Page 43 of On His Knees

I WAKE UP in bed alone, and unease moves through me. I go still, and listen for noises in the main room, but when I hear only the flames in the hearth, I berate myself. No wonder he left. Last night things became personal, too personal. Why the hell did I open up to Tate like that? This is just an affair. A sex-only weeklong affair, where emotions have no part. Tate didn’t need to know about my father or mother or what those stupid boys did to me. I crossed a line, didn’t follow the rules of a one-night, or rather one-week, stand, and I don’t blame Tate for leaving. This wasn’t what he signed up for. Although I do have to say, I liked the insight into him, learning more about his childhood. He doesn’t want my pity, just like I don’t want his, but when he told me about his mom leaving, my heart ached for the six-year-old boy still in him.

I put my arm over my forehead and stare out the window beside me. The storm might have passed, but deep in my gut, there is still one going on. Maybe I should be happy that he left, end this affair before I get in too deep. Oh, how I wish it were that easy. A noise at the door draws my attention and I go up on my elbows, my hair a tumbling mess over my face. I shake it free and zero in on Tate as he reaches above his head to stretch his body.

My eyes widen. “I thought you were...”

“Thought I was what?” He arches a brow, and my gaze rakes over him. He looks like sex in jeans as he watches me, his bare feet crossed.

I shrug. “Gone, I guess.” He gives me a puzzled look, and I hurry out with an explanation. “Tate, about last night. This is an affair and I shouldn’t have told you any of those things. I get it if you want to leave.”

“I don’t want to leave.”

A little thrill goes through me. “You don’t?”

“No.” He points to the window. “The storm passed, and it’s time for payback.”

I look at the man who has been doing the most glorious things to my body, and there is a change in him. I can’t quite figure out what it is, but his mood is different. “Payback?” I ask, not sure what he’s getting at.

“Yeah. For the donkey costume. I told you I was going to pay you back for that.”

He has a mischievous grin on his face, and I can’t help but admit I’m intrigued. I sit up and the blankets fall from my body. That’s when I realize I’m naked. “Where are my clothes?” I ask, and pull the sheets up to my neck.

He pushes off the door frame. “Why are you covering up?”

“Because I’m naked.”

His eyes go dark as he stalks toward me. “Are you forgetting that I’ve been inside you?”

A shiver moves through my body, igniting my insides. I’ll never forget that for the rest of my life, and I’m sure that’s going to be a problem. “No,” I say. “It’s just that I don’t normally sleep in the nude.”

He gestures to the chair and I see my yoga pants and T-shirt. “You fell asleep on my lap last night, and I undressed you for bed.”

“I don’t normally sleep in the nude,” I repeat.

“When you’re with me you do.”

I laugh at that. “Oh, is that how the rest of this week is going to play out?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize just how little time I have left here, with him. Sadness seeps under my skin, settles around my heart. God, Summer, what did you go and get yourself in to?

My phone rings in the other room. “I’ll get that for you,” Tate says.

I grab his arm, a little too aggressively, and he goes still and looks at me. “I’ll get it,” I say, and jump from the bed. I tug the sheet around myself and hurry to my purse. I pull my ringing phone out and see that it’s from my web expert. I’ve been so distracted with Tate I’ve barely had time to think about my online hacker. “I have to take this.” I dart into the bathroom for privacy and slide my hand across the screen.

“Hi,” I say, keeping my voice low.

“Hi. We’re still working on things.” Dan’s voice booms loudly and I’m glad I excused myself for this work call. I still feel bad for lying, but I’ve already decided it doesn’t really matter at this point.

“Is the image down yet?” I ask.

“These hackers are good. A lot of our clients have been hit.”

“I know but none of them got the boob job I got,” I say, and Dan laughs.

“Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update. We’re close. Any day now. Just keep checking the site.”

“Thanks, Dan,” I say, but hate the thought of checking the site to see my head on a ridiculous body.

I end the call and step back into the other room to find Tate scrolling through his phone. “Everything okay?” His brow arches as he glances up at me.

“Yeah, just some things I needed to deal with back home.” I shove my phone in my purse, but feel his eyes burning through me when I reach for a glass of water. “What are our plans for the day?” I ask.

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