Page 61 of Fake It 'Til You Sleigh It

I have no clue what Chase is thinking, butthat…That was the most mind-blowing sex of my whole fucking life.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Chase

Booming thunder rattles thewindows. My eyes fly open. Disoriented, I blink at the unfamiliar room.Why am I naked?

Oh no.

I bolt upright. My heart pounds as I recognize the room. Ethan’s bedroom. Ethan’sbed. Ethan’s… not here.

Chase, you stupid girl.

I scramble out of the SpongeBob sheets.Where are my clothes?I frantically look for my pajamas, but they’re nowhere. I snatch up a discarded T-shirt from the floor—definitely Ethan’s—and yank it over my head. His familiar, earthy scent goes straight to my core, making it all tingly as memories of last night come flooding in, raw and unfiltered.

What the hell was that between us?

His touch was like a wildfire. Ethan’s hands on my skin, his lips discovering the secrets of my body. Everything was perfect. The way he filled me—that slow, exquisite build of pleasure—making my nerve endings sing. And after the build-up, I shattered in his arms. Never had I felt so desired, so utterly and passionately consumed.

Even now, my body craves his touch.

Goddammit!I know better than to let an actor in, to give them power over me. It’s Directing 101. When the project wraps, they move on, leaving you to pick up the shattered pieces of your heart. But yesterday, with Ethan, I lowered my defenses. One mind-blowing encounter, and I’ve jeopardized everything, giving him parts of me I never intended to share.

And where is Ethan now? Not the fuck here. Why would he be? To him, I’m just another conquest, nothing more. He’s probably hiding out at his mom’s store to avoid the awkward morning-after conversation.

I have to get out of here before I screw things up even more. I should check into a hotel.Shit.Why does a part of me want to stay? To see how this plays out? No! I can’t risk letting my guard down with Ethan any more than I already have.

KRA-KOWW!

I jump at the crack of thunder. At the same moment, the bedroom door swings open.

Ethan stands there in boxers and a T-shirt, hair tousled, holding a tray of food. My stomach does a little happy dance, and it’s not because I’m craving breakfast.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

“Yeah,” I croak. “The storm.”

He crosses to the bed, setting down the tray. “I thought you might be hungry, ya know, after our evening together. I know I am.”

Is he seriously blushing right now?

“My specialty—key lime pancakes with fresh-squeezed orange juice. And coffee, but I don’t know how you like it, so I brought sugar and cream just in case.”

Oh hell.He made me breakfast? This is not good.

“Ethan, about last night,” I begin, steeling myself for thelet’s pretend this never happenedspeech.

But he cuts me off, reaching out to gently cradle my face in his hand. His touch is so tender that it makes my chest ache.

“How about we stay in this moment a little while longer? Let’s just put a time-out on that conversation for now,” he suggests, his voice smooth and inviting. “We’ve got the house to ourselves today.”

“Everyone’s gone?”

“Yup. At work.” His grin widens. “We can enjoy the day together. Push reality back a bit.”

A break—

From responsibility...

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