Page 108 of No Rings Attached
He brushed a piece of hair that had fallen from my messy bun behind my ear. “I’ll tell you if I think you’ve overstepped. I put that dream away so long ago it seems out of reach now.”
“I understand.”
Another buzz from my phone. I turned it over, just in case it was someone other than my sister or mother.
MOM
Call your sister.
I looked away, my hand finding Drew’s, twining our fingers. They could wait.
He studied me. His expression made me feel like I was doing something brave.
Maybe I was.
He tugged me gently, and I climbed onto his lap, straddling him and watching his eyes darken. His hands gripped my hips, heat pouring through me. “How long a break can you take?” I asked, rocking against him just enough to feel his answering hardness.
His slow smile, devastating. “I was about to ask you the same.”
“I think I’ve done enough. And if what you’re thinking involves articles of clothing being torn off your body, I’m all in.”
He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest into mine and he lifted me off of him. “I’ll give you a head start.”
I shook my hips as I landed on my feet and got ready to run; excited about the thought of him chasing me. “Oh yeah? How much?”
“One.” He shifted to the edge of the couch.
I took a few more steps.
“Two.” He stood.
I squealed as he lunged and yelled. “Three!”
We both took off running, our feet thudding against the floor, breathless, our laughter echoing around us, and the buzzing of my phone forgotten.
For the first time in years, I wasn’t tethered to my family’s demands. I was tethered to joy. To choice.
To Drew.
And I vowed to store this moment of playfulness in my internal memory box for future use, to be taken out whenever I was missing him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
DREW
The bed dipped with an enthusiastic bounce.
“Drew! It’s time to get up!”
Ellie’s voice broke through the deep sleep I’d succumbed to after the most incredible love-making marathon; we’d gone at it until nearly dawn.
Three rounds of sex tended to knock a man out cold.
Though not Ellie, apparently.
“Five more minutes,” I muttered with a groan, dragging an arm over my face.
She ignored me, prying my arm away to pepper my face with kisses. “Nope. Today’s special, and I’m not missing one second of it.”
