Page 41 of As You Crave It

He tapped the screen one more time and put his phone on the end table. Guitar music started playing, and the lights dimmed. He smiled at her. “Sorry. I was looking for a good playlist, and I wanted to adjust the lights.”

She hummed appreciatively at the atmosphere he’d created using his cell phone. “You’re forgiven, I guess.”

They both leaned back into the cushions. Celia sipped her wine and closed her eyes, listening to the music. She’d thought that Quin would take her right to his bedroom, but the fact that they were sitting on the couch, sipping wine, was nice, too. “You know, I don’t think you need any romance pointers,” she told him. “I think you’ve got it down.”

He stretched one arm along the back of the couch and she snuggled into his side. She couldn’t tell if the contact was fully romantic or platonic. She just knew that it felt right.

Quin drank from his glass and cleared his throat. “I think we need to talk.”

“What about?”

“What do you mean, ‘what about’?” he said with a chuckle. “You don’t feel like we need to discuss what we’re doing here?”

Celia knew he was right. “Well, what do you want to know?”

“Where do you stand on this?”

“This?”

“Whatever is going on between us. You say you only want to be friends, you’ve put up walls between us, but you’re the one who told me to bring you here. I just want to let you know that I’m all for it, I’ll take you to bed every night of the week, but I just want to know where you are.”

Celia pushed away from Quin’s body. “I want us to be friends. Over the past eight years, I’ve missed you as a friend.” She paused. “And I try my hardest to not want you.” She put her hand on his chest. “But every time you’re near me, all I can do is want you.”

He cupped his hand over hers, keeping it on his chest. “What’s wrong with that?”

“It terrifies me.”

“Because of that night.”

“Yeah. I was so crushed by you. I loved you so much. And I know we were twenty-two—”

“I was an idiot.”

“I know. And I didn’t handle it well, either. I left the state, for God’s sake. But the way you dismissed me, you hurt me, and it took a long time to heal. So that’s why I didn’t want to make this physical. But I don’t know if I can say no. That’s why I thought this arrangement would be a good way to have the best of both worlds.”

“You can always say no.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I don’t think I can ever apologize enough for hurting you. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. All I can do is make it up to you. I’m going to be honest, I only suggested these dates as a way for us to spend more time together.”

“Yeah, I got that. You need romance tips like Don Juan.”

“But you’re in complete control here,” he told her. “I want you to be happy, and if that means us just being friends, I’ll take whatever I can get.”

The look in his eyes told Celia he was sincere. But it didn’t solve her own inner turmoil. She wanted Quin more than she wanted her next breath, but her common sense told her no.

But too bad for her common sense. Her body’s response was a one-hundred-percent, unequivocal yes! “For tonight, Quin, I want you to take whatever you want.”

His eyes darkened and there was a slight flare in his nostrils. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Grasping her by the waist, He lifted her into his lap. Putting his hands on either side of her face, he drew her to him. He took her mouth in a kiss that was so sweet and gentle. As his tongue danced with hers, his hands trailed up and down her back. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she deepened the kiss. His hands stroked over her entire body—her ass, her thighs—and his fingers warmed every inch of her skin.

She could have kissed him forever, but it could only go on for so long. She pulled back from him and saw his breath was as heavy as hers. “Show me your bedroom,” she told him.

Without another word, he scooped her up and, as if she weighed nothing, carried her up a staircase that led to his bedroom.

He stood her at the foot of the bed, and she went right for his belt buckle, wanting to free him from his pants and get down to business.

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