Page 73 of Play It Sinful

My nostrils flare. I’m angry beyond measure for more reasons than one. Sure, I’m not happy those assholes might have drugged me, but I’m more upset that they came on to Ashley and I don’t remember anything.

“Let me guess... I wanted to punch them in the throat for saying that to you.”

She lifts her eyes to mine. “Yeah. I never knew you had such a short fuse.”

I take her hand, lacing our fingers together. “Here’s the thing... I don’t usually lose my temper. But when it comes to protecting you, I turn savage.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so possessive of me when our thing was just sex to you.”

My eyes widen. “Who said that?”

“You did.”

Hell. Did we have a conversation about our relationship last night? That’d be the cherry on top. “When?”

“When Kenzie caught us. She asked if we were in love, and you said no.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” She pulls her hand away.

“I’m sorry, Ash. I was freaking out, and I didn’t know what to tell her. But you remember me telling her that I didn’t want to end things with you, right? You’re the one who insisted we cool it off.”

“Because I was hurt, not because I didn’t want to see you again.”

I push the side button to raise the bed, then I reach for her hand again and tug her closer. “Ash, I’m not sure of my feelings exactly, but I know I fucking miss you, all right? And not only the sex part. I miss your wit, your laughter, the way you nibble on your lower lip when you’re thinking hard about something.”

Her pretty eyes widen. “You do?”

I cup her face. “Do you know many times I’ve listened to that blink-182 song?”

She sucks in a breath. “How many?”

“Hell…. I don’t know. But it’s been on repeat for the last couple weeks.”

“I missed you too, Sean. I was so scared when Alex called.”

“Come here, babe.” I reach for the back of her head and pull her lips to mine.

I kiss her slowly, savoring the sweet taste of her mouth. My heart is racing, and I’m sure she can hear it pounding it away. It sucks that I had to end up in the hospital to get clarity, but I’m not letting Ashley get away this time. I have no idea how we’re going to navigate our complicated family dynamics, but I won’t worry about it now.

She steps back, breaking the kiss. “We should probably take it easy.”

“I don’t want to. I need to make up for lost time.”

“I’d rather make out with you when you’re not feeling like roadkill.”

“Your kisses will cure me faster.”

“Food will cure you faster. The boys should be back any moment with breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” I arch my brows. “What time is it?”

She looks at her watch. “Quarter past six.”

“I can’t believe you and the guys spent the night here with me.”

“We were worried, Sean.”

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