Running my fingertip over the crimson mark on his lip, I smile back. “There’s evidence here of what we did last night.”
His hand sneaks under the blanket to rest between my legs. “Here too. Are you tender?”
I nod silently.
His gaze skims my face. “Was I too rough?”
My fingers caress his bicep. “No. I liked it.”
His shoulders tense, the motion flexes the muscle beneath my touch. His hand moves to my side. “There’s something, angel. I need to ask you something.”
I sense the shift immediately. His jaw tightens and his eyes narrow. A mask of serious contemplation slides over his expression.
“Ask,” I say softly. “You can ask me anything.”
I’ve been steeling myself in preparation for him to ask about my past. I know it’s coming. The question I’ve been dreading may drop from his lips in the next ten seconds and I’ll answer honestly.
“I know that you ended things with Roland.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. Roland . He’s my immediate past, not my distant and forgotten past.
“I did,” I confirm with a nod of my head. “There was never anything between us. It was just two dates.”
He glances back over his shoulder. “Forgive me, angel.”
“For what?” My heart thrums a beat so loud that I can barely hear my own words.
“For what I’m about to ask you.” His voice is quiet and laced with an ache that tugs at my heart.
“Ask, West. Please just ask.” I glide my hand up to his neck. “I want you to ask.”
“You reached into your nightstand to grab two condoms.” He jerks a thumb over his shoulder toward the wooden nightstand that sits next to my bed. “There are a lot of condoms in there. Boxes, Linny. I need to know if you’re sleeping with anyone else.”
Before I can answer, he’s brushing a strand of hair from my forehead. “If I’m out of line, tell me.”
“You’re not out of line.” I swallow hard. “There are a lot of condoms in the drawer.”
His gentle smile encourages me. It soothes me.
“There’s a card in that drawer too.” I gesture over his shoulder. “It’s a birthday card.”
“A birthday card?” His brow furrows.
Sliding away from him, I rise to my feet. I’m fully aware that I’m completely naked and his eyes are pinned to me, but I round the bed and tug open the drawer.
“I’ll find it.”
I yank out the box that I opened. Then box after box of unopened condoms, stacking them on top of the nightstand.
“You don’t have to do that, angel.” West’s hand is on my wrist.
I freeze and look down at him. “I do.”
I tug my hand free and keep stacking boxes until I see the corner of the bright pink envelope. I grab it and slide it out, handing it to him.
“My friend, Harmony, stayed here with her husband a few months ago when I was out of town.” I settle on the bed next to him. “It was a week before my birthday. The morning of my birthday she texted me and told me to open the drawer.”
His eyes dart down to the envelope.