Page 50 of False Start

He lets out an awkward laugh, and the red starts to fade from his cheeks.

"One ofthe best? Notthebest?"

"Well, I'm not sure," I pretend to think. "There was that Brazilian I dated forthree steamy monthssophomore year," I tease.

He nudges me in the elbow with a pout, and I break out laughing.

"I'm just kidding, babe." I clear my throat and try to sound serious. "That was so good, I'm not sure I'll ever recover."

He's smiling for real now, and pulls us both up to stand.

"That's more like it. Let's get cleaned up and then go to bed."

I waggle my eyebrows at him and he swats my ass.

"Tosleep, woman," he laughs. "We've got a lot to do tomorrow."

He pulls me behind him into my bathroom, and I giggle like some infatuated teenager. This manstaysgetting in my feels! I'd be freaking out if my hard-won cynicism wasn't working double-time to quash the burgeoning tingles in my chest. So I've got a little crush. Maybe more than a little; big deal. It won't change how this thing ends.

Chapter twenty-one

Cory

AnydoubtsIhadbefore are long gone now. After years of playing the field and a disappointing first attempt at a relationship, I'm sure. I'm in love with Denise.

It's still fragile; a tiny green shoot bursting through the scorched earth where my heart should be. Or maybe it was never burned, just unused, like an old lawn mower left to gather dust for years in the basement. It took a few hard tugs, but eventually, the engine turned over.

That's how it feels; like my heart is sputtering to life in fits and starts. Even coughing out a little black smoke. But somewhere betweenthe most embarrassing orgasm of my lifeand spooning under the covers while she fell asleep, it hit me like an arrow to the heart. She's felt different from the beginning—since that first morning after the wedding—and I'm finally ready to admit it to myself.

When I got to her building last night, I buzzed before I saw the door was already open. My heart almost stopped.What if someone broke in? What if someone hurt her?I've never run faster in my life.

And now she's here. She's safe in my arms. But my heart is still pounding in my chest. This woman seriously might be the—

"Are you going to stare at me all morning, or are you going to make yourself useful and get a pot of coffee going?"

I jerk my head to face her, but her eyes are still closed.

"How do you know I'm looking at you?"

"Because I can feel your eyes," she grumbles, though her lips curve in a smile.

I pull her closer and nuzzle her nipple with my nose before taking it into my mouth. She arches, pressing her warm body against me. Her lush curves mold to my hard planes, enveloping me, and it feels…perfect.

"Oooh, you can't start something like this before I've had my caffeine fix, baby," she half-whines, half-moans. Even grouchy and sporting a crease on her cheek from her pillowcase, she's adorably sexy. So enticing, you ignore the danger, like a baby tiger luring you to the cutest mauling ever. My heart's already in tatters.

I know I could get her to forget all about coffee—hell, forget her own name—if I kept going, but nature calls and we have quite a few of our own calls to make, so I release the tempting bud.

"Fine, fine. But only because we have a lot to do today."

I lift my head and wink. She rolls her eyes in response and stuffs a pillow over her face to block the sunlight filtering into the room. After a handful of sleepovers, it's safe to say my girl isn't a morning person.

I wash up and put on the jeans and sweater in my backpack. As eager as I was to get to her after the party last night, I'm surprised I even remembered a change of clothes.

"Babe?! Can you also grab us some bagel sandwiches from the bodega on the corner?!" Denise yells from the bedroom.

The pet name seeps into my skin, warming my insides. How the hell did this woman turn me so soft in just a few months? Is this what Adam was feeling with—?

I don't let myself finish the sentence. Can't eventhinkit. If I start thinking like that, it won't be long until I let something slip, and she's already proven herself to be a flight risk. Just because I'm 90% sure about this woman, doesn't mean she's sure about me.

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