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“Yeah, both losers, or winners, depending on how you look at it.”

“I choose winners.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” I smiled to cover the desire her warm curves seemed to inspire in me, awake or asleep. “Do you want to get into the bathroom first?”

She shook her head, appearing almost uncertain. I’d missed an opportunity to reassure her with my winners or losers comment. Sleeping with Andi, even if all we did was cuddle, was definitely winning.

“Nah, I’ll head back to my room. Leave you to shower in peace. Thanks for letting me stay.”

“No, thank you.” Unable to resist, I leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on the shoulder exposed by her drooping T-shirt. “Best sleep I’ve had in a long time.”

Her arched brow indicated her disbelief. “Really?”

“Oddly enough, yes.”

“Well, now I’m disappointed.”

Her moue of displeasure tickled me, and I released a quick chuckle. If I kept things light and playful, maybe she wouldn’t look too closely at my lap and see the evidence of my arousal.

“What? Take it as a compliment. I always sleep poorly in hotel rooms.”

“Not exactly a sexy story to share with the girls. Apparently, I’m more sandman than seductress.”

I hated to see her lack confidence in herself. Doubt that I would be her eager partner if she so much as snapped her fingers at me after the trial finished. “Sure, the first hour was agonizing, I went through every stage of grief over being unable to touch you. But once I succumbed and accepted my fate, I slept like an angel.”

“Well, at least there’s that.”

“What, the agony?”

Her lips twitched at my playful outrage.

“So, I’ll see you later?” she asked shyly, leaning against my door.

My hand fisted in the sheets.

So. Damn. Beautiful.

Andi, fresh from my bed, was a sight I could get used to. Her slouchy T-shirt would look great on my floor. I shook myself, trying to remember her last words. Right. She’d see me later. As if she could get rid of me.

“You have no choice in the matter.” I smiled to soften the words. “See you at breakfast?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

With those parting words, she slipped out, and I let out the breath I’d been holding. Keeping up the casual façade with a raging hard-on hadn’t been easy. I glanced at my lap. But it had been necessary.

One more day. Maybe a few at most. I could last that long without sacrificing my principles.

Andi deserved better than secrets and potential scandal. She deserved everything.

Chapter 11 – Andi

Oddly floaty after a night cuddled with Ty, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face as I successfully made it into my room without witnesses.

I wrinkled my nose at the wet mattress. The office claimed they’d get maintenance in while I was at the courthouse and replace it, but I hoped we’d be going home before I had to sleep there again. At least the water pressure in the shower remained strong.

Stepping beneath the stinging spray helped bring me more fully awake. I shook myself as images from the morning heated my skin. Waking up in Ty’s arms had been almost all I’d dreamed of. Too many clothes for real satisfaction, but that had been the deal. I worried my lip with my teeth.

Our relationship had hit a weird no-man’s-land. We were sort of dating? Not yet intimate, though I wanted to be. Getting to know Ty now, the man he’d become, eclipsed other priorities. But soon, those other commitments would come rushing back. Work loomed. After my absence, I’d be pulling some late nights to get caught up. When Ty and I weren’t thrown together, would our relationship shift? Return to our previous state as friendly rivals, childhood pals? Did he want me enough to accept me, flaws and all? Or would he tire of my competitiveness like boyfriends before him? Sore losers, all.