was better than I ever imagined."
Duncan nods. “It was…better than I could have imagined and let me say, my imagination was working overtime." He runs a finger along my jawline. "But the reality fucking blew it out of the water."
I fight the need to incline to his touch. "I can't help but wonder if it would be easier if we stick with our original plan. Now that the weekend is over, we go back to the way it was."
He moves so close that if I inhale, my breasts will press against his hard chest. I look up to the sea of emerald green.
"The way it was?" He asks as the tips of his fingers brush my arms, so soft I wonder if we touched at all. "Before I could touch you..." His face tips to the side, his warm cinnamon breath blows across my cheek, and then his firm lips skirt across mine. "Before I could kiss you?"
My insides tighten as my eyes flutter. "D-Duncan..."
"Before we used first names, Miss Jones." He leans back. "Tell me. Is that what you want?"
"Yes...no," I admit, closing the distance once again until my breasts push against his chest.
This time his hand wraps in my hair as the kiss deepens, his tongue adding flavor and our bodies melding together. "I don't either," Duncan admits.
"Fuck," I sigh.
He stands, pulling my hand until I’m upright and begins to tug me toward the hallway.
"Wait! What are you doing?"
His grin grows. "We need to get to my place. After all, you just said you want to fuck?"
"No." I slap his shoulder. "That wasn't a verb or a request. It was...it was just...fuck. My mind is telling me to stop this now."
"Because stopping it would be easiest?"
"Yes."
"Miss Jones, I recall someone telling me that easiest isn't always best. I took that advice when I accepted the opportunity you presented to me to attend Scarlett's wedding." He caresses my cheek. "Getting to here...to now...to there being any kind of us. None of that was easy. But, oh, beautiful, it has been worth it."
"I don't want to get hurt," I admit, afraid I'm sounding like the needy kind of woman he distances himself from.
He takes both my hands in his, lifts them to his full lips and kisses my knuckles. "Kimbra, the last thing I want to do is to hurt you. I don't want to be hurt either. That's why I was honest about what I can and can't do. I can make limited promises and do my best not to let you down.
"On Thursday, I said that I couldn't guarantee the future, but I could be the best damn boyfriend you ever had for the weekend. Tell me, did I come close?"
"Yes."
"Close?" he asks. "Or are you saying yes to coming?"
I shake my head. "The thing is you're right. I think it was being home. Scarlett's wedding. Kevin and Susan's announcement."
"What announcement?"
My cheeks rise as my eyes radiate my genuine excitement. "They're pregnant."
"That's fantastic. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Kevin told me at the wedding. He said not to tell. Besides, I didn't figure you'd care. The weekend..."
"Stop," Duncan says. "I told you that I care about you. Your family, no matter how crazy or fun they are, are part of you. I care.
"I tell you what," he adds. "Let's make a new deal?"
"What kind of deal?" I ask apprehensively.
"No more qualifiers. Not a weekend or a week. Not a month or even a year. Miss Jones, I promise to be the best boyfriend you've ever had until I'm not anymore."
How can I turn down such an honest offer?
"Oh," he adds. "And I promise to make you come more than any other boyfriend."
"You've already achieved that status." I say sheepishly.
He lifts my chin. “Damn, I love to watch you blush." Before I can reply, he adds, "Would you like to know something you've achieved on my end?"
I'm not sure I can handle the answer.
"If you want to tell me."
"Despite the rumors you've heard, I don't sleep with women."
I'm taken aback. "What? Men?"
Duncan's laugh fills my apartment, forgetful of Shana down the hall. "No. I'm being literal. I have sex, protected. I hook up. I don't sleep. Rarely has anyone come to my place. Even if she does, I have her driven home, drive her home, or call her a cab. If we end up at her place or a hotel, I leave. There have been one or two drunken nights that I can't totally account for, but sleeping...four nights in