Page 110 of Face Off With Fate

“You’re fucking everything, Graciella. You’re mine.”

And in that moment, with the aftershocks still rippling through me, I let myself think that could be true.

There was something impossibly warm beneath my cheek. I groaned, trying to shake off the last tendrils of sleep.

“You snore in your sleep, you know.”

I froze at the sound of Monroe’s voice. Memories of last night came whirling back. His mouth. His fingers. His cock.

Heat pooled between my legs, bringing my attention to the fact that I had one slung over his body, resting on something very hard.

“Good morning,” he said against my shoulder, pressing it with a kiss.

The warmth that looped through me at that had nothing to do with sexual attraction, and that realization was like a bucket of ice water.

“Morning.” I tried to sound normal, like I wasn’t having a complete breakdown at the fact that not only had we had sex, but we’d slept together. Again.

I tried to push off and slide out of bed, but he clamped an arm over me, holding me to his chest.

“Oh, no you don’t.”

“Oh, no I don’t what?” I asked, regretting peeking up at him through my lashes. He was just as good looking first thing in the morning. Messy hair, slightly puffy eyes that were crinkled in the corners, and the most devastatingly handsome smile.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Lazily, he trailed the tips of his fingers up my leg. “I see it written all over that gorgeous face of yours. You’re tryin’ to run, but you’re not going anywhere today. Your cute ass is stayin’ in my shirt and in my house.”

Alarm bells blared. That was not detachment.

Hell, I was tangled up in the sheets of the one man I should have never gotten involved with. The one who made my heart beat a little too fast by just being around him.

“Monroe.” I sat up. “I have to get home. Isn’t Goldie going to be coming home soon? Do you really want me to be here when she’s dropped off?”

I was desperate, grasping at the one string I was sure would convince him to let me go. I slid from the bed, missing his warmth the moment my feet touched the hardwood.

“That’s the way you’re going to play this, Trouble?”

Monroe trailed his eyes over me, corner of his mouth tugged up into a smile. The protective barrier around my heart went into overdrive, trying to dodge the feelings threatening to take hold.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I played dumb, tugging on my shorts, keeping his shirt on. “This was fun. And now that we’ve gotten it out of our system, we can go back to working together like normal.”

It sounded like bullshit, even to me.

Monroe let out a hum, studying me as I moved around his room, collecting my things. I hated it. It felt too observant, like he could tell I was trying to erase my existence from his space. Like he knew I liked seeing my things mixed with his a little too much.

Like he could see through my carefully curated facade to the truth that lay beneath. The truth I wasn’t ready to acknowledge.

“I’ll text you about work stuff later,” I called over my shoulder, eyes glued to the floor. My gut was a mess of contradicting feelings I couldn’t begin to make sense of.

“Graciella.”

I stopped in my tracks at the command in his voice, my back going ramrod straight. His hands gripped my shoulders, and I melted back into him. The opposite of what I was supposed to be doing.

“You’re getting your cute ass back into that bed. Because this isn’t over with. We aren’t over with.” His tone brooked no argument.

I turned in his arms, searching his face. “How could this ever even work, Monroe? It’s better if we just cut this off now.” I extended my hand. “Friends?”

He pushed my hand away and then slapped my ass. “No, Graciella, we can’t be friends. You literally tasted yourself on my fingers before I filled you with my cum, and you think I want to be your friend?”

My pussy throbbed at his crass words as he walked me backward.