I fell asleep with my hand still on his face. I'd been exhausted when I got home. Incredible sex had given me a second wind, but there was only so much a girl could take.
When I awoke we were both under the sheets. Someone, not me, had drawn the heavy curtains. I glanced at Cadotte. God, he was beautiful.
His skin was smooth and dark, darker still against my plain white sheets. I wondered what he'd look like with long hair. The shorn ends curled just a little, making my fingers itch to twine between them. His earring twinkled against the warm flesh of his neck.
I remembered kissing that neck a few hours ago, being startled by the cool metal brushing my lips. When he'd trailed his mouth all over my body, the earring had tickled me here and there, adding a new dimension to every embrace.
His hand covered my hip. My eyes jumped from his earring to his face. He smiled. "Morning."
I waited for the usual morning-after embarrassment to descend. Before it could, he shifted closer and kissed me. Just a gentle brush of his lips against mine and then he pulled back. Something between my belly and my heart stuttered.
"I'll make coffee," he said, and then he was gone.
I took advantage of the solitude to head for the shower. The totem caught my eye from the dresser. I glanced at the bedroom door through which Cadotte had disappeared. I could hear him banging around in the kitchen, see his shadow flitting against the wall in the hall.
I opened a drawer and dumped the wolf on top of my underwear, then scooted into the bathroom and locked the door. I had nothing against sex in the shower - with Cadotte I would probably be agreeable to sex just about anywhere - but right now I wanted to think.
What had I done?
Had sex. Big deal.
Actually it had been. And maybe that was the problem.
I knew better than to fall for a guy like Cadotte. He was gorgeous, brilliant, a little bit strange. We had nothing in common. We probably never would.
Why on earth he'd wanted me I had yet to figure out. But I couldn't believe he'd want me much longer. The best way to get out of this without getting hurt was to dump him before he dumped me.
This resolved, I returned to my room. The slant of the sun through the windows told me the time was long past noon. I threw on shorts and a shirt, tucked the totem underneath a pile of socks in a drawer, and walked barefoot into the kitchen.
Cadotte leaned against the counter, drinking coffee completely naked. He smiled as if he weren't and poured another cup. My gaze lowered. I could get used to this.
He turned and I yanked my gaze upward. Raising a brow, he handed me my coffee. "Would you like to go out for breakfast?"
The thought of walking into The Coffee Pot with him and ordering breakfast at... 2:00 p.m. was just too much for me. Besides, wasn't I showing him the door?
I took a sip, swallowed, nearly choked with shock. Cadotte made the best coffee I had ever tasted.
"What did you do to this?" I stared into the cup as if I could find all the answers to life's mysteries in the swirling black depths.
"A sprinkle of cinnamon mixed with the grounds makes all the difference."
"I have cinnamon?"
"In the back of the cabinet. Yes."
"Hmm. Wonder where that came from." I took another sip.
"Breakfast?" he reminded me.
"I... can't."
The same emotion that had flickered in his eyes when I'd refused to meet him for dinner returned.
"Why not?"
More coffee. That's what I needed. I gulped half the cup, let the heat bubble in my empty stomach.
"Because."
Same lame excuse I'd used the last time. Unfortunately, it didn't work this time.
"Because I'm good enough to fuck but not to eat breakfast with?"
I spilled coffee on my shirt. "What?"
Having a serious conversation with a naked man was a new experience - and downright difficult. I kept getting distracted by the way his skin shone in the sunlight.
"I may not be from here, but I know how small towns work. If it got out you were screwing an Indian, there'd be trouble."
I was silent. There would be, but not the way he thought. I sighed.
"Will, I - "
He set his empty cup on the counter with a click and crossed the floor so fast he was crowding into my space before I knew he was coming. He captured my cup, set it aside, and took my hands.
"Don't," he whispered. "Why can't we just enjoy each other like we did last night?"
I frowned. "You want to do it again?"
He slid his fingers into my hair. "And again and again and again."
I hadn't expected that. Still, why risk my career on something that would never last?
He kissed me, his tongue teasing mine, his lips soft and warm. He tasted of coffee and cinnamon. I wanted to drink him in and keep him with me forever.
Lifting his head, he remained close enough that his breath mingled with mine. "Does this have to be complicated? I want you, Jessie. You want me. Let's just keep doing what we're doing. Okay?"