When Bella texted me to ask if I was free to meet up with the trio for a bookstore tour and a lunch date, I jumped at the chance.
I spent most of yesterday watching romance movies and staring at the flowers Drake sent me. I’m feeling an unrelenting sense of guilt over the fact that I haven’t told my parents that they have a daughter-in-law.
I went to bed late, hoping that Case would make it home before midnight.
He didn’t. I heard him sneak in shortly before two. He took off before I woke up.
“No.” I smile at the little boy. “I got a text message from a friend.”
Delaney inches up behind me to steal a peek at the screen. “From a boyfriend?”
“Ew.” Mickey covers his ears. “I don’t want to hear that.”
Reaching for one of his hands, Bella laughs. “Come with me. I saw a new book about dragons that you need to see.”
As they take off to the other side of the store, Delaney rests a hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
I turn and face her. “You’re not.”
“You haven’t been your cheerful self today.” She pushes a lock of hair behind her ear. “Does that have anything to do with the guy who texted you?”
I nod. “It’s my brother’s best friend. I’m staying with him right now because my brother took off to get married.”
Her eyes widen. “What’s the story between you and the best friend?”
I inch a fingertip over my bottom lip. “We kissed a couple of days ago and…”
“And it was epic?”
I laugh. “So epic.”
“What’s the problem?” Her smile widens. “I haven’t had an epic kiss in years.”
We haven’t discussed her situation.
On the subway ride here, Mickey watched intently as a man bounced his son on his lap. Delaney must have noticed too because she hauled her little boy onto her lap and did the same.
Mickey laughed the entire time.
I caught a case of the giggles too as I watched them together.
There’s no denying that their bond is strong. I hope to have that with a child of my own someday.
“It’s complicated,” I say. “I don’t want to hurt my brother, but I can’t deny what I’m feeling. That kiss was unreal.”
“I’ve only felt that feeling with one guy.” She darts a finger into the air. “When he kissed me for the first time, I swear time stopped.”
I glance at Mickey when I hear him let out a squeal.
“Was the kiss with Mickey’s dad?” I ask tentatively.
She nods. “He was my first love; my only love.”
Just as I’m about to press for more, her son comes running at us full speed. “Mommy, come and see this book. You have to read it to me.”
Delaney skims her hand over the top of his head before her gaze levels on me. “A kiss like that is rare. Don’t ignore what you’re feeling because it might upset your brother.”
As she walks away, holding tight to Mickey’s hand, I type out a response to Case.
Emma: I’m good. I’m at Velvet Bay Books with my friends. Work sounds like a battle right now. How are you holding up?
His reply takes a moment. I watch as the three dots dance on the screen as he types. There’s a pause before they bounce again.
Case: I’m fine. Enjoy your day, Freckles.
My response is as quick as a beat of my heart.
Emma: You too, Rush.
Chapter 40
Case
I end the call with my assistant in California just as I step into my apartment.
The lights are out. Stillness sits in the air.
I don’t know why the hell that surprises me. It’s after midnight. I’ve been knee-deep in Cabbott bullshit for the past two days.
The framework issue still hasn’t been fixed. I’ve got my most skilled software engineers on the job. Back in California, I’m facing the resignation of two of my top executives.
They emailed me within thirty minutes of each other to tell me they were leaving Cabbott at the end of the month. Who the hell quits their job when the boss is out of town?
Lionel Burkhard and Shaun Melcor do.
Replacing them won’t be easy. I’ll have to pull from the New York office to fill the vacancies temporarily.
I’d offer Drake an incentive to postpone his move for a few months, but he already has other plans. I need to clue Emma into those.
I should wake her up and do it now.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Anything I need to say to her can wait until morning. It’s waited this long. It’s been days since we kissed.
I haven’t seen her or spoken to her. Text messages have been our only line of communication for the past few days. Yesterday, I checked in, and she told me she was hanging out here. Earlier today, I texted her to see how she was, and she replied that she was at a bookstore in Brooklyn with her new friends.
She asked how I was doing. I typed out a response about missing her, but before I pressed send, I deleted it and replaced it with my typical generic answer of I’m fine .
It was bullshit; both times I sent it.
I glide a finger over the smart home panel’s screen, hoping to activate the light above me. I hit the mark this time.
“Case?”
I turn when I hear her voice behind me. “Emma.”
She’s wearing a light pink tank top and a pair of black shorts. Her hair is a tousled mess. I don’t know if I woke her when I walked in or not, but I’m grateful that I get to see her like this.
I’d place my entire company in her hands for the chance to feel her arms around me.
“I didn’t know when you’d come home tonight.”
I considered sleeping at the office to ward off the need I feel for her, but hiding from it won’t chase it away. I’ve slept here the past two nights, but it’s been no more than a two to three hour stretch at a time.
I drop my keys, wallet, and phone on the foyer table. “Work never ends. I need to grab a few hours of sleep and head back to the office.”
She rubs at her eyes. “You should go to bed.”
You should join me.
I shove my hands in the front pocket of my jeans to resist the temptation to reach for her. I still haven’t stopped thinking about the kiss. Fuck, that kiss.
It ruined me. It cracked open something inside of me that I can’t hide from anymore.
I felt again. I haven’t felt anything but numb in seven long years.
I know she has reservations. I do too, but mine aren’t tied to my relationship with her brother anymore. She just broke up with her fiancé. I don’t want to hurt her. I can’t start something that has an expiration date if she’s not on board with it.
I want her, but not if it costs her a broken heart.
“Drake sent me a text just now.” Her gaze drops to the phone in her hand. “It woke me.”
“I got a text from him too,” I confess. “Your brother just keeps piling on the surprises.”
Her eyes narrow in the dim light of the room. “What do you mean?”
Shit. I assumed Drake filled his sister in on his grand plan, but maybe he didn’t get that far.
I tread lightly. I start at the most logical place. “Do you know that Jane told her parents about the wedding?”
“I know.” Her gaze falls to the floor. “My parents have no idea that their son is married. I can’t talk to them because I make a promise to them that I’d never lie, and this would be a lie of omission. Drake wants me to fly back to Seattle with him and Jane to tell my family, but how am I supposed to keep this secret for another day?”
I can see that all of this is gutting her.
Her brother put her in an impossible position. Whether or not he realized how fucking selfish it is doesn’t matter at this point. Emma gave him her word, and I sense that she honors that at all costs.
She looks past me to the apartment door, but I catch the twitch in her
eye.
I want to put her at ease. Shit, I want it so badly that I’m about to arrange for her family to be flown to London to surprise Drake and his bride.
This is between her and Drake, though, so I push the idea aside.
Her phone buzzes in her palm.
She looks at the text before she reads it to me. “We’re making a pit stop in London before we head back to New York, Em.”
“Her folks want to buy them a house in London as a wedding gift.” I tilt my head back. “Jane and Drake are meeting up with them to figure that out.”
When her meet mine, I can tell that she’s as shocked as I am by her brother’s latest revelation. “When did he tell you that?”
“Ten minutes ago,” I answer.
It’s the break of dawn in London. He’s already there, planning the next stage of his life. Apparently, he finally found time to fill Emma and me in.
“I should go back to Seattle.” Her hand drops to her hip.
I can’t take my eyes off of her. “Give it a few days. I’m stuck here too. I’ve got a problem that I can’t run away from.”
I let myself believe I’m talking about the launch of Letter Leap, but that’s not it.
The problem is that ever since I kissed her, nothing has made sense to me.
My desire to fuck her is clouding everything. I can’t think straight.
“How long will you be staying in Manhattan?” Her voice lowers.
“As long as it takes.”
The gruffness in my tone shocks us both. She steps back. I scrub the back of my neck. I need to temper the need I feel for this woman.
Her phone lights up with another text message.
“Dammit.” Her tongue darts over her bottom lip. “It’s Drake again. I should respond.”
I move closer to press my lips to her forehead. Breathing in the sweet scent of her skin, I whisper, “Try to get some sleep tonight.”
Her eyes find mine. “You too. You need to rest.”
I need to come.
I keep that to myself as I brush past her and head to my bedroom alone.
Chapter 41
Emma
Glancing at the flowers on the nightstand, I turn over on my side. My brother had little to say when I texted him back. He told me he’d fill me in more when he had time. I reminded him that I’d prefer if that would be during daylight hours in New York.
I roll over again and kick the covers back from the bed.
I’m burning up.
Sitting up, I fist the sheet with my hands to keep them from shaking.
Not only did I drink my body weight in coffee today, but I’m on fire from the way Case looked at me before he went to sleep. The roughness of his voice went straight to my core.
“ As long as it takes .”
I’ve been replaying those words in my mind since I dropped into bed an hour ago.
As long as it takes to satisfy his need for me?
As long as it takes to fuck me over and over again?
As long as it takes until we wear each other out?
My hand darts to the outside of the white silk panties I’m wearing.
I’m desperate to come, but I’m savoring the high of the desire I’m feeling.
Fanning a hand in front of my face, I look to the open window. It’s doing nothing to quench my need for cool air.
I may be feeling flushed because of Case, but it’s more than that. The air conditioning hasn’t come on. This room has to be upwards of eighty degrees.
Swinging my bare legs over the side of the bed, I stand.
My brother installed a smart home system in this apartment before my last visit. He gave me a primer on it the day I arrived, but I didn’t have to use it during that trip.
Drake pre-programmed everything in, so my coffee was ready in the morning when I woke up and the lights in my room were set to dim in the evening.
The air conditioning runs off the panel, so I start toward the door of the guestroom.
I inch the door open, peering out into the darkened hallway.
No light is escaping from under the door of Case’s bedroom. The air conditioning must be working in there, or he’s so accustomed to the heat in California that this feels lukewarm to him.
I tread down the hallway toward the panel. The only light illuminating the space is seeping in from the windows of the main living area.
Manhattan never fully shuts down, so there’s always some degree of muted light when you gaze out a window, even in the dead of night.
I suck in a breath as I stare at the panel. I remember Drake saying that if you tap the screen, it will illuminate in the darkness.
I jab a finger into the middle of the screen.
The blare of loud classical music sends me stumbling back two steps. “Oh, fuck,” I mutter.
I tap the screen again to stop the music. Silence immediately surrounds me. I glance at Case’s room, but the door is still closed.
The screen darkens again before I have a chance to find the button that controls the air conditioning.
“Damn you,” I spit out.
I lean closer. I know there’s a voice-activated feature. Drake proudly showed that off when he ordered it to turn on a football game, and he requested that it preheat the oven even though neither of us was going to cook a thing.
“Air conditioning in the guest room,” I whisper.
Nothing happens.
“Turn on the air conditioning in the guest room,” I say louder.
Still nothing.
I cup my hands around my mouth and direct my voice to the panel. “I need air conditioning in the guest room. Please. Now.”
I stomp my foot when the panel doesn’t light up.
“Screw you,” I seethe. “I’m hot.”
“So fucking hot.”
I almost trip when I jump at the sound of Case’s voice.
I glance toward the open door of the main bedroom. My breath catches as I take in the sight of him dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans that are undone, the fly partially open.
Holy hell.
He leans against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. “What do you need, Emma?”
Words can’t find their way out of me, so I squeak. I literally let out a small squeaking sound.
“You can’t sleep. I can’t sleep.” His eyes trail over my body. “We’re both wide awake. What should we do about that?”
Shock grounds me in the spot I’m in even though I want nothing more than to drop my panties and tank top and follow him into his bedroom.
He straightens and starts toward me. There’s no masking that he’s naked under the jeans. The deep ridges of his abs lead down to a light dusting of dark hair and the swell of his erection against the fabric.
This is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
I pinch the inside of my arm to make sure I’m not dreaming.
“You’re holding back,” he tells me. There’s no question in the statement. He can sense what I feel. “Is it because of your brother?”
He avoids using Drake’s name just as he did in his office when we kissed.
I shake my head.
“Bonehead?” he says the nickname of my ex with distaste on his tongue. “Are you considering getting back together with him?”
That’s laughable, so I add a chuckle to my headshake.
“You’ve never fucked just to fuck, have you?” He circles me like I’m his prey.
I glance down. “No.”
“You don’t want to risk getting hurt for a good, hard fuck. Is that it?”
I close my eyes against the rush of desire that consumes me with those words.
He stops in front of me. His hand drops to his stomach. It slowly trails down his skin to the opening of his jeans. “If you don’t take the risk, you’ll never experience the reward, Emma. I can promise you one hell of a reward.”
My gaze stays glued to his hand as he glides it over the fabric. I can see the outline of his erect
ion. He’s large. He’s perfect.
“Emma.” My name leaves him in a breathless rush. “If we set rules and stick to them, a good time is had by all.”
I slide my eyes up to his handsome face. “Rules?”
“We fuck while we’re in New York. Once you-know-who comes back to town, I head back to California. You go to Seattle. We part ways with great memories.”
I want this. I crave the feeling of a man’s body again. It’s been too long.
It’s been so long.
If I don’t take this chance, I’ll regret it. I know that I will.
“It’s over when my brother gets back to New York?” I question, so it’s crystal clear.
He trails the pad of his thumb over his bottom lip. “Yes.”
I can handle this. My heart can do this. The last thing I need right now is an emotional complication. The one thing I need is to be in his bed.
I stare at him. This gorgeous man is offering me the chance to have a hot as hell summer fling before going home to sort out my life. With Drake relocating to London, I’ll likely never see Case again after this trip.
“I want you, Emma.” He steps closer. “I’ve barely slept since I got to Manhattan because I’ve been thinking about your body and all the things I want to do with you.”
I close the distance between us with a step of my own. Reaching forward to trace a finger over the center of his chest, I look up and into his eyes. “Show me.”
Chapter 42
Emma
His gaze caresses my face, his eyes lingering on my mouth.
“Kiss me,” he orders in a strangled moan. “Kiss me.”
I slide my hand up to his bicep, trailing my fingertips over the firm muscle before I glide my fingers along his skin and into the hair on the back of his head.
Urging his head down, I rise to my tiptoes. I lock eyes with him. “Meet me halfway.”
He does.
His mouth lowers onto mine. The kiss is gentle and tender as if it’s hiding the promise of what is waiting just beneath it.
I tighten my grip on his hair, tugging it, coaxing him.
I’m impatient.
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