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SADIE
We used those two hours and then some to get reacquainted with each other’s bodies. We acted as if we’d been apart for years, not days, and finally drifted to sleep in the wee hours of the morning to the sounds of one another’s breathing. And the TV blasting from downstairs where Ward tried to sleep on the couch while drowning us out with some loud action series on Netflix.
Was I an asshole for having loud make-up sex in my best friend’s apartment when he was a light sleeper? Probably.
Did I care? Not at the moment.
I lay on my side, snuggled next to Drew with his heavy arm thrown over me while the early morning light filtered in between the curtains. His prosthetic was lying on the floor next to the bed. There was so much hot, smooth skin pressed up against me it would have short-circuited my brain if I hadn’t already spent the last few hours getting used to it.
Instead, I started questioning where we went from here. I had no doubt whatever we did, we were going to do it together. But what did that mean? We’d never actually stopped to talk at any point last night once our clothes came off.
“I can feel you thinking so hard it woke me up.” Drew’s voice was rough with sleep and dangerously sexy.
Suddenly, I didn’t care about sorting out plans. All I wanted was for him to whisper dirty words in my ear using that voice while he thrust into me from behind. I shifted a little and ground my ass into his pelvis, hoping he’d get the hint.
His cock thickened and slid between my cheeks, clearly on board with my plan, but Drew put his hand on my hip and groaned. “Fuck. Okay.” He pinned my hip, stopping my grinding motion. “In a minute. That wasn’t all you were thinking about. Now, tell me what has you worried so I can put your mind at ease…before I make you black out. Again.”
“That was one time. And only for like thirty seconds. Don’t get so full of yourself.” I couldn’t keep the grin out of my voice.
“I’m not the one who’s about to be full of me.” He nudged his erection against me, then pulled his hips back. “But only if you tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Tease.” I sighed, then rolled over so we were facing one another. “How long are you in town for?”
His brow furrowed. “However long you are.”
“You don’t even have a suitcase. Or a change of clothes.” I did manage to slip out of the room for a few minutes last night and throw his clothes into the dryer. Not that I wanted any clothes on him right now.
“I’ll buy new clothes.” He shrugged.
“Okaaaay. Where are you going to stay?”
“I’ll get a hotel room. Or an apartment. I’m not worried about it.”
I didn’t want to burst this little glowy make-up sex bubble we were in, but Drew didn’t know what he was getting into by suggesting he stay in New York. “You should be worried about it. You don’t have a job. In fact, neither do I as of yesterday. I share an apartment with five other girls—and I can’t even afford that for much longer—so it’s not like you can stay with me—”
“Great. We can get a new place together.”
“I don’t think you’re getting it. New York is expensive. Like next-level expensive. Ward comes from old money, and his husband is an anesthesiologist, and they still had to take out a second mortgage to afford this place.”
“Sadie.” He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “I’ve got us covered for as long as you want to stay in New York.”
“What do you mean?” I looked back and forth between his eyes, as if I could find an explanation hidden in their depths.
He gave me a gentle smile. “I got a settlement after the accident. I’ve barely even touched it. My mom’s house was paid off. And the railroad company had to pay for all of my medical bills and physical therapy outside of the cash settlement. I only started flipping houses to keep myself busy, but I make enough doing that to cover my necessities.”
“Wow.” Ivy had mentioned a settlement, but it hadn’t seemed important at the time. “Still. It’s so expensive here. I don’t want us to burn through your money.”
He looked a little embarrassed. “It’s eight figures. You don’t need to worry about that.” His expression clouded, and he swallowed. “But if this is all too fast, if you don’t want me to stay—”
“No,” I interrupted, “it’s not that. It’s just…” I rallied the courage to put my truth out into the universe. “What if we didn’t stay in New York?”
Relief colored his face. “You want to travel? I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest. “I’ve done enough traveling. What if I wanted to settle down in a nice, quiet town? Like in Kelly Bay.”
“You’d move there to be with me?” His eyes filled with an astonished expression.
I swallowed down the nerves fluttering in my stomach at the question I needed to ask. The last reservation I still clung to. But if he had the courage to come all the way to New York to tell me how he felt, I owed him my honesty. My vulnerability. “Yes. But I need to ask you one thing. And I need you to be honest with me even if you think I might not like the real answer.”
