Page 32 of Crave Me

“Not at all.” I gather her to me and kiss her forehead. “But it could have ended worse had I given into what her family and, I suppose society, expected from us. I’ll admit, the termination of our relationship left me bitter. Not because of what I didn’t get, but because of what never was.” I stroke her chin. “Does that make sense?”

“You wasted your time,” she concludes.

“We both did,” I agree.

Her head falls against me, her wet hair soaking my shoulder. It should feel uncomfortable, but I like her close to me.

We laugh when my stomach and hers simultaneously growl. “Are you hungry?” I ask.

“Considering how many calories we burned last night and this morning? I could eat a damn cow.”

“How about I make you breakfast?” I offer.

“Yeah?” At my nod she adds. “You’re all sorts of hot, you know that?”

She clutches me when I bend and kiss her. Like all the kisses we’ve shared, it quickly turns heated.

She groans, pulling away. “Food now, dessert later, okay?”

“Later?” I ask, still struggling to grasp this woman is real.

“Oh, hell yeah. You think you’re getting away from me that easy?” She turns toward the sink. “Help yourself downstairs. I’ll be down as soon as I’m ready.”

“All right,” I say, stealing one last kiss.

I return to her bedroom and yank on my briefs and my trousers, not bothering with a sweater.

The wood floors and the kitchen tile feel cool against my bare soles despite how warm the house is.

I’m taken aback when I open the stainless steel refrigerator and find it packed with an outrageous amount of meat and vegetables. I dismiss it as a healthy appetite until I’m almost done frying the bacon and a shirtless young man with reddish blond hair wanders into the kitchen.

He takes a seat on the opposite side of the counter.

“Hey,” he says. “Oh. Bacon.”

He reaches for two slices on top of the pile I placed on a plate. “I’m Finn,” he says, ramming the bacon in his mouth and offering me a hand. “You a friend of Wren’s?”

“Ah, yes. I’m Evan,” I answer, shaking his hand.

I freeze when a young woman stepping into the doorway comes to an abrupt halt. She’s in a T-shirt that appears too big on her and nothing else. Apparently, she’s just as stunned to find me here as I am to see her.

“Hey, Evan,” Finn says. “That’s my woman you’re looking at.”

I turn abruptly as she races down the hall. “My apologies,” I say. “I wasn’t aware Wren had roommates.”

“I’m not her roommate. I’m her brother.” He frowns. “You don’t sound like you’re from around here. You visiting from Alaska or something?”

“I’ve spent the last few years in England,” I reply slowly.

“Close enough,” he says, reaching for another piece of bacon.

The young woman returns in sweatpants she appears to be swimming in. I’m assuming they are Finn’s clothes, now that I’m aware she’s his “woman”.

She finger combs her blond highlights through her darker hair. “Hey, I’m Sol,” she says, reaching for a stack of plates and bringing them to the counter.

“Evan,” I say. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” she says. She makes a face. “Sorry, we didn’t know anyone was home.”

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