Page 99 of Stay With Me

She adjusted the skirt and briefly glanced at her reflection to fix her hair and fan away the flush of her cheeks induced by the thought of having been so close to something she wanted so much.Honestly, she’d pretty much put it out of her mind since the accident, but those few heated moments only reminded her of how much she missed and longed for the sensual thrill of not only wanting someone, but also being wanted by someone. How much she wanted that someone to be Nick.

And suddenly, her sister’s insistent suggestion that she havethetalk with him seemed like a good idea. They’d literally been moments from having sex. Surely he still saw her as more than a friend.

I need you, Sammie,she mentally recalled his words. Nobody says they need someone if they don’t have feelings of some kind, right?

She bit her lip.

Or maybe he just needed sex. He was, after all, completely frustrated in every way by the current state of his life.

She groaned silently. “Ugghh.”

Why were things like this so complicated? And why did it have to scare the heck out of her?

There was one answer to both questions.

She was afraid. That was the truth.

In spite of the whole near death experience thing,Jenna was right. It was the perfect situation. Nick still felt like the perfect guy for her. So perfect that he seemed too good to be true sometimes. And even though there was literally zero evidence to the contrary, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something would happen.

She lifted one eyebrow at her reflection and cocked her head to the side.

Somethingdidhappen, you nut. You both nearlydied.

Wasn’t that bad enough?

That had to be all it was.

Surely, that’s all it was.

So she took a deep breath and mentally scrolled through the words she’d use to broach the subject and havethetalk with him.

She stepped back into the bedroom and picked up a deck of cards and a small jar of change off the dresser.

“Do you want your shirt?”

He shook his head.

She stepped around to the opposite side of the bed and sat next to his less-injured leg, making a big show of shuffling the cards and dividing the change equally between the two of them.

“Well,” she began, switching tactics in her efforts to cheer him up. “You know what’s even better than sex?”

“Ha. Nothing.”

“Wrong,” she countered, putting on a sassy tone. “Texas Hold‘em. Especially when I beat you,suckah.”

He laughed. “Please. I think I’m eight and three at this point against you.”

She shook her head assertively as she began dealing the cards.

“Not today,babe,”she teased. “I watched one of those poker championships on TV last night, and I learned all the tricks.”

He laughed again as he picked up his hand. “All it takes is watching one poker game and suddenly you’re an expert?”

“Exactly.” She tapped her temple a couple of times. “I’ve got a brain like a sponge. Pretty sure I’ve got some kind of photographic memory so you’re going down.”

He grinned. “We’ll see about that.”

She winked at him, then looked at her cards. Two of hearts, seven of clubs. She laughed at herself. He would be nine and three within a matter of minutes, but hopefully he’d also be feeling better.