“Wait, what? Where are you going?” He reached across the bed and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back into the bed. With a laugh, she tumbled on top of him. Her curves pressed against him and he filled his hands with warm, soft, curvy woman.
“I need to start getting myself ready for tomorrow. I think I’m going to turn in early.”
Awkward silence descended between them when Matt finally understood what she was saying. She wanted to get ready for bed.
Without him.
“Oh right. I’ll get out of your way.” He pulled on his clothes, keeping his back to her. As he dressed, his mind raced back over the past several hours. He’d had the best time and he’d been sure she felt the same way even though she’d only allowed him to cuddle her for a few minutes before she hustled into the bathroom and showered alone.
They dressed in silence, maneuvering around each other as they scooped up clothes and Penny pulled her hair up into its usual neat bun. Less than ten minutes later, he’d driven her back to the center to pick up her car.
With a jaunty wave and a smile she’d driven off, leaving him in the empty parking lot, standing next to his truck.
He stood there for a full ten minutes trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.
He’d never had a woman seem so anxious to get rid of him after sex. If he didn’t still have the memory of her soft, aroused little moans echoing in his ears, he might have wondered if she hadn’t enjoyed it as much as he had.
No, she’d definitely enjoyed herself. Multiple times, in fact. However, it seemed that enjoyment had been all she’d wanted, because she hadn’t been able to get away from him fast enough.
He pressed a hand over his heart. He was as guilty as the next guy of taking women to bed just for fun and not wanting anything more. He’d never understood before what it felt like for women. It was a kick in the gut to spend time with someone and enjoy their company, only to realize they didn’t want anything from you but sex. It was a rejection of the worst kind.
For all her talk about them being adults and not letting it interfere with their work relationship, he wondered how much of that she’d even meant. After everything they’d talked about and shared, it felt like he’d been spurned when she’d acted as though she couldn’t even share a bed overnight with him.
He wished he’d planned his trip home for the coming weekend. A little distance was exactly what he needed.
CHAPTER TWELVE
PENNY WAS ALMOST done for the day when the door to her office opened and Charles stepped through. It was a struggle to keep her eyes in place when they wanted to roll all over the place. It had been an exhausting week. The last thing she needed was a confrontation with her boss.
Matt had skipped his Friday appointment the previous week and she really couldn’t blame him. She’d been on edge all that morning, wondering how to act when he came in. It was almost a relief when he didn’t show. Then she started to feel guilty.
He’d shown up on Monday morning with his usual smirk in place. That had made her feel a little better. She’d decided to just pretend like nothing had changed. It had worked, for the most part. But touching him and smelling his scent had her nerves stretched to the breaking point. It had been her decision to keep things professional between them from here on out, but she hadn’t counted on how hard it would be.
“Hi, Charles. I was just about done for the day. Did you need something?”
He had never been her biggest fan and never seemed to have much positive to say to her. She was not in the mood to deal with any of his nitpicking about the amount of pro bono work she did or how many vacation days she took to do it. It still chapped her ass that she had to take vacation to do her unapproved pro bono work in the first place. It wouldn’t kill the center to allow her to do it while she was attending to her paying patients.
“Yes, I wanted to talk to you.” He pushed the door partially closed behind him and Penny’s heart sank. Her dreams of getting home at a decent hour and taking a hot bath were looking more and more unlikely.
“Of course. What’s on your mind?”
Charles threw the folded up newspaper he held on the desk in front of her. She leaned over to read the article on the front page.
“Oh, it’s the article about Chris Walters’s recovery. We made the front page. That’s exciting.”
Charles leaned down and tapped the headline. “Except they didn’t mention the name of the center. They also didn’t ask anyone else here for a quote. You aren’t the only one he’s been working with here.”
“I know that, Charles. I told the reporter about his full treatment plan, and I even took him on a tour of the whole facility. He had a photographer with him who took pictures of all the new equipment.”
He scowled. “Yet somehow the only picture they printed was one of you and Chris. How convenient for you.”
“What exactly are you implying? I have no control over what some reporter chooses to write!”
“Of course you don’t. Nothing is ever your fault. You know, I may be older and I don’t have all these fancy new techniques you seem to invent each week, but I’ve been in this game a long time. I know bullshit when I hear it. This is not the Penny Lewis show. Although you seem to be doing everything in your power to make sure it is.”
“You’re going to want to walk away now.”
They both turned at the low, gravelly voice. Matt stood directly behind Charles and somehow managed to look menacing without moving a muscle.