“I’m cooking, so yes.”
She apologized three more times before she opened the door.
Outside in the hallway, Dallas whispered, “Oh shit,” as Chastity breezed past her with her head down. My sister glanced at me. “What the hell?”
And she wasn’t alone either. Before my sister could badger me about this latest turn of events, before I could slam the door in her face, she was joined by Bliss, Blake,andDemi.Shit.
Dallas started first, yelling at me about fucking with Pastor’s niece again. Blake chided me for being a dumb-ass. Bliss was next. My sweet sister mused about potential second-chance love.
Blake snorted. “Aht Aht. Duke doesn’t want that messy-ass bitch.”
“He better not,” Dallas said. “Mom told me Chastity nearly ran her husband over with her car when he asked for a divorce.”
As my sisters gossiped about Chastity and her marriage, I looked over at Demi, who’d remained quiet.
Demi’s green eyes darkened as her gaze dropped from my bare chest to my… towel. When she met my eyes again, she let out a disgusted growl. “Really?”
“Demi,” I called softly. “It’s not what you think.”
Bliss gasped. “Oh.”
“Wow,” Blake whispered.
Dallas slipped Demi a curious glance before she asked me, “Well, what the hell is it then?”
I glared at my sisters. “None of your business.” I turned to Demi again. “Can we talk?”
Shaking her head, Demi said, “No. What you need to do is get dressed and flip them pancakes.”
This was the part of the story when I would normally tell all of them to get the fuck out of my face. But… I couldn’t let her go. Not yet. “Get yo’ ass in here.” I grabbed Demi’s hand and tugged her forward, slamming the door before my sisters could barge in too.
Demi turned the doorknob, but my hand against the door prevented her from opening it. “What do you want?”
“We need to talk,” I told her.
“Fine.” Demi bolted to the other side of the room and immediately turned to face the window. Not me. “Seriously. Can you get dressed?” She tossed my shirt behind her head, and it floated to the floor right in front of me.
I stepped over it and walked toward her. “We’re better than this.”
Demi whirled around. The fury in her eyes was replaced by something else as she looked me up and down. She swallowed visibly. “I can’t talk to you like this.” Scanning the room, she picked up the duvet on the bed and pushed it against my chest. “Cover up. You’re a hazard.” She brushed past me, back toward the door.
Letting the cover fall to the floor, I scooped my joggers off the dresser and slid them on, before approaching her. “Is this better?”
With her eyes squeezed shut, Demi turned slowly. Soon, her gaze locked on mine. Then, she walked away from me. Again. “This is so stupid,” she said under her breath. “What do you want?”
I’d never really felt the need to explain myself to anyone, but I needed to make sure Demi understood exactly what I wanted. And it wasn’t Chastity. “To finish what we started back in LA,” I muttered against her ear before taking the lobe in my mouth. She shuddered but made no move to push me away. “Nothing happened today.”
“I don’t care.” Her voice was a low whimper. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Actually, it does,” I countered.
Demi blew out a deep breath and turned to face me. “Why?”
Unable to resist her, I leaned in, brushing her chin with my nose and kissing the corner of her mouth. “You matter to me.”
She placed her palms on my chest. “Duke, this… I don’t think.” She blinked. Hard. “This isn’t a good idea.”
“Why?” My goal was clear. I just needed her to sign off.
