He wasn’t laughing anymore. In fact, the room was too quiet. Love leaned against her dresser and listened for any sign of Drake in the room behind her. She heard him draw closer to her, until he was right behind her. She smelled the faint scent of his soap and the minty toothpaste he’d just used.

She felt his nose against the back of her neck, then his lips as he brushed them against her sensitive skin.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, pressing another kiss to her back. “I shouldn’t have laughed. I think I like that I make you nervous.”

“It’s not funny, Drake.”

“You’re right. It’s not a laughing matter.”

Instinctively, she knew he wasn’t talking about her fall anymore. He confirmed that when he whispered, “You’re driving me insane, Love. This past week has been torture for me, staying in this room only a few feet away from you, not touching you like I want to.”

“I didn’t know what you were thinking,” she admitted. “We barely saw each other. You disappeared on me, and it scared me.”

He rested his chin on her shoulder. “I know. It scares me, too.”

It was unlike him to be so vulnerable with anyone. She hated that their situation was pulling them both out of their normal routine with each other. There had never been any awkwardness between them. She was never nervous around him. But now…

“You smell so good,” he breathed against her skin, before sucking her earlobe into his mouth.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

His soft laugh made her hot, and the way his hands roamed her body ignited the fire. He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. “I want you.”

She let out a shaky breath. The admission sent her heart soaring right over the cliff edge she’d been holding on to as if her life depended on it. She was falling hard for her husband, and her emotions frightened her with their intensity.

“Drake, we should probably talk, like we said we would.”

He squeezed her hips, brushed his erection against her butt. “I know we should, but…it’s very hard to do that when all I want to do is make love to you.”

“Maybe we should sit on opposite sides of the room?” she suggested.

Drake sighed and retreated to a chair on the other side of the bed. “You’re right. Let’s do this, because we really should deal with it.”

She couldn’t figure out if he was being sarcastic or serious, especially since she hadn’t looked at him yet. Reluctantly, she turned around to face him. His eyes were dark, almost black as he assessed her. The heat in them scorched her already tingling skin.

Pulling on the robe that was lying on her bed, she shimmied out of the towel, tied the belt around her waist and sat down. “Okay, where do we start?”

“With the obvious,” he replied. “We had sex.”

He’d finally said the word without averting his gaze. She smiled to herself. “Really?” she asked sarcastically.

“That’s where we should begin.” He glared at her. “We’ve been friends for years. Why now? What made that night different?”

“I don’t know,” she murmured, crossing her legs. Earlier, at the hospital, after the confrontation with Derrick, she’d taken a moment to really look at him. The Drake she knew would have never let someone push his buttons the way Derrick had. “I wish I knew.”

“Me, too. It’s not like we’ve had underlying feelings for each other, near kisses or almost moments over the years. It was out of left field.”

“I’ve seen you checking me out.”

His eyes flashed to hers. “What are—I didn’t. I mean, I’ve appreciated the gifts God gave you, but I didn’t want to do you.”

She shrugged. “Well, I think you’re an attractive man. So it’s not that far out of the realm of possibilities.”

“I want us to be okay, Love. I almost could have believed we’d be good after the whole marriage and wedding night. But this week, that night…it was a choice we both made to go there again. I’m not so sure we can be all right after this.”

Her stomach rolled. “But you said—”

“I know what I said, Love. I married you while we were both intoxicated, and we got busy like we had no care in the world or concern for the consequences. That was bad enough, but I seduced you in your kitchen the next week. I kissed you in front of our coworkers. You went against your father for me. I can’t wrap my head around this. I feel like I’m the bad guy that your dad thinks I am because I couldn’t see past what I wanted for the good of our friendship.”




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