Page 50

I hear a big thump seconds before Silas marches into the bathroom, yanking the shower door open. “Clay? Clay as in my best friend Clay?”

“Yes, Clay, your friend. Are you getting in, or what? You’re letting all the steam out.” I shake my head and turn my back to him while washing my body quickly, then attack my hair.

“Why the fuck are you going out with Clay!? Right after we had sex!” His tone turns angry as I try to hide my amusement at his reaction.

“Because he asked me to go shopping with him.”

He gasps loudly. “ He asked you to go shopping with him !?” he says incredulously, like he can’t believe what he’s hearing.

His eyes are huge, and his mouth hangs open. This time I don’t hide it, I let the giggles slip as I wring out my hair, sidestepping him and exiting the shower to towel off quickly. When I turn my gaze on him, my giggles turn to a full laugh.

He’s just standing there in the opening of the shower, staring at me like I’ve lost my mind. I look away and walk out of the bathroom and into the walk-in. I hear him following me, and when I see him, he’s fully nude, standing beside me with his hands on his hips.

“This isn’t funny, Cecilia!”

“Oh, but it is.” I slip on a simple white tee with tight jeans and my white sneakers. The weather is still warm this early in September, but I know the cold will be settling in soon. I take a little zip-up sweater with me, just in case.

“You’re wearing that!?”

“What’s wrong with it?” I look down at my outfit.

“It’s too sexy!”

My phone rings. I go back into the room to grab it, sidestepping around Silas, who keeps standing in my way. It’s from Clay, telling me he’s outside. “Silas, you’re being ridiculous. It’s a shirt and pants. Nothing sexy.”

He exits the walk-in, pulling on a pair of sweats, and rushes after me as I leave the room to head down the stairs.

“Everything about you is sexy!” he shouts behind me.

I grab my purse by the door and turn, rising up on my toes as I grab the back of his head to lower him for a kiss. “Thank you, baby. Same for you.”

I try to leave, but he grabs onto my wrist. “Wait, you can’t just... leave me like this. No, you can’t go.” He stomps his foot like a stubborn child.

“Silas, let go. Clay is waiting outside. You’re being childish.”

I tug on my hand, forcing him to let go, then open the front door and begin down the steps.

“Fine! Go spend the day with your new best friend! I’ll enjoy my day alone! Without you!” he yells from behind me, and I laugh once more as I reach Clay’s SUV. Pulling the door open, I turn to Silas before stepping in.

“I love you!” I call out.

“Yeah, you’re lucky I love you back!”

“I know,” I say with a smile and step into the car.

Clay bends forward, looking at Silas who stands on the steps by the front door and waves to him. Silas, being his grumpy self this morning, gives him the finger in return.

I close the door, as Clay laughs beside me. “I take it he’s mad?” He nods in the direction of Silas, who’s still standing there, legs spread and arms folded over his chest, glaring at us.

“Oh, he’s furious.” I chuckle.

“Did you tell him we’re going shopping for a gift for Morgan?”

“Nope,” I say, popping the ‘P’.

He throws his head back against the headrest and guffaws loudly. He then puts his arm over my shoulders and pulls me to him, kissing my temple once. “You’re evil, C. I love it.”

A few hours later, we’re on our way back to my place. And as much as I love spending time with Clay, I can’t wait to be back with my husband. Clay and I have formed a bond ever since we met, and it’s only grown with time. He’s like the brother I never had, and I know I can rely on him for anything.

At first, I was worried how Morgan would feel about the friendship we’ve made, but she seems completely unbothered by it. Even when he decides I’m in need of affection and wraps me in his arms or kisses my head. Like I don’t get enough from my own man .

Silas, on the other hand, always scowls when Clay becomes too touchy with me. I think Silas is just a little possessive of me. He knows his friend would never do anything inappropriate, and sometimes I get the feeling Clay does it on purpose just to rile him up.

We arrive at the house at the same time as everyone else that I invited over for dinner. Greyson parks beside Clay’s SUV, with Emma in the passenger seat, Morgan and Aubrey in the back. Behind them, Noah arrives in his car with Gabe.

We make our way up to the front door, chitchatting and catching up while I open the door and head in first. I stop short the minute I reach the living room, my eyes growing twice their size as I survey the surroundings.

Silas sits in the middle of the couch, a towel wrapped around his head, wearing a bathrobe, and appears to be naked underneath.

In one hand, he has a glass of red wine, and the other rests in a bowl filled with oil for his nails, while his feet soak in a footbath.

A green paste lies all over his face as he stares at the TV, where ‘ Breakfast at Tiffany’s ’ plays loudly, with Milo sleeping on his lap.

What in the hell did I just walk in on? He clearly didn’t hear us or see us come in, because he hasn’t moved an inch. The rest of the gang finally joins me, and they all stop in their tracks. Some are holding in a giggle, while others are staring with their jaws wide open.

“Umm... honey?”

Silas’s eyes snap away from the movie and over to me as he stands from the couch abruptly, spilling a bit of his wine over the rim, the bowl filled with oil falling to the floor. He grabs the towel on his head and throws it away, then reaches for the remote, turning off the TV.

“Nothing,” he whispers with wide eyes before I’ve even asked my question.

“What are you doing?” I ask tentatively.

He clears his throat, tightening the belt of his bathrobe. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“You sure about that?” I say, trying to control my emotions as everyone quietly snickers.

“Yup. Just… watching a movie, you know.”

He steps out of the foot bath and puts down his wine glass on the table, then grabs the towel he discarded and begins to clean up the spilled oil. He’s trying to play it cool, but it’s just making the situation even funnier.

“Really? Because it doesn’t look like nothing to me,” Greyson says.

“Yeah, looks like big boy over here was having a little pampering session,” Emma adds in with a giggle .

“Is this what you do every time you’re home alone? Dude, that’s fucking weird.” Gabe breaks into a fit of laughter.

“Oh, come on, guys. There’s nothing wrong with a man having his little beauty moments,” Clay says, putting his fist to his mouth as he tries to keep his laugh in, which earns him a slap to the chest from his wife.

Silas stands to his full height and faces us with his hands on his hips.

“Okay, fine! Yes, I was having a spa day since my wife left me for my best friend.” He raises his hand to the women in the group.

“You girls are always having your home spa days, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. By the way, I feel amazing . You should all try it before judging me.”

He picks up his wine glass and goes around the couch in his too-short robe, walking away toward the stairs. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to remove this mask and put some clothes on.”

“Silas! I didn’t leave you for your friend. We went shopping, stop being dramatic!” I say loudly as he continues to leave.

“You left me alone!” He marches up the steps and disappears from view, then calls out, “Why don’t you guys make yourselves useful and clean up!”

I silently turn back to my friends as we gaze from one to the other before all losing any sense of composure and cracking up loudly.

“Jesus, this man. I don’t know how you deal with him. I need a drink,” Emma says while she pats me on the shoulder and heads for the wine cellar.

Twenty minutes later, the living room has been cleaned up properly, and the boys have settled on the couch to play some NHL on the Xbox. Morgan, Emma, Aubrey, and I are in the kitchen, getting dinner ready for the gang.

Silas hasn’t reappeared yet. I think he may be hiding out a bit, hoping if he waits long enough, we’ll have forgotten what we walked in on. I’m still confused about the movie choice. It’s a great movie, but not one I’d ever thought Silas would watch.

Just as we finish plating all the food, Milo comes trotting down the stairs, followed by Silas. He aims straight for me, the look on his face is filled with determination. I’m just not sure of what.

He walks right up to me, grabs me by the throat, and pushes my back into the fridge with a little more force than necessary. All I have time to do is gasp as he lowers and ravages my mouth, barely giving me time to breathe. Finally, he pulls away just enough to look into my wide and confused eyes.

He growls like a feral beast and says in a gruff voice, “Mine.” The single word is so deep, I feel its vibrations throughout my body.

He takes a step back, his hand dropping from my throat. Then he takes me by the waist and lifts me, only to put me back down a few steps to the side. He opens the fridge, grabs himself a beer, then leans over the kitchen island like nothing just happened.

My hand comes to my throat to rub where his touch used to be, still panting from the experience.

It’s not the first time Silas has grabbed me by the throat, but this one felt more intense.

Like he was trying to get a message through, and I’m guessing the message had something to do with me leaving this morning.

The girls are all staring with wide eyes between Silas and me, neither of us saying a word.

“What just happened?” Morgan finally speaks up, blinking a few times.

“I don’t know, but that was hot as hell. I swear my panties incinerated. Wooh,” Em says, fanning herself. “Why can’t Tommy do things like that to me? What about you, baby Brey? Got a man who chokes you up?” She turns her attention to a poor Aubrey who’s turning as red as a tomato.