Finally Us (Next Generation #5) - J.M. Walker Page 0,28

face.

His dark eyes stared back at me, waiting, hoping for an answer that wouldn’t break either of our hearts.

“No,” I finally said.

His shoulders slumped like that one word held so much weight all by itself.

“Then talk to me.” His thumb brushed along my hip bone. “I feel like you regret something. Was I too rough? Not rough enough? You gotta give me something here, Queenie.”

“No.” I inhaled a sharp breath and leaned against my dresser. Even though we were both naked, his cock was flaccid and nothing sexual slid between us. This was more than just sex. There had always been an air about Vince that was intense. I had never seen him look at another woman. I had some hot friends, but he only ever looked at me.

“What do you want out of this?” I finally asked him.

He tilted his head, his eyes searching my face. “The same thing you do, baby, but I’m willing to wait until you’re ready.”

Would I ever be ready?

“Is this the age thing?”

“No.” I shook my head for added effect. “Not at all. I just…” Could I tell him that he had broken my heart? It had been lame, and I shouldn’t have cared so much but the night we spent together, meant something to me and I thought it meant something to him too.

“You’re freaking me out, Gigi.” Vince stepped away, running a hand over the back of his neck. “I don’t know what I did.”

“Please don’t.” I went to him and before he could protest, I wrapped my arms around his hard middle. “I don’t know what’s going on but I just…I need this. I need you. I always need you.”

“Alright, Queenie.” He returned the embrace, wrapping me up in his arms. “I’ll be patient and wait for you to tell me when you’re ready.” He crouched until we were at eye level. “Okay?”

I nodded, cupping his handsome face. “Okay.”

“Good.” He stepped away from me and held out his hand. “Let’s grab a drink and watch a movie.”

“Shouldn’t we get dressed?”

His eyes roamed down the length of me. “Yeah. As much as I don’t want you to, I know people just randomly walk into your house.”

“Well…” I went to the dresser, bent over and started rummaging for pajamas from the bottom drawer. “I guess you’ll have to bring me to your apartment, and then I can be naked as much as you want.”

He groaned. “Fucking hell.”

I laughed lightly, thankful that the weight of our conversation had lifted some. I was also thankful that Vince had patience because I wasn’t sure if either of us were ready for that conversation. Even though I wasn’t exactly sure what all needed to be said or how it would go, I just wanted to enjoy his company. It was why I hadn’t said anything for so long. I had hoped that I would just get over it but when you love someone and they hurt you, it’s almost impossible.

While Vince got dressed, I did the same. “Vince?”

His head shot up. “Yeah?”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He did up his jeans and came toward me. Pinching my chin, he placed a soft peck on my mouth. “Whatever is going on in that beautiful head of yours, I’m not going anywhere, Queenie. No matter how much you push me away, I’ll always be here.”

***

It was the day before Vince’s birthday party and as much as I was trying to distract myself from thoughts of him, nothing worked. His words bounced around in my head. How he wasn’t going anywhere no matter how much I pushed him away. God, could he be serious? Did he want more out of this than just sex? I wasn’t sure but what I did know was that I enjoyed his company. That was nothing new but now that we’d had sex again, things changed. Quickly. He slept over a few nights ago, after finally doing what we both wanted, but we didn’t have sex again. He had the patience of a damn saint because I knew that I sure as hell didn’t.

Letting out a hard sigh, I pulled into the parking lot of The Dove Project and put my car into park. Hopefully getting some work done would help distract me from thoughts of the man who constantly invaded my dreams and every inch of my body. But I knew no matter what had happened previously between us, it would be nothing like what was coming. I had no idea how I knew, but I