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"How was your dinner?" she asked, her voice soft as she leaned her head back against my shoulder.
"Enlightening," I replied, my fingers tracing lazy patterns on her wet skin. I filled her in on my brother's situation, the story tumbling out of me. "Michael is still in love with Morgan."
Erika hesitated before speaking, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "You're not to say anything with what I'm about to tell you. Promise me."
"What is it?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.
"Morgan still loves Michael."
It was like a punch to the gut. My brother had told me several times how devastated he was that Morgan wouldn’t end her engagement.
"She does?" I leaned in, the surprise evident in my voice.
"Yes, but there's nothing she can do about it. She's marrying Slade."
"But she can break it off," I insisted, the thought of my brother losing Morgan gnawing at me.
"Don't be ridiculous. The wedding is in less than three months," she said, her tone firm but laced with sadness.
"So? She can end it," I argued, the idea of my brother being denied his happiness feeling unjust.
"She can't, and I don't want this to be a wedge between us." Erika's voice softened as she spoke, the weight of her words settling over us.
I bent down and pressed a kiss to her exposed neck, murmuring against her skin, "It won't be."
"You can't hate her," she warned, her tone serious.
"I don't hate her," I assured her, trailing my lips up to her ear. "It just saddens me that my brother can't have her."
I slid my hands over her soapy skin and felt her shudder against me. I liked that I could do this to her.
"It's just the way it is," she whispered, her breath hitching as I nibbled gently at the sensitive skin near her earlobe. "Sometimes you can't have what you want."
"Does that go for me too?" I asked, the question hanging heavy in the air.
"Why would you think that?" she countered, turning slightly to face me.
"You're playing hard to get."
"You have me," she said softly. "Am I dating anyone else?"
"I certainly hope not," I murmured, moving my mouth to her diamond-studded earlobe, my lips closing around it as I nibbled at the tender skin.
"I like that," she whispered, her voice tinged with pleasure.
I trailed my kisses down her neck to her shoulder, my lips grazing her damp skin as I whispered the words I'd been holding back. "I love you."
Erika tensed beneath my touch, her body going rigid. "Dammit, Elliott, you can’t."
"I do," I insisted, pulling back slightly to look at her. "I'm sorry if that scares you, but it scares the shit out of me too. All my playing around the past few years without a connection, and now this…"
"Why did you have to say it?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Because I couldn’t hold it in any longer."
"I wish you did," she said, pulling herself up, her movements jerky and full of tension.
But I wasn’t about to let her slip away so easily. I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her close, refusing to let her retreat. "No. We should talk about this. Why does it bother you so much?"
