“You would,” he answered sternly. “As a matter of fact, I was a well behaved little boy.”
“I knew it.”
“Unless I lost my temper,” he continued, ignoring her comment.
“You don’t have a temper.”
He laughed. “I’m afraid there are those who would gladly contradict you. I’ll admit that I don’t lose my temper very often, but when I do, I have a hard time controlling it. I’m not at all proud of that fact, you understand.”
“You don’t sound particularly ashamed of it, either.”
“Only because you seem to like me better with flaws.”
“I explained that. I start feeling insecure when you seem too perfect. But I think I can accept you with a temper and a soap-opera addiction.”
His arms tightened fractionally around her bare shoulders. “If not, I’ll gladly come up with some more vices.” He sounded just a bit too serious to be entirely teasing.
Autumn quickly changed the subject. “Didn’t I hear you mention dinner earlier this evening?”
Jeff went still, then laughed contritely. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. You must be starved. It completely slipped my mind.”
He’d called her “honey” again. She really should mention to him that she didn’t like being called “honey.” Or at least she hadn’t liked it until she’d heard it said in his deep voice.
“Why don’t we order a pizza?” she suggested, reluctant to go out again that evening.
“Good idea. Make it a large one with everything. My treat.”
“No, mine. It was my idea, after all.”
“I asked you for dinner, remember? It was my fault that we got distracted before we could eat.”
“I had something to do with that distraction. And I—”
/> Jeff laughed and tugged her head to his to silence her with a kiss. “Forget it. You can buy the pizza. But next time I’m buying. Deal?”
“Deal.” She grinned at him, well aware, as he was, that she hadn’t cared less who paid for the pizza. She just liked arguing with him.
Still laughing, Jeff pushed himself onto one elbow and looked down at her, his hand cupping her cheek. “I can tell that our relationship will never be dull. You’re going to keep me on my toes, aren’t you?”
Unwilling to define their tentative relationship just then, Autumn rolled away from him and pulled on her robe. “I’ll order the pizza.”
Jeff reached for his pants. “Tell them to make it snappy, will you? I seem to have worked up quite an appetite.”
“BABS, YOU’RE GOING to make yourself sick. Don’t you know that pizza isn’t good for dogs?”
Autumn smiled at Jeff’s serious tone of voice. “Don’t tell her that, Jeff. She doesn’t know.”
He glanced laughingly at her. “What? That pizza’s not good for dogs?”
“No. That she is a dog.”
“Oh. Here, Babs, have another slice of pizza. Want a beer?”
Autumn laughed at his foolishness and munched on her own dinner, her eyes lingering on the lock of dark hair that had again fallen boyishly over Jeff’s forehead. She couldn’t seem to look away from him. She tried to tell herself a modern woman indulging in a modern, no-strings-attached affair shouldn’t be having these giddy, tender feelings, but there didn’t seem to be much she could do about it just then. She shrugged those stern thoughts away, telling herself that she was sure she’d be more herself the next day, after the wonder of Jeff’s lovemaking had worn off.
Jeff stayed all night, falling asleep only to make love to her again when they woke. If Autumn had thought that the mindless ecstasy she’d felt the first time they’d made love had been a one-time experience, she was proven wrong. It was just as incredible, just as spectacular, the second time. And the third. He left, reluctantly, with long, lingering kisses and murmured promises to see her later.
And then Autumn Sarah Reed, the tough, independent, self-sufficient, liberated woman who never cried, found herself standing in the tub, a steady stream of hot tears mingling with the water from the shower. Because Jeff had made her so very happy. And being that happy terrified her. She could all too easily become addicted to being with Jeff Bradford. And she didn’t believe that such happiness could last. There would come a time when she’d have to pay for her pleasure—and the price just might be higher than anything she’d ever given in the past.