“It probably wouldn’t hurt,” Sloane said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she settled on his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world to do and that was the problem.
Over the past two months, they’d become very close. He was one of her best friends and probably one of her favorite people on earth and
This was a very bad idea.
For seven years, she’d made sure that she didn’t cross any lines and now…
This was a definitely a bad idea, she reminded herself.
“I love the house,” Chase assured her as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I knew you would,” she said with a satisfied sigh that had his lips twitching as she settled more comfortably in his arms before she waved regally for him to bring her to her room.
“God, you’re spoiled,” he said, sighing heavily even as he released her so that he could roll them out of the room.
“You knew this,” Sloane pointed out, pulling her legs in closer as he navigated his way around the boxes blocking his path while she felt herself relax on his lap.
“True,” he murmured absently as she found herself thinking about that birthday kiss, something that she did probably more than she should.
Neither one of them had brought it up since it happened, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it, how much she liked being in his arms, and how good it felt when he moved his lips against hers only to remind herself that this couldn’t happen. Even knowing that didn’t stop her from wondering what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped kissing her. She wondered if she would have regretted it and that was the problem.
For the past seven years, her job had been her life. She hadn’t had time for anything more than a casual relationship and most of the time, she hadn’t even had time for that. She’d told herself that she would do this for ten years, save her money and get enough experience so that when the time came, she would finally be able to settle down at the program of her choice.
That meant making sacrifices, putting her life on hold and taking on jobs that she hated because they paid more, being an unwanted guest in someone else’s home, and taking the brunt of her patient’s anger so that when the time came, she would have choices and Chase…
Was a temptation.
He was also one of her best friends and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to risk losing him, but god, was she tempted to find out just how good it would feel to spend the night in his arms.
All too soon, they reached her bedroom door. With a sigh, Sloane kissed his cheek with a murmured, “Thanks for the ride,” climbed off his lap, and
“When are we going to stop playing this game, Sloane?” came the softly spoken words as she reached for the doorknob.
“I don’t know,” Sloane said as she glanced over her shoulder to find Chase watching her.
Nodding absently, he said, “Fair enough,” as he grabbed hold of his wheels and moved to push back only to ask, “Is it because I might never walk again?” as his jaw clenched, making her heart ache because she knew how much the question cost him.
“No, it’s because I don’t know if I can give you what you want,” Sloane said because she didn’t care if he could walk.
She wanted him, probably more than she’d ever wanted any other man, but she’d never been any good at this. She didn’t even know if she could handle something like this and she wasn’t sure that she was willing to risk what she had with him for something that might not last past the morning. She just wanted
“What if the only thing I want is what you can give me?”
Chapter 26
He should have kept his big fucking mouth shut, Chase told himself as he tossed his towel in the hamper and rolled into his room, wondering what had possessed him to push the issue.
Because he was a fucking idiot.
For the past two months, he’d been struggling to stop thinking about her, to stop wanting her, but with every passing day, he found himself wanting her more than he’d ever thought possible and now…
God, he’d fucked this up.
Why else would he risk pushing her away? Chase thought, sighing heavily as he rolled over to his bed and started the one-minute process of transitioning himself and