Not that she had a ton of stuff, but she’d collected more than she’d thought over the past few years. At least Seymour had hired a company to deal with his stuff after his death. The man had been ruthlessly organized to the end. She’d been allowed to pick out what she’d wanted before the rest was either sold or donated to charity.
Even with weeding out her belongings before she packed, she had an impressive amount of boxes.
Tomorrow, she promised herself as she pulled off her clothing and tugged an oversized T-shirt over her head. Tomorrow, she’d sit down with Jonah and sketch out a timeline for the project. That would give her an idea of when she could do what. She’d have him do the front room first, if possible. That way she could get the walls painted, the shelves built and her shop up and running. She might be doing okay financially, but it wouldn’t pay to be lax with her business. She had customers depending on her.
Amanda removed her glasses and placed them safely on the bedside table. She rubbed the pads of her fingers over her eyes and stifled another yawn. It had been a long, eventful day.
Padding to the bathroom, she brushed her teeth, washed her face and went through her nightly routine. She was proud of the fact that she’d managed not to think about Jonah all evening.
Closing her eyes, she groaned. “He’s back.”
Glancing at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she scowled at her slightly blurry reflection. “The man is sexy as all get-out, but he only wants to sleep with you.”
What’s wrong with that?
Ignoring the little voice in the back of her head, she continued her lecture. “Sure, you’d probably have the best sex of your life, but it wouldn’t last.”
But you’d have the best sex of your life!
That little voice was beginning to get on her nerves because it was starting to make sense. “Sex with Jonah would be incredible.” Her reflection nodded in agreement. She had no idea how she knew that, she just did. The man exuded sex appeal.
“What am I thinking?” She turned away from the mirror, flicked off the light, and headed to bed. “I’m thinking that it might be nice to actually have an orgasm that wasn’t self-induced.”
Amanda slapped her hand over her mouth even though there was no one there who could hear her. It was enough that she’d heard herself utter the words. Feeling silly, she pulled her hand away.
“Okay, so not every woman has an orgasm during sex,” she grumbled to herself. She could feel her cheeks heating as she stumbled to bed and crawled in. Yanking the covers up around her, she settled her head against the pillows.
Her body had not been silent during her conversation with herself. Her skin felt hot, her breasts heavy. Ignoring the pulsing between her thighs, she turned over on her side and reached for the knob on the bedside lamp.
Before she could turn it off, the phone rang.
Chapter Five
Amanda reached for her glasses and slipped them on. She glanced at the clock radio as she picked up her cordless phone. It was only half-past ten. Not too late. Maybe it was Cyndi, checking to see if she made it home okay. “Hello.”
“Hello, sugar.” The smooth male voice went through her like a hot knife through butter. Every cell in her body seemed to spark with anticipation.
“Jonah.” Her voice shook slightly. It was if her very thoughts had conjured the man from thin air. Her fingers tightened around the phone.
“Did you have a good evening with Shamus and Cyndi?”
She frowned and then remembered he’d been here when Shamus had mentioned it earlier today. “Yes, I did. They’re good friends.” She could hear the defensiveness in her voice and sighed. Taking a deep breath, she tried to settle her nerves and slow her pounding heart. “I had a wonderful time.”
“That’s good.”
She closed her eyes and absorbed the sound of his voice. Damn, she had it bad.
“Jonah, what do you want?” The quicker she found out, the quicker she could get him off the phone. As it was, she suspected it would be quite some time until she relaxed enough to sleep. Her body felt as if she’d been drinking coffee for about six hours straight.
“You.”
That one stark word made her heart start pounding again. Amanda opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, trying to distract herself from the growing ache low in her belly.
The paint was chipped in several places. It was on her to-do list.
“You still there, sugar?”
She nodded and then sighed, giving up trying to get control of her unruly hormones.
“Yes, I’m here.” She raked her free hand through her hair, making an even bigger mess of her curls. “But I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes.” His voice was little more than a sensual murmur. Amanda swallowed hard and tried to ignore the hard points of her nipples pressing against her T-shirt.
“You know I can’t,” she whispered. But oh how she wanted to say yes.
She definitely wasn’t the type of woman to make a rash decision about anything.
Slow and methodical was more her speed, but these past months her life had been speeding out of control.
“Sure you can,” he coaxed. “We’re both adults. We’re both free.” He paused and she could hear the brush of fabric on fabric as he shifted position. “I could make you feel so good.”
“It’s not that easy for me.” She’d never had sex for the sake of it. She’d always been involved in a relationship with the men she’d slept with.
“It can be.” Jonah sighed softly. “Don’t over-think it, Amanda. We could even start now if you want.”
She leaned back against the headboard and tried to get comfortable. “What do you mean?”
“What are you wearing?”
She glanced down at her slightly ragged T-shirt that she wore as a nightshirt. If he expected her to act as if she was wearing something sexy, he was sadly mistaken. “I’m wearing a white T-shirt that says ‘Booksellers Do It By The Book’ and a pair of white cotton panties.”
Silence. Then a low chuckle filled the line. “I like it. I can picture it on you. I’ll bet the shirt doesn’t quite cover your ass, does it?”
“No. Almost, but not quite.”
“Hmm.”
She had no idea what he meant by that, but she wasn’t about to ask. It felt strange to talk about her nightclothes to Jonah.
“Your bed is warm and your sheets are rumpled. I wanted to crawl in there today and pull you in with me.”
Arousal pulsed low in Amanda’s belly. She pressed her legs together to try to ease the growing ache. It didn’t help. “I saw you looking at the bed.” Was that low and sultry voice hers?
Jonah laughed. “Oh, yeah. I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t bury my face between your sweet thighs, but I did catch your scent drifting up from your pillow. It was warm and musky, with a hint of lavender.”
Her breathing was coming faster now. The things he said. She fanned her face, but it didn’t help. Her body felt like a blast furnace on high. Bury his face between her thighs.
She’d read about such things, but no man had ever done it for her before.
As if he could read her thoughts, he continued. “I’m going to taste your sweetness some day, Amanda. And soon. I’ll bet you’d taste like honey with a touch of spice.”
She squirmed and sank lower onto the mattress, kicking the covers off her overheated body.
“I’ll bet your pussy is hot and wet for me now. Isn’t it, sugar?” His breathing was deep and even. “Put your hands between your legs and check.”
“Jonah,” she wailed, partly embarrassed, but wholly aroused.
“Do it,” he commanded. “You know you want to.”
She licked her lips, which suddenly felt parched. Her hand slid down her stomach and dipped between her thighs.