Uninhibited (Unlikely Lovers) (18 page)

“
Yeah, a real date. Tomorrow night, maybe?”

“
Sure,” she agreed then eyed him with suspicion as an unsettling thought occurred to her. “Please tell me you aren’t one of those obsessive guys who has to call every ten minutes.”

His
guilty expression suggested he might be. “That would bug you, wouldn’t it?”

She nodded.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend who did that, but I’ve known a few women who have. The best I can tell, it’s a royal pain in the ass.”

“Okay.” He
still seemed uncertain, gnawing at his lower lip. “How often should I call you?”

“How often do you think you
need
to call?”

Dropping his head, he muttered, “Probably
too often.” He blinked several times, as though forcing back tears.

“Twice a day?” she suggested.

He winced. “How about four?”

“Four is good.”

“How early?”

Limits, Emily.
There must be limits.
“No calls from eleven to seven.” Which would give her at least eight uninterrupted hours.

Alan
hesitated, scratching a thumbnail across his chin. Emily could almost see the wheels turning inside his head.

“I can do that,”
he said at last.

“Good night, then.” Cupping his face in her hands, she kissed him. He still tasted like cookies—creamy, chocolaty cookies.
She didn’t even have to press her stomach into his groin to know his erection was there, a circumstance she found strangely comforting.

“See you tomorrow?”

She nodded. “I’m usually home by five. Want me to meet you at the store? Like I said, I need to check this place out.”

“I’ll be
waiting.”

She didn’t doubt that, either.

* * * *

Unfortunately for him, Todd
happened to be home that evening.

“And just
when
were you intending to introduce me to Alan?” Emily demanded. “And
why
did I have to meet him in a parking lot?”

“Well, hello to you, too, Sis,” Todd said, giving
her a hug. “Don’t tell me you like him.”

She
rolled her eyes. “Of course
I like him. I’ve been searching for him for weeks, and you—you knew he was here all along.”

“
Yes, but how was I to know you were looking for him?” Todd protested. “I brought him over as soon as you asked. You should be thanking me.”

“I am—I think
.”

“Actually, I was planning to give him to you for Christmas—you know, take him over to Janice’s house for dinner and introduce you, but—”

While that sounded nice and brotherly, Emily didn’t believe it for a second. Todd was a sweet boy, but altruism had never been his strong suit.

“Oh, come on
. That’s crap, and you know it,” she said. “You only wanted him there because you thought Janice and Ned would behave better in front of a stranger.”

“True,” he conceded
. “He still would’ve been a good present.” He eyed her speculatively. “So, is he better than Chad?”

Actually, Alan was better than
a lot of things. Chad just happened to be at the top of the list. “It wouldn’t take much to be better than Chad. A pair of fuzzy dice would do it. And yes, I like Alan very much. He might take some getting used to, but—”

“Might take a
lot
of getting used to if what I’ve heard is true.”

“Oh, no
,” she groaned. “What have you heard?”

“About Alan? Nothing, really. I mean, I know
him
, not his friends, so I wouldn’t know what other people say about him. No, what I was referring to was the potential difference between him and your other boyfriends.”

Her
eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You’ve been talking to Janice, haven’t you?”

“Actually, it was Mom.”

“Oh, please, don’t tell me she asked you to go out and recruit a new boyfriend for me.” Which, unfortunately, sounded exactly like something she would do.

“No, but she did
tell me to keep my eyes peeled after you broke up with Chad. Believe it or not, I mentioned you to Alan once, but he wasn’t ready yet. That chick he was living with had just left him, and I thought it would be a good time. Guess I was wrong.” Cocking his head to one side, he studied her face. “This was the right time, wasn’t it?”

Understatement of the year…
“I was beside myself trying to get in touch with him yesterday. Your timing was absolutely perfect.”

“
And he’ll be at Janice’s for Christmas?”

“Probably
.” She paused, frowning. “Now all I have to do is narrow down the list of what to get for him.”

“You’re getting him a present
?
Already
? Wow. You must really like him.”

“Todd,”
she said, doing her best to keep her voice level. “You dropped him off at my house
yesterday
. I’m bringing him back
today
. Don’t you think that warrants a Christmas gift?”

His smile was so smug Emily wanted to smack him.
“Told you the two of you were made for each other.”

“
Maybe. Don’t go planning the wedding, though. After all, we barely know each other.”

“
Yeah. Women don’t seem to stay with him very long,” Todd observed. “He’s not abusive—at least I wouldn’t think so—and he doesn’t seem to be hard to get along with.” He shot her a questioning glance, clearly fishing for Emily’s take on what was “wrong” with Alan.

“
Hmm…well, he’s sort of...needy.”

“Needy,” Todd
echoed. “What do you mean,
needy
?”

“
He’s been...lonely.”

“Uh-huh
,” Todd said, though from his expression and tone of voice, he apparently didn’t have a clue.

Emily
hadn’t had many sexual discussions with her kid brother, and she didn’t care to start—especially since he already knew Alan. “Awkward” was putting it mildly.

“He likes a lot of physical contact,
and he can be a little...overwhelming.”

Todd
nodded as though he understood—which was good because Emily had no desire to explain further. She was far more interested in the fact that Todd had evidently known the woman who’d left most of her belongings behind in order to escape from Alan.

“
What was Alan’s last ‘chick’ like?”

“
Carol?” Todd shrugged. “She wasn’t bad looking—blonde, athletic—not very friendly, though. You’re a definite improvement.”

The poor girl was p
robably worn to the bone by the constant banging she’d received from Alan. Hopefully, by setting limits, Emily wouldn’t suffer the same fate. “Hmm…dunno about the looks department, and I’m no athlete, but I can’t recall anyone ever saying I was unfriendly.”
Depressed and inattentive, perhaps.

“Nah, just sort of—”

“What?”

He shrugged.
“You haven’t seemed happy for a long time, Sis. You feel better now, though, don’t you?”

“
Much
better. I don’t know whether it’s because of Alan or not, but I’m...better. Really.”

“I sure hope you stay that way. Be nice if you and Alan could stay together, too. He’s a nice guy—
a damn sight better than the assholes you’ve hooked up with before. I mean, he’s got a good job and everything.”

Emily couldn’t help chuckling.
His job wasn’t the only thing Alan had going for him, but Todd didn’t need to know that. Compared to her ex-husband Dane, Chad was a prince. And Alan? “He’s certainly different.”

* * * *

Saying goodnight and closing the door with Emily on the other side of it was one of the more difficult things Alan had ever done. He still couldn’t believe he’d been able to do it, especially knowing his bed was waiting for him to toss her onto it and fuck her senseless. Already, he felt bereft without her in his arms.

Still, this way was probably best. If he fucked her now, he’d probably scare the hell out of her. H
e would only be apart from her until tomorrow evening. Surely he could hold on that long. After all, he’d been without a woman for nearly a year—although
how
he’d done it boggled the mind. Not when he could barely stand the thought of being away from Emily for less than twenty-four hours.

A knock on the door across the hall caught his attention, and he heard a male voice.

Todd.
Of course she’d want to see her brother. He could only imagine what she would say to him.

Thanks a million
!
or
What the hell were you thinking?

Probably the latter.
Alan leaned back against the door, breathing hard. His dick was killing him again. What would she think if she found him standing in his doorway when she left Todd’s apartment?

Would she let out a scream and pound on Todd’s door, begging for his protection?

Not likely. That was the sort of thing Carol would’ve done. Emily was tougher, more straightforward. She’d probably tell him to shut the damn door and get his ass in bed.

Turning around, he peered through the peephole just as Emily went into Todd’s apartment.

Would she stay long?

Probably not. She had to go to work in the morning, and she hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.

That’s my fault.
Nonetheless, he couldn’t feel too badly about it. Not when she’d given him the best night of his life—although at the moment, his hands were like ice, and he was shaking like an alcoholic in withdrawal.

I am
not
addicted to sex.
He’d proven himself today, spending all afternoon in her house, not fucking her until he was finished decorating her Christmas tree.

Unfortunately, now that he was alone again, he
felt like he was about to jump out of his skin. Would she have spent tonight with him if he’d begged? Or would she tell him to go fuck himself? He had to know.

Opening the door, he let it swing wide and leaned against the jamb.

And waited.

As she left Todd’s apartment,
Emily looked up in surprise. “Hey, you. I wondered if you’d still be up.”

“Interesting choice of words
,” he said. “I’m always
up
.”

“Ha, ha
. Very funny.” Grasping his upper arms, she stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Todd tells me your last girlfriend wasn’t very friendly. Am I nicer?”

That one kiss soothed him like nothing else could.
He blew out a sigh. “You have no idea. So much nicer, in so many ways.”

She arched a brow.
“You wouldn’t be trying to butter me up, would you?”

“Maybe.
Want to come in for a while?”

Alan
held his breath as she glanced at her watch. “Hmm…it’s already ten-thirty, and we both have to get up early.”

Licking his
lower lip, he sank his teeth into it, exhaling slowly in an effort to maintain control. “Wouldn’t take long.”

She
rolled her eyes. “It never does—the first time. After that, things slow down considerably.”

“You already know me pretty well, don’t you?”

“Let’s just say I’m a quick study.” She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m going home now, Alan. I’ll see you for dinner tomorrow night—and I hope you do mean dinner—because if we keep on like we have for the past two days, I’m going to waste away to nothing. I can’t live on sex alone.”

“I know,” he said
wistfully. “Although I’d like to try it sometime.”

“
We came damn close—unless you count the cookie dough.” She blew out a breath. “You’re pretty amazing.”

“I sure hope you mean
that.”

“Yeah, I do.
” Her voice was as soft and tender as the look in her eyes. She kissed him again. “Goodnight, Alan. Sleep well.”

“I’ll try
, but I bet I don’t sleep as well as I did last night.”

She snorted a laugh.
“Last night? As I recall, you didn’t sleep much at all. One quick nap and you were at it again.”

“Yes, but the sleep I got later on was really good
,” he insisted. “I liked being with you, Emily. It was
so
nice.”

“Nice, huh?”
She poked him in the stomach with a fingertip. “That’s all you can say?
Nice
? You ungrateful wretch. What we did was a lot better than that.” She glanced at Todd’s door. “I’d say more, but I wouldn’t want my own brother calling the cops.”