Page 58 of When the Time Is Right
Like a mummy, she lay stiff just the way I’d left her, so without touching her, I propped myself up on an elbow and asked, “What were you doing all the way over there?”
“I needed a little space,” she told the ceiling.
I traced a finger over the curve of her jaw and used her chin to aim her gaze at me. “You still need that space?”
She stared in my eyes for a long second. “I don’t know.”
“Say the word and I’ll get dressed and go. But I’d really fucking like it if you didn’t. It’s still me, Lex.” I lifted her hand off her stomach and kissed her palm before resting it on my bare pec. “Same old Hudson I’ve always been, just wearing slightly less clothes.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and then all at once her body sagged into the bed. “Don’t go.”
I grinned and teased the hem of her shirt. “Good answer. Now, take this off.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t press your luck.”
“What? It’s only fair. If I’m naked, you’re naked.” I walked two fingers up her stomach, stopping at the swell of her breasts to give her a pointed look. “Talking is so much more fun naked.”
Rolling her eyes, she moved my hand out from under her shirt. “It’s fun because there wouldn’t be any talking if we were both naked.”
“Oh, so you did have a good time last night.”
She rolled into me, tangling her legs with mine. “No, it was awful. All the rumors I’d heard about you in bed were true. This is the part where I let you down easy, tell you we can still be friends, and then urge you to consider joining the church and vowing a life of celibacy.”
I laughed, deep and genuine, the way only Lex could induce. “Then this is the part where I remind you that I was subjected to the horror of witnessing your middle school rendition of Little Orphan Annie and you are not a good enough actress to have faked one, much less all five of the orgasms I gave you last night.” Shamelessly, I slid my hand around to her backside, discovering she’d taken the time to put on panties, and then disregarded them altogether by sliding a hand underneath to palm her ass.
“Damn,” she mumbled.
“Seriously, though. You okay today?”
“It was touch and go for a while, but your monster cock didn’t break me.”
“Good to hear. But not exactly what I was talking about.” Sliding my free arm under her head, I used her ass to jostle her closer.
She didn’t fight me. Instead, she rested her cheek on my chest, draped an arm across my stomach, and relaxed into my side. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “A little weirded out. A little nervous about what happens next. But all in all, I’m surprisingly calm.”
Kissing the top of her head, I mumbled into her hair, “Good. Let’s try to keep it that way through our date tonight.”
Her body tensed. “Our date?”
“Yep.”
She tipped her head back, and I put my chin to my chest to catch her green gaze. “Are we dating now?”
“Well, no, not yet. But tonight we will be.”
“Yeah, okay, now I’m freaking out.”
Dipping low, I took her mouth in a gentle and all-too-brief kiss, unfortunately aware that I needed a toothbrush and shower stat. “Stop it. We’ve hung out at least twice a week for over fifteen years. I’m sure we can manage once more without the Earth falling out of orbit.” I kissed her nose. Then her forehead. Then moved back to her lips one last time before rolling out from under her.
She flipped to her stomach and watched me as I collected my clothes off the floor. “So…like a date as friends?” Her voice was painfully hopeful.
Had I not known her as well as I did, it would have been insulting.
I tugged my pants on and got busy on the button-down, opting to let her keep my undershirt. “Lex, babe, please hear me when I say this. I will always be your friend, but after the last few days, there is nothing even remotely friendly about the things I want to do to you.” Fully dressed, I walked over and curled a hand around the back of her neck.
Her breath caught as she peered up at me.
That was the moment I should have said something reassuring to her. I should have been Hud, her best friend, the man who would move Heaven and Earth to fix even her smallest problems.
But she had to know that, as far as I was concerned, this date wasn’t a trial to see if we liked each other. I’d loved her for over half my life. It was never quite like this before, but we’d get there. It was going to set her on edge. And she’d spend all day cleaning her house and making up excuses of why she couldn’t come, but in this case, that was far better than her sitting around, convincing herself that we were just friends and the past three days had been a total fluke.
