“Wait, I’m a grown ass woman, Drake. You didn’t make me have sex with you.”

“You’re sweet. You’re like Little Red Riding Hood.”

“And you’re the Big Bad Wolf?”

“Exactly.” He threw his hands in the air.

She giggled. “Come on, Drake. You’re not some predator luring sweet little ole’ me into your lair for a little dessert and some cookies.”

“You’re smiling again. And this isn’t funny.”

“It is funny.” She scooted closer to him, until she was in front of him. Kneeling before him, she placed her hands on top of his. “I was a willing participant in everything, including the other night. I wanted you, just like I wanted you a few minutes ago. Now if you ask me why, again, I don’t know.”

“It was good, Love. I want it again, too.”

She felt a blush creep up her face. “Yeah, it was. I think it’s because we were in sync with each other, which isn’t new. We always work well together.”

He frowned. “That’s a weird way of looking at it.”

“Well, I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, while you were avoiding me.”

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“I don’t know what to say.”

There really was nothing to say, Love mused. He stroked a finger over her brow, and she leaned into his touch as he caressed her face. “That’s the problem. We can’t change what happened, or even explain why. We just know that we both enjoyed each other, and we’ll remember this for the rest of our lives. What we should talk about is our next step. How are we going to move forward?”

“How do you propose we do that when we’re sleeping in close quarters? The attraction is palpable.”

“I guess the real question is, are we going to stop?”

His eyes widened, then narrowed. “Do you want to stop?”

She bit her lip, tucked a stray hair behind her ear. The answer to that question was an enthusiastic “no.” But she couldn’t say that to him. Could she?

“Let’s sleep on it,” she said instead. “We don’t want to make another rash decision.”

He seemed to accept her answer. “Right. Well, I’m going to go downstairs and do some work.” He stood, and helped her to her feet. Her robe fell open and she closed it quickly. He fingered the opening, brushing his knuckle over her nipple. “Don’t sleep in that. In fact, why don’t you wear those ugly ass pajamas you bought last Christmas with the feet in them?”

She laughed. He’d teased her mercilessly about her bunny pajamas. She’d found them at Macy’s and couldn’t resist. Apparently, they were coming back in style. “That would be a no. I haven’t worn them again because they’re so hot.”

“Like the woman wearing them.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “You’re making me high.”

He offered her a bemused smile. “Join the club.” He leaned and whispered against her ear, “You don’t want to know what I’m thinking right now. So I’m going to go downstairs. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Love was getting whiplash from the back and forth between them. But she’d happily buckle up for the ride if it meant preserving what was best about them. She couldn’t live without him.

CHAPTER 12

The sound of Love’s alarm interrupted a steamy dream about Drake. She sat upright in the bed, and noted the empty room. Disappointed that Drake had disappeared on her again, she hurriedly dressed and made her way downstairs quietly. She didn’t want to wake her mother at four thirty in the morning, but she had a busy day ahead. Besides work, today was the appointment with her mother’s surgeon.

In the kitchen, Love pulled a travel mug out of the cabinet and inserted a K-cup into the Keurig.

“You’re up early.”

She yelped, holding her hands to her chest. “Drake? You scared me. What are you doing up?”

He stood and stretched. “Fell asleep studying.”

The smell of caramel, vanilla and coffee filled the room, and her mouth watered. Love was a coffee girl. Having her morning cup of joe really was the best part of her day. She picked up her mug and replaced it with an empty one. “You want a cup?”

Drake nodded. “Thanks.”

She put two slices of bread into the toaster and pulled out the peanut butter from the pantry. “Breakfast?”

“Nah. I’ll grab something on my way to work.”

“Sure? I can scramble a couple eggs for you.”

He moistened his lips, held eye contact with her for a minute, before turning away. “I’m good. It’s too early.”




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