"So, can we try to be friends again? You and me?" I ask.
When her bottom lip slides between her teeth to aid in her biting back a grin, I have anything but friendly thoughts. Her grin finally falls free and she leans over to wrap her arms around me in the hug I didn't realize I was holding my breath for.
When her body presses against mine, pulls me in, and just embraces me, I take the first painless breath I've had in six long years. I can't help but smile. Hell, I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop smiling.
"I've missed you," she whispers, sniffling slightly when her emotions try to step in.
I really wish I was wearing more than a towel right now. My plan to seduce her has backfired, since I'm the one left seduced. Not to mention, now I don't want to lose her again. One hug is all it has taken to remind me just how pointless life has been without her. I want more than just a meaningless tryst. I don't want to risk ever scaring her off like I did before.
&
nbsp; "I've missed you, too, Rain," I murmur softly, pulling her even tighter to me, even though it means I'll need another cold shower.
"So friends?" she asks, wiping away her tears as she leans back.
I nod slowly, smiling still, and then I say, "Definitely. And as your friend, I have to tell you that you look like hell. Go get cleaned up."
She laughs as a few more tears trickle out. I wipe a few away with the back of my hand, and she leans in to my touch. I wish she wouldn't do that. It's so hard to deny how much I feel about her right now.
She climbs over me to head to the bathroom, but during the shift, her heated center slides across and my towel falls open, revealing how incredibly turned on she's made me. She stills above me, and I fight back a grin when she turns every shade of red there is.
"I'm... sorry," she releases in a squeak, quickly scrambling to cover me back up, but her frantic hands touch me more than once, making me long for that perfectly smooth stroking she was giving me this morning.
I damn near lost it when she was sleep-fondling me. The second her hand went to work, my eyes rolled back in my head, but then I realized she had no clue what was going on. I panicked when I thought I was going to burst in her hand.
"You're making a habit of this," I tease, enjoying how much harder she blushes as her hand brushes my cock once more.
She finally scrambles off me and dashes to the bathroom. I definitely need another cold shower. If she's going to get this flustered around me, being friends will be fun.
Chapter 8
RAIN
"Kade's wine thingy is tonight," I say while shuffling through my closet. Three days. Three long days Dane Sterling has been in my house. It's like heaven and hell are coexisting in the same space.
"Oh?" Dane asks absently, studying the screen on his laptop as he lounges on my bed, his ankles crossed as he subconsciously taunts me with his shirtless perfection. He really does make my bed look really damn good.
"You know you can go home. I'm fine now. And I'm pretty sure you have work to do."
He shrugs, not looking up from his computer screen.
"Nothing that I can't do from here, and I'm not leaving until those marks on you are healed into small scars. Then I'll be able to quit worrying."
I stare at him, debating his true intentions. I realize he wants us back, but why continue to sleep in my bed? We're not kids anymore, so I really don't think this is appropriate. It's sure as hell not good on my heart. I won't mention what other parts of me feel tortured.
"Are you going to Kade's wine party?" I ask, considering his previous response didn't give me any insight as to his plans for the evening.
He smirks as though he has a secret, and then he shuts his laptop as he climbs out of bed. He walks toward me, intriguing me with his enigmatic expression.
"Yeah, but not because Kade Colton wants me there. Raya invited me."
There goes that sharp stab of jealousy. How the hell does he know Raya?
"Oh?" I muse, going for mildly interested.
"Yeah. She used to work for me."
He walks away, leaving that suspended in the air. The imagery of Raya swinging on a pole or burlesque dancing comes to mind, and I get queasy. Normally I'm not a crazy jealous person, but this is Dane. Considering Raya landed Kade—one guy I never thought would focus on anything but his vineyard—I can't help but feel intimidated.