Page 128 of The Sweetest Return

All that dark skin, muscle, white terry cloth, and cold white fire looked like The Nocturne had decided to test my relationship with God.

His gaze dropped to my legs.

The robe had fallen open enough to show more thigh than I meant to give him.

Or maybe exactly as much as I meant to give him.

His eyes came back to mine.

Neither of us said a word.

We ate on the couch with Reasonable Doubt playing low and the city glowing beyond the glass. The food was too good for the little bit of attention I gave it. Dre sat close enough that his thigh brushed mine every time one of us moved, and each touch made the robe feel thinner.

We talked because we had to put our mouths somewhere safe.

The distraction did not last. His knee near mine. My pussy bare beneath the robe. His eyes dropping to the knot at my waist like he knew exactly what I had decided before I ever came out of the bathroom.

At some point, the robe loosened across my chest.

Dre took my empty plate from my lap and set it beside his on the table.

The suite went quiet around us.

Maybe he moved.

Maybe I did.

I had no interest in investigating.

His hand came to the knot of my robe, not touching it yet, just resting there like a question.

“You know we can stop here, right?”

My pulse stumbled.

“I know.”

“I mean it, Mani.”

“I know you do.”

He looked hungry enough to make a woman lose her vocabulary, but he was still giving me the room he had promised. Still making sure I understood I could walk away with my robe, my panties, and whatever was left of my pride.

Instead, I covered his hand with mine.

“Untie it.”

His jaw tightened.

The robe loosened around me, heavy fabric parting inch by inch until cool air touched my skin.

Dre’s eyes followed it.

My throat. The tops of my breasts. The place over my heart where his name still lived inside that infinity symbol. The curve of my stomach.

Then the tiny diamond at my navel caught the light.

His jaw flexed.