“A, you are most definitely a babe, and B, those are details that can be worked out later if it comes to that. God knows I’m no expert on relationships, but it would seem to me that two people who are relatively new to them might want to take it slow and not get ahead of themselves worrying about what happens down the road.”

“I can’t help but worry about that. In eleven days, you’re headed back to Florida for months.”

“And I’ll remind you again that you’re more than welcome to come with me.”

“What if you’re sick of me by then?”

“That won’t happen.”

“How do you know?”

“Because.”

She raised a brow. “Care to elaborate?”

“I couldn’t wait to get back to you tonight. Every minute I was gone felt like pure torture.”

Okay, that was a pretty damned good answer.

Before she could formulate a reply to such a stark statement, he said, “What if I forget to put the toilet seat down or leave my wet towels on the floor? And the underwear… That could end up anywhere. You might be ready to give me the heave-ho days before I’m due to leave.”

Erin shook her head.

“You seem awfully certain.”

“I was awfully glad to see you at Jenny’s.”

He leaned in, his intentions clear, and even though she knew what it was like to kiss him, this felt like the first time all over again now that they’d declared their intentions to give it a whirl. He kept his eyes open as he kissed her, so she did the same, watching him watch her.

Outside, the frigid wind howled and the waves crashed against the rocks below, but inside the cozy confines of her lighthouse, it was getting warmer by the second. His lips were soft but insistent, his eyes closing when their tongues met in a sensual caress.

Though the last thing she wanted was to stop what had only just begun, Erin broke the kiss. “Let’s go upstairs where it’s more comfortable.”

“I’m perfectly happy to sleep right here if you’re not ready for that.”

“If I wasn’t ready to sleep with you, I wouldn’t have asked you to come upstairs with me.”

“Well, all righty then. After you.”

Once again, Slim followed her up a spiral staircase, his eyes drawn to her sexy ass in the tight jeans she’d worn to Jenny’s party. Those jeans were a thing of beauty, but they had nothing on the woman who wore them. She was beautiful inside and out, and the more time he spent with her, the more hooked on her he seemed to become. Her brutal honesty about the end of her last significant relationship had touched him deeply.

And earlier, when she’d let him know he had the power to hurt her… Whoa.