“What?” she whispered. “I haven’t . . . well . . . I mean . . .” Her gaze darted around the room before it landed back on me. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. About that night.”
Leaning in closer to her, I softly asked, “Do you want me again?”
She nodded.
“Say it.”
“I more than want you, Blake. I need you.”
We were totally backsliding on our arrangement, but I didn’t give two shits. I’d deal with Nash and everything that went with him finding out about me and Morgan later. Because I knew for a fact that he had to know the truth. There was no way I would sneak around behind his back. He meant too much to me, and so did Morgan.
“We need to tell Nash,” I said, taking her hand in mine.
“I know, but not yet. Please. I want whatever this is between us to stay between us. No one is looking at it and judging or saying it’s wrong. I need to know if there is really something here, or if maybe we both just need . . . someone.”
My brows pulled in and I shook my head. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. I’m lonely, Blake, and I have been for some time. I feel connected to you, but I need more time to understand it. I’ve never felt like this before. Not even with Mike. And I don’t know if that was because we were so young when we started dating. This thing I feel with you is so . . .”
“Different,” I finished softly.
She nodded.
It felt like a vise was on my chest, slowly closing tighter. It was in that moment I realized that Morgan Barrett had the power to complete destroy my heart and soul. That was something I had never given to a woman. Ever. The night I lost my mother, I vowed I would never love another woman and risk being hurt. But I’d handed my heart over to Morgan freely the moment I met her. If it meant holding her in my arms again and hearing her call out my name when she came with me deep inside her, it was worth it.
Her eyes met mine, and we both smiled.
“Let’s go,” I said, pulling her up and nearly dragging her out of the restaurant.
BLAKE PUSHED THE door open to the hotel suite bedroom and quickly pulled his shirt over his head before we were even fully in the room with the door shut.
I giggled, helping him get it over his head. “I can’t believe you got a hotel room. We could have gone to either of our places.”
“I have been waiting long enough to be inside you, Morgan. I want you now. So get undressed.”
I did as he demanded. Slipping my sneakers off and pulling my T-shirt over my head. “I should probably shower. I’m all nasty from running.”
“So am I.”
His hands were pulling my jogging pants down. He dropped to his knees and smiled as he took in my baby-blue thong.
“Fuck, you are the sexiest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
My body heated at the compliment. I knew it wasn’t true. Blake had been with other women, all of whom I was positive were more beautiful than me. I was a plain Jane. There was nothing special about me. I liked my body, though. I wasn’t too skinny, and I wasn’t fat. I had a good ten pounds extra on me that left my hips shapely.
“Princess, look at me.”
I did as he asked, and our eyes met, stilling my breath in my chest. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever been with.”
“Blake, I’m going to sleep with you. I don’t need you filling my head with silly, fake compliments.”
He frowned then stood. “What?”
I shrugged. “I can’t possibly the prettiest woman you’ve ever been with. Look at me.”
Blake stared at me like I had grown two heads. Then he took my hand and pulled me into the bedroom. We stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror. All I had on were my sports bra and panties.
“Look at you,” he whispered, his mouth against my neck. The heat from his breath caused my entire body to shiver, leaving goosebumps trailing all over my skin.
I stared at myself in the mirror as I let myself lean back against Blake’s chest.
“Do you know what I see when I look at you?”
Shaking my head, I whispered, “No.”
Blake’s fingers moved up the side of my body lightly before he gently rubbed his thumb over my cheek tenderly. My hand lifted instinctively to grasp his arm.
“I see a woman who is so beautiful she takes my breath away every time I look at her.”
Narrowing my eyes, I replied, “Liar. You never looked at me like this before.”
“Then you weren’t paying very close attention.”
I glanced down, and he moved his hand to run his finger along my bra line.
“I see a woman who is confident, smart, and not afraid to go after something she wants. All of that is a huge turn-on. At least it is for me.”
This time I couldn’t help the smile that spread over my face.
When his hands moved to lift off my sports bra, I fought the urge to reach up and hold it in place.
“That’s it, princess. Look at how you beautiful you are.”
When his fingers teased my nipples, I sucked in a breath and let out a low moan. Watching him touch me in the mirror was turning me on even more.
“Do you have any idea how much I’ve been thinking about you? Dreaming I could touch this body again. Feel your soft skin against mine. No woman has ever made me desire her like you have.”
“I have?” I said, hearing the uncertainty in my voice. I hated that I was questioning myself. I never did that, but something about this moment was tearing me open, exposing my fears for Blake to see. My deepest secret felt like it was about to explode from my chest and be laid out for him to see.
I wasn’t good enough. For anyone.
Blake dropped to his knees behind me. “Yes, you have.”
Slipping his fingers barely inside my panties, he slowly pulled them down. Our gazes locked in the mirror, and my breathing picked up to almost a pant.
The feel of Blake’s heated stare and his hands moving over my naked body was becoming too much to bear. I could feel how wet I was getting from his touch.
“I’ve wanted no one like I want you, Morgan. Never. The next time I tell you how beautiful you are, you will know I mean every damn word.” He placed a kiss on the side of my hip, causing my entire body to shake.
“Do you want me?” he asked, his voice shaking.
I nodded and barely whispered, “I want you.”
Turning away from the mirror, I looked down at Blake. My fingers raked through his hair as he closed his eyes for a moment.
Then I told him the truth. “I want you like I’ve never wanted any other man before.”
The words were true. So true. A part of me felt the sharp pain of guilt in my chest. I had loved Mike with all my heart, but it had never been like this. The connection I felt with Blake was so new and different. It was something other than physical. With Mike, it had started out with a physical attraction. Then he left for the military and I don’t think we ever learned to know each other. With Blake, it felt like an explosion of every emotion and feeling hitting me all at once.
Blake stood, and the unspoken question in his eyes mirrored my own thoughts. He was too much of a gentleman to ask it, and I was too afraid to tell him the truth.
“I’m sort of feeling like I’m floating around on a raft, lost and confused. I feel guilty for wanting you the way I do, but I also feel like this is something I’ve been searching for my whole life,” I finally said.
His hands cupped my face, and he leaned his forehead to mine. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead he kissed me. It was one of his dizzying kisses that left me panting and needing more. The kind that made me forget everything and everyone. I was only in this moment. Only with this man.
My hands shook while I worked at getting his pants off him. Once they were removed, we both climbed onto the bed, Blake moving over me, our hands all over each other’s bodies as he slowly pushed inside me. This time he didn’t even ask about a condo
m, not that I would have told him any different from the first night we were together. I needed to feel him without a barrier between us.
His hard warmth caused me to cry out in pure pleasure when he lost control, pushing in quick and hard. He stilled, and I urged him on by wrapping my leg around him.
“I’m sorry, princess. Did I hurt you?”
Digging my nails into his shoulders, I panted, “No. Please move. Blake, I need more. Please give me more.”
“Shit, Morgan, you’re gonna make me come before we even get started.”
I smiled as he moved to his knees. He grabbed my body, pulling me to him and did exactly what I asked for. He moved fast and hard, in and out of me in a delicious, pounding rhythm. The sounds of our bodies hitting together and his moans mixing with mine were exotic. When his fingers moved down between our bodies and touched my clit, I exploded into a mind-blowing orgasm. Clamping my hand over my mouth, I attempted to keep in my cries of pleasure.
“Morgan, I’m going to come.”
“Yes!” I softly moaned, feeling him grow bigger inside me.
He lifted me higher, changing the angle he was entering me at, and another orgasm raced through my body, nearly leaving me breathless as we came together.
The only word to describe sex with Blake was bliss. And not just bliss, but pure, heavenly, take-me-to-another-world bliss.
Blake rolled to his side and pulled my body against his. Our breathing slowly settled to a normal pace, and I soon heard Blake’s soft breathing. He had fallen asleep holding me.
The feel of this man’s arm draped over my body felt so right. A tear slipped from my eye, but it wasn’t from sadness. It was because I was finally ready to admit it: I was falling in love with Blake.
I was falling in love with Blake, and it felt so different from how I’d felt about Mike. I knew Mike loved me, but he never showed me how much he loved me. Maybe it was because he never showed me how much he desired me like Blake had.
Turning over, I stared at Blake. This was Blake Greene. All these years I’d thought I had known him. Yet I had a strange feeling he was keeping a part of himself from me. It was an odd thing to feel, but it was so strong.
My mind drifted back to the last time we were together. Smiling, I traced my fingertip over my lower lip. He had made me feel so alive. Had whispered such sweet things as he made love to me. He had even admitted in front of Nash that he was confused by a woman. Me. I had left him confused. Left him not himself. Could we really make this work? I wanted more, and I was positive he wanted more as well.
Blake stirred next to me, and I felt my body still.
“Damn woman, you got me so relaxed I fell asleep.”
I smiled as he opened his eyes. I wanted desperately to ask him where he saw this going. But maybe it was for the best that I pushed my growing feelings to the side, at least for now.
A buzzing sound came from the floor.
“Shit, my phone.”
Blake stood, and I watched him walk across the room naked. He was so confident with himself, and he had good reason to be. The man was perfect. How could he have just woken up and still look as handsome as ever? I was positive I looked like a mess.
Reaching into his pants pocket, he took out his phone and read the text message. He frowned, then blew out an exhale while he replied. He set his phone on the side table and then crawled onto the bed, kissing me softly on the nose. The gesture made me swoon.
“I’m going to take a shower. Care to join me?”
The way he wiggled his eyebrows made me moan softly. More sex with Blake? Yes. Please.
“Well, I do have to shower.”
He smiled and then got off the bed. “How I am going to live if I don’t have your body every day?”
I drew my lower lip between my teeth and bit down, wondering the answer to that same question.
“Come on, let’s go shower.”
“Give me one minute to just lay here. I’m still in blissful heaven.”
Blake winked and headed into the bathroom.
With a long satisfied exhale, I stretched my body and then sat up. The sound of the water turned on and my insides quivered at the thought of sex with him again.
Blake’s phone was sitting on the side table with the messages open to the last text he had sent.
Nash: Dude, are you free right now? I want to talk to you about that business proposition I have.
Me: Free, not doing anything important. Let me finish up this project. Give me like an hour and I’ll meet you at your office.
Nash: See ya then.
Standing, I stared down at his words. Not doing anything important. Finish this project.
It was irrational for me to feel so hurt. I had asked him not to say anything to Nash. Told him I needed it to be kept a secret. So why did this hurt me like a knife in the heart?
It was the word “project.” Covering my mouth, I tried not to feel sick.
I grabbed my clothes and got dressed. My hands shook, and I tried not to overthink the text messages, but that evil little voice in the back of my head kept telling me Blake would never want a woman like me.
The only thing I could think of was that I needed air. I needed to breathe and think this through.
Getting control of my emotions, I took a deep breath and stepped into the bathroom.
“Blake? I need to leave.”
He poked his head out of the glass shower. “What? Why?”
“I had an urgent message from a client. It’s best if I head on over to my office.”
“I thought you were closed today?”
With a shrug, I replied, “I’m not meeting him there, but his chart with all my notes is there. I’ll need it before I call him back.”
He stared at me, and I was positive he could tell I was lying. “Are you okay, princess?”
I nodded. “Yeah, sure. Um, thanks for . . .”
For what? The amazing sex? The hotel fuck? The friends-with-benefits hookup? What was this thing between us called?
“ . . . for the amazing afternoon. Talk soon.” Before he said anything, I headed to the door.
“Morgan! Morgan, wait!”
His voice sounded pleading, but I moved my feet faster and headed for the stairwell. Before the door shut, I could hear him behind me.
“Morgan! Stop!”
A few moments later my phone rang, and I looked to see Blake’s name. I declined it and then sent him a message.
Me: I need some time to myself.
He replied instantly.
Blake: I know you saw the text. It wasn’t meant like that, Morgan. Don’t run from me.
Me: I need time, Blake. Please just let me be for now.
Blake: Time for what? Why are you pushing me away?
Me: I’ll call you. See you soon.
No more text messages came after that. I sat down on a bench a few blocks from the hotel and covered my mouth, trying not to cry. I only wished I had someone to talk to. Someone to tell me what I was doing. Why was I freaking out? And why had I just pushed him away?
THE SOUND OF my keys hitting the table seemed to echo in my empty condo. After the damn week I’d had, I needed a drink.
The intercom buzzed, and I sighed as I answered it. “This better be good.”
“Hey, Blake, it’s Raine. Let me up, will you?”
I frowned. What in the hell is she doing here?
Raine and I had been friends in college. Once we graduated though, our friendship was strictly platonic. She was a good friend and someone who had been there for me a time or two when I needed to vent about things.
My finger hovered over the button before I closed my eyes and pushed it. A minute later the elevator doors dinged, and Raine walked around the corner and smiled at me.
Giving me a wink, she said, “Don’t you look good.”
“I feel like shit. What do you want?”
She pouted and slid onto the bar stool at my kitchen bar.
“Can’t a friend come visit
another friend?”
Taking a drink of my whiskey, I replied, “It depends on why the friend felt the need to visit.”
“Company. An ear to listen. One friend to help another out. Someone to—”
“All right, I get it. What happened?”
Raine shrugged. “I didn’t get the promotion I was hoping for.”
With a shake of my head, I let out a laugh. Raine worked at a major banking firm. She’d been up for a VP position, and it was a sure thing with her uncle being on the board.
“How in the hell did you screw that up, Raine?”
She sighed. “God, Blake. I was stupid. Really stupid. I was having a little . . . fling with one of the guys in the office.”
I raised my brow. “Who?”
“His name was Ryan. Ryan Lancer. He was the VP of marketing. He was also married . . . to our boss’s daughter.”
My mouth fell open. “No way.”
She nodded. “Yes way. He happened to leave that bit of information out when he asked me out the first time. My luck, right?”
“Hell, Raine. How were you not fired?”
Shrugging, she answered, “I have no idea. Maybe Mr. Collins thinks I’m worth hanging on to. Who knows? All I know is I needed someone to talk to.”
“So you came to me?” I asked.
“Well, we have a . . . history.”
“We messed around in college when we should have been studying, Raine. That doesn’t make for a history.”
“It does when I need you.”
I lifted a brow and knew I would regret my next question.
“Need me how?”
“To pose as my boyfriend.”
I laughed. Hard.
“Blake, I’m serious. My parents are throwing a charity event, and I promised them I would bring a date. Ryan said he would go with me but, well, as you can imagine, he isn’t now.”
With a shake of my head, I let out a sigh. “When is it?”
“It’s on Wednesday night. And it’s black tie. You have a tux, right?”
I shot her a smirk.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
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