I reached for the third box. This one was the smallest. And it was more for me than for her.
“The last one,” I told her, as I handed her the rectangular box.
She opened it more carefully, as if she was afraid she would lose whatever was inside.
Inside was a single key nestled in velvet.
“It’s the key to my house. When you’re ready, you can move in anytime you want.”
She picked it up and held it in her hand for several moments and didn’t say anything. Finally, she lifted her eyes to meet mine. “One day, when you know all of me, you can give this back to me. But right now, you don’t know it all. I can’t take this.”
She thought her dark past would change how I felt. Nothing she could tell me would change that. I loved her.
But I wouldn’t use those words to convince her. She would have to decide this in her own time. I wasn’t forcing her. I wanted her in my bed, in my house. I wanted it to be our house. But not until she was ready for that. Not until she wanted me.
Wanted a forever.
Reese
He was acting like me not taking the key wasn’t a big deal. But it felt like it. My chest hadn’t stopped hurting since I’d given it back to him. But Mase never mentioned it again or acted upset.
He’d held my hand, and we’d walked down the beach. He had persuaded me to eat a few more bites of the cake, and then we had cuddled in the chaise longue and watched the moonlight on the water.
The only thing that had been wrong was that he didn’t kiss me again. He didn’t look at me with those hooded eyes full of need. It was as if he was holding me at arm’s length while he was right there with me. Before, he had been flirty and playful.
After the key, that all changed. He changed.
Once we got back to the apartment, he told me to go ahead and use the bathroom first. He’d get ready for bed after me. He hadn’t been overcome with desire for me or pulled me into his arms once we were in the privacy of my apartment. He had been kind and polite, but that was it. Nothing more.
I slipped on one of the new pajama sets he’d given me. This one was white with silver piping. I also thought it was the sexiest. Right now, I wanted to see the spark there and know that I hadn’t lost him when I didn’t take his key.
Why hadn’t I? Taking it didn’t mean I was using it. He hadn’t given it to me thinking I was going to move in the minute I accepted it. He’d said as much. It had been his way of letting me know the offer was there to be accepted when I was ready.
I needed to talk to him.
I had handled this wrong.
I opened the bathroom door and walked to the bedroom.
“No, Cordelia. I’m not there. I’m out of town. I’ll be back Sunday, probably. Maybe sooner. Not sure.”
I hovered outside the door. Who was Cordelia? My stomach twisted, and my heart sank at hearing him say he might be home sooner. I had really messed up.
“Not my fault if you left them. And no, you can’t get into my house with me gone. I left it locked up . . . Cord, come on. Stop playing this game with me. Don’t be this way.”
He was annoyed. And he called her Cord.
“Like I said, I’ll be home Sunday,” he snapped, then stuck his phone into his pocket with a sigh.
I stepped back from the door and took several calming breaths. That meant nothing. Cordelia could be someone he worked with or was related to. Or she could just be a friend.
“Who was that?” I asked, as I pushed the door open wide. I hadn’t meant to ask, but I needed to know.
Mase turned his attention from the floor to me. His gaze slowly ate me up as he took in my new pajamas. When he had finally made it all the way up to my face, his eyes were lit with the heat I’d missed earlier. “I really like French silk,” he said, walking over to me.
I almost wept with relief.
His hand settled on my hip and then slid around to cup my bottom. “You don’t like sleeping in panties, do you, baby?”
“No.” I watched him as his eyes grew dark and hot.
“Silk covering this ass is more than any man can handle. I want to kiss my freckle. And see it peeking out from under the lace.” He turned me around. “Put your hands on the back of the sofa and stick this sweet bottom out for me just a little. Please, Reese.” He whispered my name so close to my ear that his breath tickled my skin.
I did exactly as I was told, and his pleased growl made it worth it.
His hands slid down my hips and thighs as he dropped to his knees behind me. Soft lips and the rough stubble on his jaw brushed the backs of my thighs. He kissed a trail up each one until he found the one freckle that I’d never seen but he seemed to love.
The pleased sound in his throat as he kissed that one spot made my knees weak. I held on to the sofa just as his tongue lapped at the spot below my bottom.