Page 80 of Written with Regret (The Regret Duet 1)
And that might have been the most terrifying part of all.
Lifting my head, I peered down at her, my chest constricting at the sight of her hooded eyes.
I pecked her lips. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she whispered back.
Unable to stop myself, I dipped to take her mouth in a languid kiss.
She smiled when I finally pulled away. “I could do that all night.”
“I’ve got one more condom. But, first, I need to get rid of this one and we need to talk.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, her arms suddenly falling to the bed. “Noooooooooo. No talking tonight.”
I chuckled against her lips before slowly withdrawing. “Trust me. It’s low on my list too.”
She gasped at the loss, and as I stood up, she closed her legs before I could catch a glimpse of her glistening pussy. It was probably for the best since the thought alone made my cock thicken again.
By the time I got back from her bathroom, she was sitting up on the far side of the bed, pillows propped behind her, the tank top still on, and her tan comforter pulled over her waist. But it was the way she nervously picked at the edge of the blanket that caught my attention.
I didn’t bother with clothing or the blankets as I settled beside her on my stomach in bed. “You want to clean up before we talk?”
“I used the one in the guestroom.”
I smirked and lifted the edge of the blanket for a not-so-subtle peek. No panties. Okay, so she was nervous, but not nervous enough to put on pants and rule out round number two. I could work with that.
“Good girl,” I praised, kissing her shoulder. Draping my tattooed forearm over her stomach, I shifted closer and propped my head in my hand with an elbow to the mattress. “So tell me about these feelings you have for me.”
Her body flashed solid. “What? No.”
“Come on. In your texts, you were telling Beth all about them. Surely you can tell me.”
“Well, I can tell you Beth thinks my feelings are a horrible idea and would probably have a coronary embolism if she saw us naked together right now.”
I brushed two fingers over her covered breast, her nipple hardening immediately. “Technically, I’m the only one naked. You’re still wearing clothes.”
She was breathy when she replied, “She’s a lawyer. I’m not sure that defense will hold up with her.”
“Touché.”
“Besides, what about Ian? He doesn’t seem to be on Team Hadley, either.”
Fascinated by the tight nubs showing through her shirt, I didn’t look up as I replied, “Don’t worry about Ian. Nobody needs to know about this until we figure out what’s going on here.”
“Wait.” She grabbed my hand and moved it to rest on her stomach. “I can’t think when you’re doing that.”
“That’s kinda the point.” Grinning, I looked up at her. My smile faded when I saw the anxiety on her face. “Hey, hey, hey. Don’t look at me like that. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. I guess that’s the real question. What is going on here?”
I let out a heavy breath. “I don’t have an answer to that yet. An hour ago, I didn’t think I’d be sitting here.” I inched closer and cupped the side of her neck. “I’m going to be honest with you: This was the most epically stupid thing the two of us in our situation could have done. Wouldn’t you agree?”
She cut her gaze to the wall. “I know.”
“Good. Now, that’s out of the way.” I released her neck and moved my attention back to her nipple.
Her mouth fell open, but her skeptical gaze jumped back to mine. “That’s it? That’s our talk? We did something epically stupid. Now, let’s burn through that last condom?”
“Well, I mean, it’s not actually the last condom. As far as I know, the apocalypse hasn’t happened since I got here. The drugstore will have more.”
She once again stilled my hand at her breast. “Caven, I’m serious. I panicked tonight after I accidentally sent you those texts because I was afraid you’d be mad and take Rosalee away from me. You have all the control in this situation, and as much as I loved every single second of what just happened between us, the not knowing what you’re thinking scares me.”
The idea of her being scared or thinking I was going to use Rosalee to punish her if I got mad felt like a punch to the gut. “Look, it’s been a long time since I’ve had any kind of relationship. I don’t even know what kind of guy I am anymore. But I know I’m not that kind of father. Whatever happens between us or whatever doesn’t, I’ll never use her as a pawn.”
“I didn’t mean to insinuate that you would, but I just can’t get a read on you all the time. It’s like you can’t decide if you hate me or if you want to tear my clothes off.”
