He peers at me warily. “What?”
“I have never seen you this uncomfortable before.”
His jaw flexes. “I’m not uncomfortable.”
I poke his hard stomach. “Yousoare.”
When he still doesn’t budge with an explanation, I start guessing. “Was I snoring?”
His mouth twitches. “No.”
“Was the bed uncomfortable? Thought you might be comfier on Charleigh’s bedroom floor?”
His quick eyeroll makes me smile. “No…”
I open my mouth to list off another guess, but he stops me.
“I was…” Malaki snakes his hand up his chest and lands at the back of his neck to give it a tight squeeze.
For a split second, I let my eyes wander down his tight torso before he starts to explain.
“I was worried. Okay? What if she needed something? What if the doctor was wrong and she does have a concussion? What if the medication wears off and her head hurts? I figured if I slept on her floor, I’d be there if she needed me.” Malaki’s worried gaze flits between mine, and I suddenly have a knot in my throat.
After a few seconds pass, I uncross my arms and let them hang down by my sides. “You were going to sleep on my daughter’s floor?” My voice is wobbly. “In case she needed you?”
Malaki exhales slowly. His jaw flexes, and he shrugs. “I know she’s notmydaughter, but–”
I erase the space between us without thought. My arms wind around his waist, and my head presses against his chest. The speed of his heart pounding against my ear tells me all I need to know about him.
Malaki Young is one of a kind. He may be my fake fiancé, but I still can’t help but feel lucky.
He says my name hesitantly while wrapping his arms around me, keeping me pressed against him. “Reese?”
I angle myself away from him slightly and look up at him with blurry eyes. “You are going to make an amazing father oneday, Malaki.” I force myself to smile, even though it hurts me to think he’ll be this for someone else. “And husband.”
Our eyes lock, and at that moment, something binds us together.
We move at the same time.
The sliver of space between us vanishes, and our mouths press together. I kiss him deeply, every concealed thought I’ve ever had about us showing itself in each stroke of my tongue.
“Kissing you messes with my head,” he says in between kissing. “Makes me want to say things I’m afraid you don’t want to hear.”
I take my hands from around his neck and pull on his wrist to pull him back to the bedroom. The door latches behind us, nothing but the moon and stars lighting the way to the bed. Malaki’s large hands reach up underneath my oversized tee where he grips me by the waist. He edges me toward the bed until the backs of my thighs hit the side.
“Do you want to hear them?” he asks.
The rasp in his voice sends a shiver down my spine.
He slowly peels the shirt off my body, and I’m surprised to find him still gazing into my eyes instead of taking in my naked body.
“I won’t say them if you don’t want to hear them.”
“You think you’re afraid?” I whisper.
He squints, like he’s trying to figure me out.
“I’m terrified,Malaki.” I slip my fingers beneath the waist of my panties and push them past my hips until they fall in a pile at our feet.
