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My face warmed a bit as the reality of the moment hit. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you, but were you just going to sit in Kelly Travis’s office naked?”
She laughed, which came out more like a snort. “No, I brought sweats and a blanket. But I do have her permission—not to strip—but to use her office while the festival goes on.”
“Right.” I cleared my throat. How the fuck was I supposed to transition into my speech about not taking no for an answer?
Rae continued unbuttoning her shirt, while turned away from me. “So, why are you here?”
“Told you, wanted to talk to you.”
This wasn’t going well.
“You said that.” Her shirt came off, and that silky skin was on display. She looked darker, like she’d gotten sun, along with a few more freckles that had recently come in. Her fingers went up to the center of her back, reaching for her bra. Fuck, she was going to strip with me in the room?
My soul may have actually left my body when she reached around and unclasped her bra, letting it slide down her arms. She was still turned away from me, but even seeing her back—knowing what I was missing—was enough to stun me to utter silence.
This was too much to bear.
“Davis?”
I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate, but she was standing therein a thong, with no bra. There wasn’t any hope for me.
Finally, trying to wrangle at least something, I blurted, “I miss you.”
She froze, pausing with the shirt sleeve she was slipping back on. I took that as a good sign and moved closer.
“I think it’s ridiculous that I miss you. I mean…” I advanced two more steps. “I never even really had you, yet I feel like I lost a piece of myself. It wasn’t just sex to me; it was so much more.”
I was right behind her, my lips at her neck as she continued to face the wall. From here, I could see her chest rising and falling rapidly. She still only had one sleeve pulled on, the other half of her shirt hanging down her back. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I slowly raised my hand and touched the base of her neck, brushing a few strands of hair to the side.
When she didn’t flinch away, I grew bolder and slowly moved the shirt off her shoulder, letting it slip to the ground once more.
“I miss this freckle; do you even know you have it? It’s the cutest fucking thing,” I whispered, brushing the tip of my thumb over the tan line at the base of her neck. She shuddered, and I drew closer, now pressing a kiss to her shoulder. The shadows in the room covered us, with just a small slice of light coming in from the shades, and the music from her phone—it felt like a secret we were sharing.
Rae turned her face, with her chin nearly resting on the shoulder I’d just kissed. Flicking my gaze up to meet hers, I moved my lips over the space again, bringing my hand up to gently hold her waist.
Her lips parted, those blue eyes staring with a heat that burned as hot as the thing searing my chest.
“What do you want from me, Davis?”
I knew she wasn’t asking what I wanted in this moment. It was a question that came from a broken place, and the way her lip wobbled told me she needed to know if I wanted a future with her.
Grabbing her other hip, I pulled her flush against my chest and whispered in her ear.
“I want to take you home and let you steal my flannels. I want you in my kitchen when I make you breakfast. I want you on my chest when I wake up. I know I’m not perfect, Rae…but give me a chance to show you.”
She spun in my arms, twisting her fingers into the hair at my neck. Her naked breasts pushed against my shirt, and I suddenly needed there to be less clothing between us, but that would come. Right now I just needed to hold her.
Moving my hand up her back, I crushed her against me, my nose stuck in her hair, inhaling her scent. Fuck, I missed it.
I barely had her for any time at all, but I’d already become an addict.
“You showed me what it would be like—” I wrestled with the words I wanted to say, and pushed out what I could manage, “and then you just walked away.” It came out crushed, like broken glass, but I couldn’t control it. I was feeling so much as I caged her in with my arms.
She hiccupped, which made me dip my chin and lean back. Gripping her jaw, I lifted her face, and sure enough, there were fat tears trailing down her cheeks. My chest burned again, this time with something other than self-deprecation. This time it was that I’d caused her to feel pain.
“Hey.” I swiped at her tears. “Talk to me, baby.”
Shaking her head, she hiccupped again, her lips quivering. “I just…I didn’t want to leave you, I felt like”—sniffling, she darted her eyes to the side—“I had no other choice.”
