Page 61 of Love Without Demands

He laughed and cradled my chin with his hand. “Yes, and I can’t tell you how hard it is to say that to you.” He leaned forward until his mouth was at my ear, his voice a growling whisper. “Because Ireallyenjoyed your benefits.”

A shiver ran through my body, but he warmed me by pulling me close until my cheek rested against his shoulder. “I found youquite… beneficial as well,” I told him and felt the rumble inside his chest.

“This is an important thing to me, Lehra. I can’t lose you, and I don’t want to muck things up because you’re still trying to heal.”

“Cruz…” I started to protest, but he hushed me with a kiss to my temple.

“I know you’re feeling relieved right now, but you have to admit that Dwight betrayed your trust with the way he treated you. You have the kindest heart, Tink, and I know deep down inside, there’s some hurt there. You need to get that out before you can truly move on.”

I literally felt his words inside me, found where the pain was buried, and I knew he was right. “It’s not easy to feel second best,” I admitted, and he squeezed me tighter.

“You’ll never come second with me, Lehra. Never.”

I crawled into bed, trying not to wake my mom, but her maternal radar kicked in and she rolled over.

“Good night, Mom.”

“What?” she yelled before realizing she had her earplugs in and popped one out. “Sorry, what did you say?”

Stifling my laughter, I kissed her cheek, which smelled like the moisturizer she’d been putting on her face for as long as I could remember. It smelled like comfort and sweet memories.

“I said good night.”

“Oh, g’night, honey. Did you have a nice talk with Cruz?”

“I did.”

“He likes you, you know.”

It was hard to describe how warm those words made me feel inside. “I like him too, but we decided to take things slow since I just broke an engagement.”

“That’s very smart and mature, Lehra.”

She rolled back over and adjusted her pillow before adding, “Though I will say, if he’s good with your pipes, I’d be happy to call him my son-in-law.”

I managed to sigh and laugh at the same time.Ladies and gentlemen… meet Tabitha Kincaid, my mother.

Chapter 18

Lehra busted through thedoor to my apartment like a tornado. “Oh my god. Chloe Bouvier is dead!”

Not even the shock of that statement could take away from the reaction I had to my Tink. The same reaction I had every single time I saw her.

Affection.

Desire.

Love.

Yes, I’d fallen in love with Lehra Kincaid over the past few months, a time period that I liked to callCruz’s Ultimate Test of Patience.

Because she hadn’t gone through Rebound Guy or Revenge Guy or any of those other fuckers. She hadn’t been on a single date since she broke up with dumbass Dwight months ago. Which I’m secretly glad of because if I saw her with another man, I would most likely get arrested.

I was so fucking confused. I wanted to do this right and not be some random rebound guy until she found her happily ever after man. I wanted tobethat HEA man.

Maybe Curly and all of them were full of shit. Maybe Lehra broke the mold and didn’t act like other women. Hell, I had no fucking clue. All I knew was that I wanted her—neededher—to be mine. Now.

Looking up at her with her wild, blonde curls and flushed face, I stood to lead her to the couch. “What the hell happened?”

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