

I carried the food to the table and began removing cartons with trembling hands. It was embarrassing. We’d already had sex. The ultimate intimacy. Why did I still feel so vulnerable and exposed around him?

Because you just realized you were in love with him and that gives him the ultimate power over you. Even if he doesn’t realize it.

I felt him before he spoke. His body radiated heat as he stopped beside me, his chest aligned with my arm. “Hey.” His voice whispered across my cheek. “Why are you shaking?”

I didn’t look at him. If I looked at him he would know. He would see everything I was feeling shining in my eyes. Too bad running away at this point wasn’t an option. I’d come here. I had to stand my ground and hope that I didn’t make a fool of myself.

With slow movements, I removed my scarf, then my coat. Drawing a deep breath, I faced him.

“Hey,” I whispered back.

“I missed you.” His thumb dragged down my cheek.

Stretching up on my tiptoes, I kissed him, slowly, tenderly, savoring the smooth firmness of his lips. I savored him and the moment. Our first kiss with my full knowledge that I loved him. Whatever else happened, I could have this.

His hands came up to hold my face. I deepened the kiss, licking his tongue, nipping his bottom lip as my hand went for his towel. It was too easy. Just a tug and it was gone. His na**d body pressed against mine and it was achingly clear that I had too many clothes on.

He lifted me in one smooth move. My legs wrapped around his waist. Lips locked, he walked me to the bed. That great big bed where I had woken alone so many nights ago. I wasn’t going to be alone in it this time.

He stopped at the edge of the bed and we feverishly removed my clothes, our hands flying, bumping clumsily in our haste. Until I was equally naked. The room was more well-lit than my suite last weekend and heat scored my cheeks as he surveyed me from the top of my head to my bare feet.

“You should never wear clothes.” His eyes gleamed, dark with appreciation.

I released a nervous laugh.

“At least around me,” he amended, his hands coming to rest on my hips. “No one else should get to see you like this. There would be riots.”

I laughed harder. “Stop.” My gaze flicked over him. I couldn’t help myself. He was all lean muscle and sinew. I placed my hand directly over his heart, feeling its steady thump as I covered his warm, inked skin with my palm. “You would cause your own share of riots.”

He inched me back on the bed, his big body covering mine. His arms braced on either side of me, keeping his weight from crushing me completely.

I gasped at the sensation of him. At his erection prodding the inside of my thigh. I parted my thighs instinctively, already yearning for him, needing him there, desperate for him to assuage the clenching ache. I squirmed and wiggled under him, but he just shook his head at me, smiling wickedly. “Not yet.”

I sighed as he lowered his head to my neck and started kissing his way down my throat, over the slope of my shoulder. Slow, long kisses where he used his teeth and tongue.

I stared straight ahead, seeing nothing. Seeing everything. My fingers sliced through the thick strands of his hair, tugging the silken locks.

I was already gasping by the time he reached my br**sts. I could have wept as he sucked my nipple into his warm mouth, pulling it deep, his tongue laving the hard tip.

I moaned his name, surging restlessly under him. His hands spanned my h*ps as his mouth descended, kissing down my belly and arriving between my legs. His mouth landed unerringly at my core. He blew on my moist heat, driving me wild. He tongued me, lapped at me, circling that tiny hidden nub before finally taking it and sucking it firmly between his lips.