Awakened (Intimate Relations) Read Free Page A

building was going to be empty in a few days. A coffee shop would work perfectly in there, but only if he could figure out a way to approach the subject without it sounding like charity.
    That was the problem with having a shitload of money when your best friends were still earning their way. There was a fine line between helping, and looking as if you were trying to control things. He didn’t want to be that guy, but he did want to help.
    He sat there a while longer, holding her. Realized it might be hard to explain if he fell asleep and they both woke up out here in the morning. It wasn’t worth the risk. He hadn’t had any blackouts for quite a few years now, but he wasn’t up to taking any chances. Not with Mandy.
    He tightened his hold on her and stood with her in his arms. She blinked and focused on him as he walked with her around the room, turning out lights and checking the locks.
    “What’cha doing?”
    He kissed her forehead. Imagined tasting her lips instead. “Turning things off. Checking the locks. Making sure Rico’s dog door is unlocked. And then I’m carrying you into your bedroom so you can get some sleep. It’s late.”
    “Oh. Okay.” Her arms went around his neck and she held on.
    He got to Mandy’s room and shoved the door open with his hip, carried her to the bed, and carefully placed her in the middle. She sat up, blinking, still half asleep, her hair all tousled, full lips soft and inviting. Damn, she was sexy as hell.
    Then she looked at him like a tiny waif, reached out, and took his hand.
    “Stay with me tonight. Please? I don’t want to sleep alone.”
    He hadn’t expected that. He sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you think that’s a good idea?” He hardened against his jeans. His cock thought it was an amazing idea. He’d managed to keep his arousal under control all evening long. One simple request from Mandy and he was glad he was wearing snug jeans that hid the evidence. He hoped.
    She tilted her head and studied him. He met her gaze and held it, because there was nothing he wanted more than Mandy in his arms, no matter how bad a move it might be. His good intentions only went so far.
    “Yeah,” she said. “I think it’s an excellent idea.” Then she frowned, but she looked so cute he almost kissed her. “Unless, of course, you’re not attracted to me.”
    How could she possibly think something like that? He cupped her face in his hands and drew her close for a kiss. Of course, there was no reason to think otherwise. They’d lived two months in the same house and he hadn’t touched her, much less kissed her.
    Their lips met and she tasted sweet, an alluring combination of the drink she’d had earlier and a flavor that had to be all about Mandy. Her lips were soft, parting just for him. The tip of her tongue touched his, and it was all the invitation he needed. Still holding her face, he explored the contours of her lips, the sharp edges of her teeth, swept into her mouth and tasted all of her. Her hands were in his hair, her fingers sliding from his neck to his crown and raising shivers along his spine. It was embarrassing, how quickly his good intentions shattered and fled.
    As long as he left her satisfied and sleeping. That’s all that mattered. He couldn’t risk spending the night. It was too damned dangerous, but he knew there’d be no stopping now. Not tonight, no matter what he knew he should do.
    Finally, when he was nowhere through with wanting the taste of her, Marc slowly ended the kiss. So caught up in the dazed look in Mandy’s beautiful brown eyes, in the soft sweep of her tongue as if she tested her lower lip and then the upper, searching for his taste, that it took him a moment to find his voice.
    “I hope that takes care of any doubt about my being attracted to you. I swear, Mandy, you’re like a lodestone, drawing me to you no matter where you are, what you’re doing. From the first time I met you…”
    She smiled, remembering. “That