About Last Night...

I didn’t wait for him to respond. I turned and walked out of his apartment without looking back, hoping he’d take the bait I’d set.

Chapter Forty-Five

Mia

I’d gone about my day as I would’ve a month ago. I went to work, did my job, came home, cooked, ate, and then showered and changed into my pajamas. Only, I didn’t feel any of it.

It had been close to three week since my brother said a word to me. I’d seen him twice at Mom’s, and no matter how hard she tried to engage us into conversation, it just wasn’t happening. My brother greeted me as if I was a stranger, with a curt, “Hello,” and all I could do was respond a quiet, “Hi.” We ate across from each other, avoiding eye contact, answering our mother in short sentences that did not require response.

Qui

I wasn’t that girl, that needy girl, who needed a man to stroke her hair and tell her how pretty she was. That wasn’t me. But Qui

Regardless of how my brother had treated him, he never spoke badly of Harry. In fact, it was the exact opposite. He told me stories about how Harry had saved his ass, about the time Harry took him in when he’d been sleeping in his car for a week, and how Harry had been closer to him than his own blood relatives.

Only, Harry was my blood relative, and I hated the divide my relationship was causing in my family. I loved Qui

I was hurting.

The beeping of the oven timer brought me back to the present and I suddenly realized I’d been standing in the kitchen for minutes without blinking. I took in a quick breath and walked forward to switch off the roast. Qui

At least I could provide one of the two.

Qui

I smiled at the thought, and a faint ache pulsed in my chest.

I loved him so much…so very much.

The apartment door opened and I removed the roast from the oven. A long sigh sounded from behind me, and then strong arms wrapped themselves around me, pulling me into a hot, hard body.

“Would you look at you, being all domestic and shit?” He sounded faintly amused. Then he bit my ear gently and growled, “Oh, baby, you are so getting laid tonight.”

I swatted at him with my oven mitt and tried to pull away, feigning disgust. “Ugh. Get off. You’re all sweaty.”

His rough chuckle sounded in my ear. “Oh, hush now. You like me all sweaty. In fact, if I remember correctly, you liked it so much that you licked me all the way down to my c—”

Turning, I slapped my hands over his mouth, eyes wide, and hissed, “Oh, my God, stop!”

From behind my hands, his eyes smiled as he mumbled, “Dirty girl.” Then he frowned and mumbled some more. “Hey, what gives? I’ve been here a full minute and you still haven’t kissed me.” He paused a moment before adding, “Gimme dem lips, woman.”

What had I done so well in my life that I’d been granted the gift of this man?

My hands slid down to his shoulders, I smiled lightly up at him, stood on my tiptoes, and gently pressed my lips to his. He groaned immediately, his hands coming down to cup the cheeks of my ass, pulling me as far into his body as he could manage. He squeezed, and the slight pain made my core pulse in anticipation.

I pressed soft, wet kisses to his lips, pulling away only when I thought I wouldn’t be strong enough to if we kept going.

His eyes hooded in lust-filled mania, and I knew if I didn’t back away now, we’d end up naked on the kitchen floor, di

An arm snaked around my middle and a smirking Qui

It was wonderful.

My nose found its way to his collarbone and I breathed him in, part sweat, part cologne, and all Qui

I reached up to fist the sides of his tee. “I missed you more.”

His hold loosened enough for him to wrap an arm around my shoulders and lead me to the stools behind the counter. “You cooked. Now you get to sit. I’m going to serve you, princess.”

There was no point in arguing. Qui

He pulled out two plates, carved the meat, and then plated it up, peeking up at me occasionally. I watched him closely, a feeling of weariness washing over me. I blinked slowly, exhausted.

“You’re looking a little better today. How are you feeling?”

I thought about it before lifting my shoulder in a shrug. I was a bit sick of talking about this.

Qui

I pushed my plate away with a sigh. It was making me feel ill. “Not really. I had a late lunch.” Qui

He picked up our plates and stashed them in the sink before stripping off his tight black tee and undoing the tie at the waist of his light grey sweatpants. They hung low on his hips, and the cut V-shape at his abdomen made my knees weak. He scratched absently at his belly. “I’m going to shower, and then we’re going to bed.”

My brow furrowed. “But it’s like eight p.m.”

He walked into the bathroom. I heard the shower start, and he called back, “Never said we were going to sleep, baby.”

My lips pursed as my brows rose. “Oh,” I breathed.

I lifted my arm and sniffed myself before making my way to the bedroom to dress in my ‘nice’ jammies.

My mouth opened in a silent moan as Qui

Large hands roamed my skin as I was mounted and ridden on my hands and knees. I thought back to what Qui

“I promise you, Maya. The best sex is always dirty and messy and shocking. That’s the kind of sex that stems from passion. It’s incredible.”

Oh, boy, he was right. He was so right.