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Locked away.

Sliding my hand over his chest, I kissed his bare skin. The drugs had eased my pain, not my want for him. We hadn’t had sex in three weeks.

He was here, in my bed. That was dangerous. Risky. Hot.

Was it wrong that I wanted to savor these secret moments for a few more days? Probably. Yes. No.

My pulse quickened, and my body took on a mind of its own. I kissed my way up his throat, licked his neck, nibbled his ear.

“Tia?” he moaned, then chuckled softly. “I thought you wanted a cuddle.”

“I changed my mind. I’ve missed you.”

“We can’t.” He raised his shoulder, blocking my lips’ access to his neck. “Your brother’s across the hallway.”

“We’ll just have to be super quiet.” I dipped my hand into his boxers and rubbed his rock-hard cock. I loved that my kisses and touch turned him on.

A low growl rumbled deep in his throat. “You’ll be the death of me.” He rolled me onto my back, eased my boyleg panties off, yanked off his pajamas, and made hot, dreamy love to me.

The day certainly ended on a better note than how it’d started.

Sleepy and relaxed after a blissful orgasm, I curled against his chest. I kissed his pec, my head too heavy to lift any higher. “Lew, you better go.”

“Yeah.” His voice sounded faint. Distant. The soft trails of his fingers down my back had stopped.

Shit. I had to shake him awake. He had to go back to his room. But my arms had turned to lead. His heartbeat was like a soft lullaby against my ear.

I was unable to stay awake. My eyes fluttered shut.

Chapter 31

LEWIS

“Lewis. Wake up?”

“Ow!” Why was I being poked in the arm?

Blinking, I struggled to open my eyes. Two electric greens greeted me, but they weren’t full of morning sunshine or sexy happiness. Sheer terror and hurt shimmered in their depths. A chill shot through my veins. Oh, shit! I was still in Tia’s room. The digital clock on the nightstand blinked 5:12 a.m. Fuck. Cole would be heading out for his run soon. He’d check on Tia after her fall yesterday. I had to get out of there. But before I could untangle my naked body from the sheets and roll out of bed, Tia shoved my cell phone into my face. “What the fuck is this?”

“What’s what?” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, then focused on the fine print. My heart stilled. Every ounce of blood in my body drained into my toes. Another messagefrom Emilio lit the lock screen.

lew, we can do this.

we belong together. call me.

love you, em.

What the fuck? My head throbbed. He had to stop texting.

“What’s going on?” Sitting facing me, Tia clutched the quilt across her bare chest. “Have you been lying to me?”

I glanced toward the door. Shit. We had to be quiet. This wasn’t good.

“No.” I sat upright and wiped my hand over my face to make sure I wasn’t in the middle of a nightmare.

“Why is he texting?” The razor-sharp edge in her harsh whisper could cut diamonds. “You said it was over.”

“It is.”