Page 140 of Need You To Choose Me

Up and down, down and up.

Over and over and over again.

Then Blake kisses my neck.

My eyes fall shut, my mouth going dry.

He’s taunting me.

He must be.

There is no other explanation.

Didn’t he see the effect he was having on me? That every time he touched me, my body would come alive under his attention?

“Levi’s asleep,” Blake whispers, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I glance toward the other side of the couch, and sure enough, Levi’s head was on the armrest, eyes closed, lips parted. The little dude was completely out of it as the closing credits started to roll, making me realize I didn’t see much of the movie.

“I think he’s still recovering from last night. We were up half the night because he was throwing up.”

“Probably.” Blake gets up, and my body misses his nearness almost immediately.

Pushing back the feeling, I follow suit, my gaze falling on the sleeping boy. A lock of hair is in his face. Instinctively, I extend my hand and brush it away, my heart swelling when he leans into my touch.

“Daniel’s also out.”

Pulling my hand back, I look toward the bean bag. Daniel’s eyes are closed; his body is relaxed now that his father is home. He looked so much younger when he was asleep. He was still just a boy, really. A boy who’s had his world turned upside down one too many times in the short sixteen years he’s been here.

“I should get going. It’s late, and you need to put them to bed.”

Blake’s hand slides to the small of my back, sending shivers running down my spine. “Let me walk you out.”

I shake my head, taking a step back. I needed to get out of here before I did something stupid. Like kiss him. Or tell him to ask me to stay. “Go and take care of your family, Blake.”

His lips pressed into a tight line are the last thing I see before I turn my back and walk out of Blake’s house and to my own.

My heart is thumping hard against my rib cage as I close the door behind me and run my palm over my face. My skin was burning, the ghost of Blake’s touch still lingering on my flesh.

Pushing from the door, I tug my shirt off as I make my way to the bathroom. I needed a shower. A cold one.

But even the cool water couldn’t erase Blake’s touch, and I felt equally frustrated and tense when I got out. Rubbing at my skin, my gaze falls to the discarded shirt.

Blake’s shirt.

After Levi threw up for the second time sometime in the middle of the night, there was no saving my PJs, and since I didn’t want to leave them alone, I decided to just take one of Blake’s while mine was washing. Something I completely forgot about when Blake came back home.

My fingers wrap around the soft material, and I bring it to my face. Blake’s masculine scent still lingers on the fabric, and I can’t help but inhale it in. Sandalwood, pine, and ginger fill my lungs, and for a moment, it’s like he’s sitting behind me, his arms wrapped around me, those calloused fingers tracing my skin…

I should toss it into the laundry so I can wash it and return it, but do I do that?

No, I slip it on, letting the soft cotton brush against my skin.

Knowing there is no way I’ll fall asleep keyed up like this, I pad into the kitchen barefoot and put on the kettle for tea before settling in the living room and grabbing my book.

I start reading, but the images of Blake keep popping into my mind. The look on his face when I woke up. The way those gray eyes zeroed in on my mouth. The feel of his hard chest behind me, his hand slipping around my waist.

Shaking my head, I look at the page, but when I don’t know where I left off, I start from the beginning, only to realize the main characters are about to get it on, which doesn’t help at all.

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