Page 67 of His Fake Fiancé

Chapter 20

Jake clung to Claire in a way that should probably be embarrassing, but he didn’t care. She continued to sweep her hand up and down his spine, the movement comforting, making him feel like she cared. He sighed, but still didn’t pull away.

“I’m so sorry, Jake,” she said, her voice thick. He felt her press a kiss to the top of his head. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head, just a small movement, because he refused to pull away from her. “No,” he said, the words muffled, but he knew she could hear them. “You have nothing to apologize for. I need to apologize to you.”

She moved her hands to his face, urged him to lift his head. He didn’t want to, but he also didn’t want to fight with her, either, so he did.

Her eyes were bright and shiny. Tears streaked her cheeks. Seeing her so sad made the ache in his chest flare brighter.

She wiped the tears off his cheeks with her thumbs. Even that touch was gentle, soft, sweet. Just like her. “What are you talking about?”

“For what I said to you. Last week.” Guilt burned in his gut like acid. “I was way out of line, and I’m so sorry.”

She shrugged and shook her head. “It’s okay.”

He reached up and grabbed her hands, pulling them away from his face and holding them. “Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Don’t say it’s fine. It’s not fine. I was an asshole and you didn’t deserve that. You wanted to have a serious conversation, wanted to talk about the concerns you were having, and I got all defensive and confrontational…” He gripped her hands tighter.

“I forgive you.” Her voice was soft, the corners of her mouth tilting up just the slightest bit.

Relief washed through him, the size of the wave unexpected. After everything else that had happened today, it left him light headed. He leaned against the back of the sofa, resting his head against it.

His entire body ached, and he felt weary all the way to the bottom of his blackened soul. Claire’s hands were still nestled in his. For some reason, she hadn’t pulled away. He lifted one to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.

Goosebumps chased themselves up her arms, before they disappeared under the pushed back sleeve of her dress. Her reactions to him never ceased to amaze him. He lifted her other hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. The same shivery, goosebumpy reaction.

She was so beautiful, both inside and out. There was no way in hell he deserved her, in any part of his life, but he was so fucking thankful she was in it. That she’d decided to stick around all these years.

“Can I ask you something?” She was still using that soft, low voice, almost as if she was afraid of speaking too loudly.

He leaned in. “Of course.” He kept his voice low too, afraid of breaking whatever spell they’d created.

“Why did you stop?” Her gaze flicked away from his. She swallowed, the long, graceful length of her throat moving. He couldn’t drag his gaze away. And clearly, his brain had short circuited, because he had no idea what she was talking about.

“Why did I stop what?” His voice had gained a roughness somewhere along the way.

She flicked her gaze back to him and licked her lips. A deep tug low in his belly had his cock thickening. Now he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her lush, wet, lips.

“Last week. After we got home from the bar. Why did you stop?” She trapped the corner of her lip between her teeth, and he swallowed back a groan.

She thought of that night as the night they got home from the bar. He thought of that night as the time Claire rode his thigh until she came. And she came so beautifully. He’d been using that night to fuel his fantasies, and to help take the edge off. His cock hardened behind the fly of his suit pants.

It was his turn to lick his lips, images of that night playing like a movie though his mind. Her gaze tracked the movement of his tongue, and she swallowed again. She was going to kill him.

“It was an emotional night,” he said, his voice lower and rougher than before. “And you couldn’t even say the words. I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. Of you.” He glanced away for a second, trying to get his thoughts lined up. “I didn’t want you to wake up in the morning and regret anything.”

He looked back at her, unsure of his feelings, her reaction. This could be considered dangerous territory, and he should put a stop to it now. He wasn’t so good with all this emotional stuff, but he knew they’d had a rough day, and if she was feeling anything close to what he was feeling, probably wasn’t in the right headspace to be making these sorts of decisions.

“What if I’m saying it now?” The words were almost a whisper, but there was no hesitancy or uncertainty in her voice. “What if I’m saying I want to sleep with you? You know, have sex.”

The words skimmed along his skin like a touch, sinking in and firing up his nerve endings. There was a part of him, deep down, that urged him to be cautious, at least take his time. But he pushed it aside. Both he and Claire were consenting adults, and if they wanted to lean on each other, take comfort in each other, then that was all that mattered.

He leaned forward even more, right into her space. He couldn’t help the way one side of his mouth quirked up at her choice of words. “Is that what you want, Claire? To sleep together? Or do you want me to fuck you until we’re both too tired to think?”