don’t want to start anything that’s going to make either of us uncomfortable afterward.”
“Why would it make us uncomfortable?” I frowned at him, a little frustrated he was making this more complicated than it needed to be.
“We’re both adults here.” I fisted his shirt. “What harm can it do if I experiment a little? We just need to establish some ground rules first.”
“We need to think about this.” August dropped his hands. “Too much has happened today for us to have a rational conversation about it.”
I placed my hands on August’s chest and rubbed along his hard muscles. His body was different than anyone else I’d been with. “We don’t need a conversation to continue doing what we were doing.”
August captured my hands in his, and the rejection stung, even when he brought my hands up to his mouth and kissed the back of them.
“Conversation is important to me before we do anything. I’m not in the frame of mind to explain tonight, but have dinner with me tomorrow.”
His mixed signals confused me. I wasn’t used to people turning me down for sex, and I wanted to walk away from him. I could find another man who wanted me. It would be his loss.
But August was the one I wanted. I needed to expel him from my system, not some random stranger.
“I can’t do dinner tomorrow. Maybe Saturday night?”
I needed some time to think, and a couple of days should do the trick to find out where I stood.
“Saturday is good.” He smiled at me, squeezed and released my hands. “It’ll give me enough time to shake this funk. Then we can properly talk about what this means, about what’s going on between us.”
I barely refrained from blurting out that whatever it was, it was doomed from the beginning. I could imagine Declan’s and Owen’s reactions if we were to tell them we slept together. I didn’t know Owen enough to be certain how he would react, but Declan would be livid.
I didn’t exactly have the best track record when it came to my love life. Maybe that was good enough reason for me to walk away now before things got even worse. But I couldn’t, not without knowing how it could be with August. August had opened up a whole new world for me.
“All right, Saturday it is. Now I really should go.”
Before I did something really stupid. Like committing to more than just a couple of days at best in his bed. With a baby on the way and a wife, with a possible messy divorce to follow, I didn’t see anything serious happening between August and myself.
It wasn’t just the wrong time either. He was the wrong guy, but everyone knew the wrong people made the best kind of sex. From the little demonstration just now, we were explosive together.
I had two days to convince him that a short-term affair with him would be ideal. I’d had lovers who were still friends. This could bring us even closer together as friends. That would have to be enough.
Chapter 14
Auggie
I’ll be there at five thirty.
Charles’s voicemail rolled over in my mind as I grabbed my brush and ran it through my hair one final time. Earlier I’d gone to the salon for a neat trim, taking this date more seriously than I probably should.
The past couple of days should’ve given me enough time to come to my senses. Charles and I could never be anything but relatives through marriage. Even if we did satisfy our curiosity, it would only be temporary, and the last thing I needed was to leave this awkward between us if that happened.
I’d never been interested in short-term engagements, but I was about to make an exception for Charles.
I picked up my phone from the dresser, scanned my fingerprint to unlock the screen, and found the messages Charles and I had exchanged over the past two days. He never sent text messages, and I had followed suit to respond to him through voicemail as well.
I pressed Play, and all the messages played one right after the other.
Me: Good morning, Charles. I enjoyed having you over last night. Feel free to stop by again anytime you want.
Charles: Me too.
I hadn’t imposed with any more messages, since he’d asked for some time to think. About what? There was really nothing to think about. This shouldn’t happen. Not this date. Not the intense sexual attraction. Sure as hell not that kiss.