Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Kate
I get lost in the kiss.
I’m buried so deeply beneath my desire for Gage that I ignore the incessant knocking I hear.
His fingers crawl higher, lingering against the front of my panties.
I want him to touch me.
I desperately want him to feel how wet I am.
He groans when the knocking starts up again, but this time it’s even louder than before.
It’s coming from my apartment door.
Someone is on the other side.
I curse inwardly when I pull back from him.
“Are you expecting someone?” he whispers against the flesh of my neck. “If we ignore them maybe they’ll go away.”
A series of three loud raps on the door draws me to my feet.
I straighten the front of my dress. It’s twisted from my squirming and his hands on the skirt.
Maybe the knocking is a sign that I’m not supposed to be kissing him, let alone touching him.
He was just inches away from diving his fingers into my panties.
“I’m coming,” I call out to whoever is behind the door.
“How I wish that were true,” Gage murmurs as he slides to his feet.
I cover my mouth with my hand to hide my smile.
The knocking starts again, but this time a voice follows it. “Kate? Wally let me up. He said you’re home.”
Tilly.
“Wally is the doorman,” I offer that explanation to Gage even though he didn’t ask. “It’s my friend. Tilly is here.”
Gage’s gaze drifts to the picture of Tilly and Sebastian hanging on the wall.
“I need to let her in.” My hands run over my hair, smoothing it.
He nods in response, adjusting the front of his jeans. I saw how hard he was right before he kissed me.
If Tilly wasn’t paying me a surprise visit right now, I might be laid bare on the couch enjoying Gage’s talented tongue.
A shiver runs through me at the thought of coming against his mouth.
I could never get enough of that when we were together. I could never get enough of him.
“Kate?” Tilly calls again. “It’s important. Please.”
I move quickly, closing the distance between the sofa and the door in just a few steps.
I glance back to Gage before I swing open the door.
Tilly’s gaze darts from me to Gage. “Oh, shit.”
“Are you all right?” I grab her hand and tug her into my apartment. “What’s wrong?”
She raises her hand in a weak wave to Gage. “I’m Kate’s best friend. My friends call me Tilly, but my husband calls me Matilda. You can call me either, but Kate always calls me Tilly, so maybe you want to…”
“Tilly,” I stop her rambling with a squeeze of her hand. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a pint of gelato.” She taps her hand over the front of her large red purse. “Sebastian has a meeting so I thought we could eat gelato and watch a show, but you’re busy.”
I stare at her.
She studies my face carefully, her eyes narrowing. “I interrupted something, didn’t I?”
“No.” I wave the notion away with a brush of my hand in the air. “Gage brought me home. We had some pizza.”
“You kissed him.” She mouths in silence.
I nod. “He was just leaving.”
“Oh my God,” she whispers. “You kissed him again.”
I hear Gage’s footsteps as he approaches us from behind. His hand darts past me, brushing my shoulder. “It’s good to meet you, Tilly.”
“It’s my pleasure, Gage.” She scoops his hand in hers.
“I’ll leave you two alone.”
Tilly jerks his hand closer to her. “You’re not going anywhere. I brought enough gelato for all of us. I’ll get the bowls and the spoons. You two have a seat. Right over there on the sofa; right next to each other.”
“Do you have condoms?” Tilly whispers to me as we load the bowls and spoons in the dishwasher.
“I have something better.” I toss my hair over my shoulder. “I have an annoying best friend. A well-meaning best friend, but she’s super annoying right now.”
A broad smile takes over her mouth. “I kept him here, didn’t I?”
“He should be at home,” I point out as I glance over to where Gage is still sitting on the sofa.
He’s spent the last hour listening to Tilly talk about all of the furry patients she took care of today.
His gaze kept catching on mine. Part of me was glad he stayed, but the other part wanted him gone so I could talk freely and openly with Tilly about what almost happened earlier.
I would have had sex with Gage if she hadn’t shown up.
I know it.
I have zero doubt about that.
“Think of it this way, Kate.” Tilly wraps an arm around my shoulder. “You got the kiss out of the way and it was a relief. Just imagine how much better you’ll feel once you fuck him.”
I shush her with a finger over her lips. “You did not just say that.”
She pushes my finger away. “The sexual tension in here almost melted the gelato. It’s hot, hot, hot.”
“It’s not,” I argue.
“Take him to bed with you.” She gestures down the hallway. “What harm can come from it?”
I’ll fall back in love with him.
I’m already halfway there; maybe more than halfway.
“You don’t want to get hurt.” She tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I know that’s holding you back, but you’re not the same girl he dumped. You’re a kick-ass woman who can handle her emotions.”
“Am I?” I question with a laugh.
“You’re attracted to him, aren’t you?”
I look over to where Gage is sitting. He’s thumbing through a bridal magazine that I brought home from work for research.
He’s gorgeous. The martinis are out of my system, and I still want him just as badly as I did when he walked into my apartment tonight.
“He’s good-looking.”
“So sleep with him.” She rolls her eyes. “I need to stop hanging out with Olivia. I’m starting to sound like her.”
I throw my head back in laughter. “Olivia told me to be careful with my heart.”
“I’m with her on that, but this is sex.” She turns us both so we’re facing Gage. “Maybe you’ll get into bed with him and it will be nothing like you remember. He could be a dud.”
There’s no way in hell that’s true. He’s the best lover I’ve ever had and even though I’m afraid to admit it, I crave his touch as desperately now as I did the first time we made love.
“Or maybe once you have sex you’ll realize he’s the man you’re destined to be with,” she says quietly. “You won’t know until you take the plunge so do it, Kate.”