Crossing the Line Read Free Page B

sorry.”
    Tears welled in the corners of her eyes. “Stupid birthday. Stupid ovaries.”
    “Hey, ssshh…there is nothing about you that is stupid.” He returned his glass to the table, untouched, then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight to his chest. “This isn’t like that time. Nothing that’ll make you sad or upset, I promise.”
    With that word, some of the tension slipped away. Derrick had never broken a promise to her. Including the one he’d made while they were dating, when he’d promised fatherhood would never be for him.
    “Do you trust me?” His breath tickled her ear, making her shiver as she nodded. “Good. I need that right now, so I can tell you my idea. That’s all it is, baby, an idea. If you say no, I won’t mention it again.”
    “I don’t know whether to be freaked out or excited.” Though frankly, freaked out was in the lead. “Can you just tell me before my imagination runs away and joins the carnival?”
    His deep chuckle caressed her soul as his hands did the same to her silk-covered breasts. “I want to take you to that little resort for your birthday. Make this birthday a celebration you’ll never forget—for good reasons.”
    She tipped her head back and smiled at him. “Of course I’ll say yes to that. Why wouldn’t I?”
    “Because you haven’t heard the rest of it. I want to invite somebody to join us.”
    “Oh.” Not what she’d imagined when she showed Derrick the private resort’s website, but it’d still be fun. Maybe they could sneak out to the pool and skinny-dip in the moonlight, grab some alone time. “Well, I guess I can share you for a weekend.”
    A laugh burst from his mouth. He put his hard-earned muscles to use and shifted her to a straddle position that allowed her a view of his ruggedly handsome face.
    She cupped his jaw, stroked the blond bristles of his goatee. “Whether we’re alone or part of a group, I’ll be with you, and that’s all that matters. So, were you thinking of asking John and Tina? Tina and I can overload on treatments at the day-spa in town while you and John do the golf thing. Then, when I’m all prettied-up, you take me to the shops and buy me something ridiculously overpriced that I totally deserve.”
    “Baby, you don’t need spa treatments to be gorgeous. And you deserve a hell of a lot more than I’ll ever be able to give you—at home or in some fancy store.”
    And here came her guilt, galloping to the forefront. She’d made him feel like a loser. About the past. About being a tradesman instead of a polished professional with a six-figure income. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. You know I don’t care about money or things, and the rest…I’m at peace with, really.”
    “Yeah.” One hand threaded through her hair, cupped the back of her head and drew her forward for a deep, soft kiss that ended way too quickly. “And your suggestions sound like a good time, but it’s not what I had in mind. I meant we should invite one person to join us. A guy, and not so I have a golf buddy.”
    What? Oh god, his comment in the kitchen. He couldn’t possibly mean it. Not seriously. “Then why invite a guy along?” She strung the words out, carefully and slowly, as if each one were a potential bomb.
    “For you. I won’t lie, though, it’d be for me too.”
    “Y-you want to be with a man?”
    Derrick’s sky-blue eyes bulged, and he shuddered. “No. Make that a giant hell no . It’d be for me because watching your body move and the expressions on your face, hearing the sexy sounds you make when you’re getting off—those things turn me on more than anything in the world.” Proof of his statement rubbed her through his shorts. “And I know the idea of being with two guys at once turns you on.” At her nod, his eyes darkened. One hand slipped under the edge of her robe, his fingers walking up the inside of her thigh with deliberate slowness. “Only the truth between us, always,