Page 42 of Fiancé for Hire

“You getting in the car, lady, or what?” the cabby yelled out the window. His accent was heavy with attitude punctuating each word. “I ain’t got all night.”

“Yes, we’re getting in,” Antika said quickly, nudging Drevon. “Right? We’re ready to leave?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah.” He hurried and opened the back door for her, and she slid in. When he climbed in after her, he gave the driver the address.

The silence between them was thick on the ride back to his condo, and Antika wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure what to say.

She wanted to let him off the hook somehow, tell him that she knew he didn’t mean anything by what almost left his mouth, but she didn’t want to. She had a feeling that they were experiencing similar emotions in this sham of an engagement.

“About what I almost said,” Drevon started, but Antika stopped him by putting a finger to her lips and nodding toward the driver.

“Let’s talk when we get home,” she said, then caught herself. “Umm, I mean your home.”

He nodded and reached for her hand. She never would’ve pegged him as a hand holder, but he took every opportunity to hold hers.

To be honest, he touched her all the time, and she liked it.

All of it…and that was a problem.

There was an unexplainable chemistry that lurked between them. One that she had never experienced before, making this new territory for her. Clearly, they both felt it, and no matter how Antika tried to deny the strong feelings, she couldn’t. Their attraction was indisputable.

Thirty minutes later, they strolled into his condo. She kicked off her heels, glad to give her achy feet a reprieve and headed to the bedroom. Drevon was right behind her.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly from the doorway, and she turned to look at him, surprised that he had already discarded his suit jacket.

“For what?” she asked, dropping down on the bed and honestly not knowing why he felt a need to apologize.

“For shutting down the way I did. For not completing the statement that I started before clamming up.” He moved toward her as he undid his tie and tossed it on the bed. “I care about you more than I thought I’d ever care about a woman. You’ve met my ex. After breaking off things with her, after feeling traumatized by her, I vowed to stay away from serious relationships. She’s enough to make a man consider priesthood for the rest of his life.”

Antika laughed and agreed. “Yeah, she is a bit…much.”

“This…this thing developing between us wasn’t supposed to get this far. We were supposed to go on a few dates, and then return to our singleness,” he said, using her word. “I’m sorry for complicating everything, but…I like you. A lot.”

Antika’s pulse amped at his admission and knew it didn’t come easy for him. Like her, he’d been hurt. But unlike him, she had never spent a night in jail because someone betrayed him.

The biggest problem right now was that her feelings for him were much stronger than his were for her. She could admit, to herself in this moment, that she wanted him in every way a woman wanted a man. But their feelings weren’t mutual.

Maybe not yet, but it could happen, a voice inside her head boomed—one that sounded too much like Tamera. Antika shook the thought free. She didn’t feel like thinking about anything, but decisions needed to be made.

“Where do we go from here?” she asked.

He sat beside her, his leg brushing up against hers and sending a thrill through her body. She wanted to scream. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but she’d been vulnerable enough in past relationships. She had to do a better job protecting herself, but how?

She wanted what she wanted.Him.

He reached for her hand and linked their fingers. “Do you want us to end this…to go back to being single the way we’ve vowed to do? Because if you do, I’ll start the rumors going that you broke up with me. That you think we’ll be better as friends. But that’s not what I want right now. I want to keep going with this. I want to still be your plus one for your work event.”

Antika stared down at their joined hands, and her pulse raced.

She wanted to be with him, in any capacity, more than she wanted anything else. But could she risk getting hurt in the end? Because the longer they continued this charade, the harder it would be to walk away.

She glanced at him, and the sincerity she saw in his eyes stabbed her in the chest. She loved when he looked at her with such intensity.

“I want what you want,” she said quietly, but deep down, she wanted more.

So much more.

She touched his beard, running her fingers over its softness, then leaned in and covered his mouth with hers. She loved kissing him. Loved the way he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her against his body the way he was doing now. And she loved the way he made her feel precious. Desired. Cherished.

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