Chapter 24

Unable to sleep, Cord slipped out of bed and pulled on his jeans. It was way past midnight and he felt restless, agitated, and horny. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this intense about having a woman. Even now his body throbbed just thinking about Amber.

Dev and Briana’s visit had somehow relieved some of his edginess, but only temporarily. He had enjoyed spending time with them and could tell that Amber had enjoyed their visit as well. She had seen Dev in a less professional light and by the end of the evening she was no longer calling him Dr. Phillips.

Amber and Briana had hit it off, too. They had talked for hours about various books they had read, movies they had seen, and places they had shopped, while he and Dev had gotten engrossed in a football game on the tube.

Knowing his way around the apartment in the dark, Cord strolled down the hall and through the living room—his destination was the terrace. Opening the glass sliding door, he stepped out and inhaled the scent of orange blossoms and realized that it was Amber’s scent that filled his nostrils.

He leaned against the wall and watched as a full moon lit the predawn sky. Satisfaction filled him that the woman he’d been thinking about for the past three weeks, literally nonstop, was sharing his home, asleep in his guest room. And she had agreed to get to know him.

But for some reason he felt as if he had known her for years and the next two weeks of getting to know her were just a formality. There was something between them and whatever it was, it bound them together. If he had his way he would be in bed with her this very minute, between her legs, planted firmly inside of her, thrusting in and out until—

“Cord, are you all right?”

Her voice startled him. He hadn’t heard her approach. He half-turned to find her standing in the doorway wearing a full-length robe. The moonlight reflected the smooth curves of her voluptuous figure and his body hardened even more. “Yes, I’m fine. I couldn’t sleep.”

She walked toward him and when she stopped in front of him, her incredible amber-colored eyes scanned him from head to toe while a concerned frown touched her brows. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Oh, yeah, I’m okay, but this hard-on is something of a nuisance, he thought, but instead he said, “Yes, I’m fine. Like I said, I couldn’t sleep.”

She worried her lips nervously. “I shouldn’t have let you kiss me. You were already exhausted and needed your rest.”

He reached out and took hold of her hand and a heated sensation tore through him, but he refused to let her hand go. “Hey, we said no regrets, remember?”

“Yes, but—”

“No buts, Amber. I wanted that kiss. Hell, I needed that kiss. If anything that kiss relaxed me in a way bed rest never could have.”

She searched his face uncertainly. “You mean it?”

He smiled. “Yes, I mean it. Come here.” Before she could stop him he pulled her into his arms, needing to hold her.

She tipped her head back, her expression guarded. “I’m usually a very level-headed person.”

Cord smiled. “And you think being here with me means that you’re not?”

“I really don’t know you.”

“And I don’t know you and that’s why we’ve agreed to get to know each other. But in a way I think that we do know each other, Amber. We know each other in a way that truly matters right now, and one thing I do know is that you cared enough for a virtual stranger to be here with him to make sure he got well, and to me that says a lot.”

She frowned and stepped back from him, pulling herself from his embrace. She had to be completely honest with him. “I’m not here out of the goodness of my heart, Cord. I’m here because I want you. The woman in me is attracted to you. I haven’t been with a man for over two years. I guess you can say I’m about at the end of my rope.”

Cord stiffened in surprise. He wasn’t shocked at the fact that she wanted him, he’d picked up on that, but he was surprised that she hadn’t been with a man in over two years. “Why?”

She arched a brow. “Why what?”

“Why haven’t you been with someone in over two years? Weren’t you lonely? Didn’t you date any after your divorce?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Amber leaned back against the railing and rubbed her arms. “Mainly because I didn’t want to. I needed time to get my head on straight and once I moved here I got caught up in getting my business up and running.”

He nodded, remembering the number of hours he had spent in those early days getting his business off the ground. But still he had dated. Spending time with the opposite sex was something a person made time to do. “Men asked you out?” He was pretty sure that they had. Men didn’t routinely ignore women who looked like Amber.

“Yes, guys asked me out.”

“And you turned them down?”

“Yes. Like I said, I wasn’t ready to devote the time it took to build a relationship with a man.”

His gaze narrowed on her face. “And do you have the time to build a relationship with a man now, Amber?”

She met his gaze and again decided to be honest. “No.”

Cord’s body tensed. “So being here is only about sex to you, is that it? You need someone to take off that two-year edge?”

The tone of his voice had gone as cold as ice. Amber looked at him steadily. “I thought so in the beginning but now I don’t know. I’m confused. I guess you can tell that I’m not good at any type of a casual relationship.”

Cord let out a silent sigh of relief. He was glad she wasn’t. It appeared she was just as confused about what was happening between them. Initially, the thought that she’d intended to use him just for sexual pleasure had made him angry, but now he saw hope.

What he saw was a chance to show her that there was more between them than sex, although as fiercely drawn as he was to her, he’d do just about anything to get her into his bed now. But he was willing to wait it out and let that part come later. He wanted to get to know her in all the ways a man got to know a woman. He would take things slow with her, build her trust then capture her heart, the way he could now admit she was beginning to capture his.

“So you agree that getting to know each other is the best approach, no matter what our hormones are saying?” he asked hoarsely, reaching out and covering her hands with his. He waited for her response. Every muscle in his body tensed.

Amber pulled in a deep breath. Should she even think about pursuing a serious relationship with Cord like he wanted, instead of something more casual? She had been so wrong about Gary and had put her heart and pride on the line. Could she do so again? For the past year she had been living under the concept of “conditional growth.” One of the principles for that growth was to grow and work on yourself as long as you remained in your comfort zone. Getting seriously involved with Cord would take her out of the comfort zone she’d been in for over two years. Maybe it was time for her to realize that when you grow conditionally, you run the risk of robbing yourself of many opportunities and blessings.

She didn’t want that. She had to believe that all growth and accomplishments involved taking risks. Sometimes it meant finding the courage to leap into the unknown. Hadn’t she done that when she’d left Nashville and moved to Orlando, and again when she’d taken out a small business loan to open her bookstore?

She met Cord’s gaze and finally gave him her response. “Yes, Cord. I agree.”