Page 45 of Color of Love

“Wiseass,” Blake muttered.

Justine flopped back onto the bed, groaning, “Sorry babe, I forgot. Let me get dressed and we can get going.” Both women stayed in the room, staring at them with goofy grins on their faces.

“I need you to leave so I can do that,” Justine pointed towards the door.

“Of course!” and “Sorry!” they muttered and then she was alone again with Blake. He cleared his throat and ran his hand over his beard, rasping the strands. She wanted to look at him, to see what he was thinking, but she was scared she would see regret written all over his face.

She got up and grabbed some clean clothes from her dresser before facing him. He stood beside the bed, his arms folded across his massive chest. She let her eyes run over him, this warrior in front of her with his combat-honed, battle-scarred body displaying all kinds of strength. Her eyes dropped to the bulge in his boxers which she was disappointed she hadn’t gotten her hands on last night.

Not that she was complaining at all, what they’d done had been amazing, but she wanted to do more. His thighs, broad with muscle, caught her attention. This man radiated strength, he was nothing like she had seen before. She shivered with desire. Damn how she wanted him. The force of it scared her, what did it mean? He doesn’t want a family or children and he’s your client, he is definitely not Mr. Right, no matter how right he looks, her mind argued.

When she looked to his eyes, she noticed he was doing the same to her, running his stare over her body, leaving goosebumps behind. His nostrils flared briefly before he turned away and grabbed his clothes.

She went into the adjoining bathroom and quickly got dressed. She brushed her teeth and hair, trying not to focus on her friends downstairs who would have lots of questions that she didn’t know how to answer. When she came back into her bedroom, he was dressed, honestly it was a crime to cover that body up. He had even made her bed perfectly.

She was discovering that he was very caring. First the incident with the fox, then looking out for her on her date, and covering her body just now with the duvet, then last night, once they were finished fooling around, he cleaned where he marked her. He wasn’t nearly as cold and distant as he acted which tugged at her heart in a way she couldn’t afford to look at too closely.

“Are you okay after…?” he trailed off, gesturing to her bed.

“Yes, thank you. Are you?” she said shyly.

“Uh-huh. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep after,” he said, looking uncomfortable.

“Don’t apologize, I didn’t mind at all.”

Last night she had gone downstairs to get some more wine and when she came back, he was fast asleep. He looked so relaxed, so carefree, his perma-frown smoothed away by slumber. She hadn’t dared wake him, especially knowing he suffered from insomnia. It warmed her inside to think that he’d been so comfortable and relaxed here that he let his guard down enough to drift off.

“I better get going then, you’ve got plans and I’ve got a basketball game to win,” he said, and she smiled.

“I didn’t realize you did that. Is that with Dean and Beau?” she asked.

He nodded. “I’ve played with them a couple of times now, but it’s not a big deal.” He shrugged it off. But it was a big deal. He was building relationships and making friends which was a huge step in his recovery process.

They headed downstairs and she was pleased to note her friends had made themselves scarce. She opened the front door and watched as he put his jacket on and grabbed his helmet. She felt awkward, not knowing how to behave, having never been in this situation before. Did he regret last night? Did he want to act like it never happened? Did he want it to happen again, to continue their agreement? Whoa, slow down, do you want it to happen again? YES!

“Have a nice game with the guys,” she said. He stopped in front of her, and she stepped back to let him pass.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow for our stakeout,” he said, and she thought she saw his lips twitch slightly. Then, he bent down and pulled her earlobe between his teeth, nibbling gently and her body sighed. God, she loved it when he did that.

“Thanks for dinner,” he murmured, then pulled back and winked at her. “And dessert,” he added, a playful gleam in those silver eyes and she nearly melted in a puddle of aroused, romantic mush.

She watched him get on his motorbike, swinging a powerful leg over the seat. There was something about the way he straddled it and revved the engine that really revved her engine. Then he was gone. With a sigh, she shut the door and went into her living room. Both women were standing there smirking at her.

“Did you cash in your V card?” Christy asked, crossing her fingers. Justine rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Not quite,” she replied, but they both squealed anyway.

“Come on, we’re going to be late.” She hustled them both out the front door. She could already see Taylor had rearranged her bookshelf so it wasn’t alphabetized anymore, she was a dick like that.

They got in Taylor’s car and as they drove, they peppered her with questions the entire journey.

No, they didn’t have sex.

Yes, he did look like a Greek God.

No, she wasn’t giving them all the dirty details.

“So, we know from the guys that you’ve been treating him. Is that why you kept saying he wasn’t your type? Because you didn’t want to step over that line?” Taylor asked.

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