Page 57 of After You Returned

She fists her hands at her hips. I’m tongue-tied for a moment at the vision. Her red hair is up in a messy bun, showing off her long, elegant neck, which I enjoy licking and biting. Her pink, pouty lips stand out against her porcelain skin. And her green eyes flash at me.

She looks good enough to eat. Which I won’t be doing anytime soon.

“Go ahead. Tell me your condition.”

“No sex.”

She blinks several times before cleaning out her ears. “Sorry. I must have some water stuck in my ears. I think I misheard you.”

“I said no sex.”

“Okay. My ears aren’t clogged. I’m hallucinating. Creepy crawlers in the sea. I hope I wasn’t stung by a jellyfish and now I’m having some kind of psychotic episode.”

I chuckle. “You didn’t get stung by a jellyfish. And I’m pretty sure jellyfish stings don’t cause psychotic episodes.”

She grasps her chest. “There’s only one explanation left. I’m dead. I’ve been mauled by a shark. I knew it! I always knew I’d die from a shark bite. I am haunting you until the day you die.”

“You didn’t get mauled by a shark. You wouldn’t go out in water deeper than a foot.”

She slaps a hand on my chest and I capture it. “Sharks can swim in water less than a foot deep. I know this! I’ve researched it.”

“In which case, you also know sharks are most likely to attack in water ten to thirty feet deep.”

“Why are we debating water depth when I’ve been killed? This is insane.”

I place her hand over my heart. “You haven’t been killed. Do you feel my heartbeat?”

She nods. “Yes.”

“If you’d been killed, my heart would stop beating.”

“Either I’m the sexiest ghost in the worldor—”

“You’re not dead.”

“Or you’re still the most charming man in the world.”

“Ding. Ding. Ding. Correct answer.”

She giggles. “Okay. I haven’t been stung by a jellyfish or attacked by a shark. And yet I’m still pretty certain I heard you say you don’t want to have sex.”

“Wrong. I want to have sex. I want to have sex with you every second of the day. I can barely keep my hands off you now. You’re wearing my sweatshirt and it never looked this sexy on me. I want to throw you over my shoulder and whisk you away.”

Her green eyes darken until they’re nearly black. “I-I-I’m confused.”

“I want to have sex, but I don’t think we should.”

“You’re serious?”

“I want to show you there’s more to us than our red-hot chemistry. Do I dream about sex with you? Yes. Do I jerk off to thoughts of you? Every-damn-time.”

She gasps and I use my finger to lift her chin to shut her mouth.

“You’re it for me, Blaze. The entire package. Not just awesome sex but companionship as well. You make me laugh. You make me feel lighter when my mind is dark. I can tell you anything and you won’t judge me. You were once my best friend. I want to be your best friend again.”

“You want to be my best friend?”

“Keep up. I want to be your best friend, your lover, your everything.”