AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Twenty-Six
“Rona! Wake up! Rona!”
I groaned and rolled over. Who was pounding on my bedroom door? My sleep-addled brain couldn’t place the voice even though whoever he was, he knew my name.
Suddenly, my hands came in contact with a very firm, and very hot, surface. A surface that felt an awful lot like a muscular chest. A bare one.
And then something just as hot and firm brushed against my thigh, and I realized I was naked too.
My eyes flew open as a pair of strong arms wrapped around me, and I found myself staring into a pair of beautiful and familiar eyes. He smiled, and those eyes sparkled, little crinkles appearing at the corners.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
His sleep-roughened voice sent a wave of heat washing over my skin and pooling between my legs.
“Rona!” Another series of knocks, just as impatient as the voice sounded.
“Are you going to tell your brother you’re awake, or do you want me to?”
My heart gave an unsteady thump. “My brother?”
The wrongness of the situation hit me all at once. Where was I? Why was he in my bed? And why did he think I had a brother?
“I could tell Freddie that we decided it would be a good idea for me to sneak out of the guest room because you thought it’d be hot to have sex in your childhood bedroom, but I’d really like for your dad not to kill me.”
I gave him a sharp look, but the only humor on his face was good-natured. He was really joking about my father killing him.
What the hell was going on here?
I looked around. Yes, this did look like my old bedroom, but it also looked a little more…mature. More like the room of a teenager heading off to college rather than a girl on the brink of adolescence.
Even as I took in the details, the full impact of what he said hit me. “Wait, are you saying my dad’s here?” A bright flare of panic shot through me as I sat up, barely catching the sheet against my breasts.
“Of course he’s here.” He sat up too, a puzzled expression on his face. “Rona, are you okay?”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. I shouldn’t be here. This isn’t right. I live in Colorado. I don’t have any family. You shouldn’t be here. I’m with Jalen. Where’s Jalen?”
Clay’s expression was concerned as he put his hand on my shoulder, but he tried to make his tone light. “Should I be worried that you’re asking about another man hours before our wedding?”
“Our what?” The words came out as a whisper instead of the shout I’d intended.
Clay opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He looked like he thought he was talking but all I heard was muffled voices growing louder. Yelling. Pulling me toward them. Faster and faster until…
“You need to answer my question about what the fuck you’re doing here!”
“That’s none of your damn business.” Clay’s voice was lower, but still loud enough for me to hear what he was saying. “You need to leave before you wake her up.”
The bitter laugh that came next was enough to get me out of bed. I stepped into the living room just as Jalen started talking again.
“Weren’t you able to wear her out enough last night that she’ll sleep right through this?”
“What’s going on here?” I didn’t raise my voice, but both men turned toward me.
Clay wore a pair of jeans I assumed he’d gotten from the emergency travel pack he kept in his car, but he hadn’t put on a shirt or shoes. With a towel over his shoulder and a spatula in hand, he definitely looked comfortable in my apartment.
Jalen looked rumpled, as if he hadn’t slept well in a while. He was carrying a box of donuts and a bouquet of assorted flowers, both of which suggested he’d come here to talk about our argument the other night.
“I don’t think I’m the one who needs to offer an explanation,” Jalen said. “I wanted to apologize for getting upset the other night, but instead of you answering the door, he does, dressed like that and telling me that you’re ‘still in bed.’”
