He just couldn’t help it. He chuckled again. “We’ve already been through that, remember? You look wonderful in the mornings. Even if your hair does tend to stand straight up.” His eyes made a lazy survey of the skimpy nightshirt that had proved so little barrier against his wandering hands. The words printed across the front of the orange knit shirt darkened his eyes: Motorcycle Mama. “That shirt is sick.”
“Connie gave it to me. I think it’s cute.”
“You would. Get dressed. We’re spending the day together.”
“The hell we are.”
He sighed. “Look, Summer, you can either get dressed and go out with me, or we’ll spend the entire day right here in your bed. Personally, I’d prefer the latter, but something tells me that you wouldn’t agree.”
“You’re damned right I don’t agree.”
“Then get dressed. I’ll go find some coffee and wait for you.”
“Derek, you can’t just walk into my bedroom and tell me that I’m going to spend the day with you.”
“I just did. See you in half an hour.” He winked at her as he walked toward the door.
Summer groped for her pillow, hoping to find it in time to throw it at his retreating back. Too late she remembered that she’d thrown it to the floor the night before. With one last insolent glance back at her Derek walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
Her head buzzing with conflicting emotions, Summer took her shower. A cold shower. Even that could not quench the fires Derek had started within her. Damn him! She’d never met anyone like him. Though she’d met some single-minded, intractable, persistent males in her life, Derek should win a prize. When he set his mind on something, he intended to achieve it regardless of the consequences. Not through flashy, ostentatious, creative measures, but by steady, thorough, relentless pursuit. No grand hero, this Derek Anderson, but a man who achieved his goals quietly. Not qualities she normally admired in a man. So why did she find them so utterly fascinating in Derek? And why was she beginning to resign herself to
the fact that an affair with him was fast becoming inevitable?
While she dressed in an oversize white fleece top and baggy stone-washed jeans, her rational side continued to remind her of the reasons she must resist the temptation to give in to Derek, even as her body throbbed with the remnants of passion he’d created upon awakening her. She told herself that she had taken an unusual amount of time with her makeup only to hide the aftereffects of her restless night, not to look particularly attractive for Derek. Sliding her feet into the stylish leather flats that she wore from necessity as well as fashion, she took a deep breath before heading for the door through which Derek had departed only twenty minutes earlier.
She found him in the kitchen, sharing coffee with his sister. Summer wasn’t particularly surprised to discover that they were talking about Joel.
“Did you know him before he hired you to look over his business?” Connie was asking as Summer entered the room. “Joel was a little vague about how the two of you met.”
“I’ve known him for a while,” Derek answered.
“Oh, great. You’re about as helpful as he was,” Connie complained. “Don’t you like him, Derek?”
Derek looked steadily at her. “Now how should I answer that? If I tell you that I don’t like him and wish you wouldn’t see him, you’ll throw yourself into his arms. If I encourage you to see him because he’s a decent guy and would be good for you, you’ll drop him like a hot rock.”
Summer swallowed a chuckle at Derek’s wickedly accurate assessment. He obviously had no intention of commenting on Joel Tanner.
“Well, you should be pleased to know that your friend brought me straight home last night and told me good-night without even making a pass.”
“That must have been quite a change for you,” her brother muttered into his coffee.
Connie started to bristle, but Summer interceded hastily. “Good morning, Connie. Sleep well?” she asked, ignoring Derek as she limped across the room to pull a coffee mug from the cabinet.
“Until I was so rudely awakened, yes,” Connie replied. “The sugar’s in the sugar bowl, Summer.”
“What a unique place for it. Usually we just dip it from the sack.”
“Don’t look at me. Derek’s the one who filled the bowl.”
“I should have known.”
“Stop talking about me like I’m not in the room,” Derek commanded them both, rising to his feet. “Here, Summer, take my chair. I’ll lean against the counter. Why the hell don’t you invest in some decent furniture? Surely between the two of you, you could afford some good used furniture that isn’t in danger of falling apart.”
“This furniture came with the apartment. Besides, we have other ways we’d rather spend our money,” Connie answered with a shrug. “It’s not like either of us makes that much.”
Derek sighed but resisted further comment on that particular subject. “Aren’t either of you going to have breakfast?”
Again it was Connie who answered. She lifted her coffee cup. “You’re looking at it, brother dear. How did you think we eat as much as we do on special occasions and still maintain our girlish figures?”