Chapter Eleven
Chuck couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He'd awaken hard, horny and miserable as a result of last night's kisses, but he wasn't complaining. He considered the prelude to his nearly sleepless night progress.
Blair was almost his. It was only a matter of time before the chemistry between them became explosive.
Balancing the tray on one hand, he knocked on her door with the other. She didn't answer, but that didn't surprise him. Blair had always been a sound sleeper. He turned the knob and pushed.
She lay on her side, with the covers bunched at her feet. She'd always preferred to sleep without getting tangled in bedding. One long, bare leg was hooked over a pillow she clutched to her chest. Her position stretched the fabric of her night gown tight across her bottom, making it easy to determine she wasn't wearing panties.
During their early days, he'd been her pillow, and her leg would have been hitched over his hip and thigh. And she would have been naked. His groin pulsed at the memory.
The temptation to wake her the way he once had - by caressing her skin, running his palm up her leg and smoothing over her round butt - was almost irresistible.
"Blair. Wake up."
She startled awake and rolled over, shoving her curls out of her face. "What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I brought breakfast."
Squinting, she scrubbed the sleep from her eyes. Knowing her as well as he did had its rewards. He took advantage of her usual morning fog to hustle forward and plant himself on the bed beside her before she awoke enough to realize she was giving him one hell of a good view. If he anchored the sheets in the process, making it impossible to cover up, he considered it a fringe benefit. She had to get comfortable around him again and the only way to achieve that goal was through exposure.
"Sit up."
Blinking owlishly at the tray, she scooted up against the pillows. "You cooked?"
He didn't miss the suspicion in her morning-husky tone. "Well, no. I had Dorota prepare it. But I brought it upstairs all by myself."
She bit her lip, worrying the soft, pink flesh and making him ache to lean in and kiss her again. But moving too fast could cost him the battle, so instead, he settled the tray across her lap and enjoyed the sight of her nipples tenting her thin nightgown. The little nubs drew his gaze like a power outage dose looters and hit his gut with a brick of desire that splintered through him like a broken window. He blinked and tried to focus on his goal - getting her to let down her guard. He nudged the coffee mug in her direction.
"Blair took the mug from him. Her hair fell across her face as she bent to take a sip. He caught a strand and twined a curl around his finger. Her chin jerked up. He tucked the lock behind her ear, taking the time to run his finger down the side of her jaw and over her pulse point. The beat quickened beneath his fingertip.
"You always did look good in the morning."
She leaned out of reach and put a self-conscious hand to her tousled hair. "My hair's probably a mess."
He shrugged. "A little messy. But that's always more interesting than a women with every hair in place."
He cheeks flushed, then her eyes narrowed on his.
"Did you sleep at all last night, Chuck?"
Busted. "Finish your breakfast. I have a meeting with Eric this morning. I'll be leaving in a few minutes."
"Is everything all right?" he shouldn't be surprised she'd picked up on his tension. Blair had always bee perceptive. And he'd been a fool to neglect her.
"He's obsessing about a new venture. I need to talk him off the ledge."
"You're good at that."
If he's been better a talking sense into people, he would have been able to talk her out of leaving. But then, she'd given him no clue of her plans. One day she'd been there and the next she'd been gone.
"I'm good at a lot of things." His gaze fell to her breasts. Her breath hitched and her nipples puckered. "If you'll excuse me, I'll take my shower and then deal with the contractor. You take care of your brother."
He patted her thigh, savoring the warm silkiness of her skin and fighting the urge to slide his fingers north into the warmth between her legs. Her quadriceps tensed beneath his fingers, reminding him of his goal - getting her pregnant.
But this was the one time he'd welcome failure on the first few tries. Hell, he wouldn't mind if it took a year…or two. As long as he had Blair in his bed he'd be happy.