“Nothing if you’re a duke looking for a future duchess,” I teased. “We call it dating these days. I was thinking it’s best to ease you back into dating. Besides, you’ve had all of me, so it’s not like playing hard to get now would get me anything. And as you pointed out, I don’t play games.”
“I haven’t hadallof you, Freckles. I need to earn that though.”
My face flushed hot when I realized what he meant. “Oh, honey. We ladies don’t give that up unless it’s for birthdays, anniversaries, or we’re trying to talk you into buying a new car.”
Elijah threw his head back and laughed heartily, causing me to place my hands on my hips. “I was talking about your heart, but it’s good to know what I can expect next week.”
“Next week?”
“It’s my birthday.” He waggled his eyebrows and rubbed his hands together gleefully like he was already picturing parting my ass cheeks and sliding his cock inside me.
I cupped his face in my hands and lowered my lips until they hovered above his. “You can stay over tomorrow night. I take Wednesdays off and I always make French toast and crispy bacon for breakfast.”
“Being your neighbor sure has perks that the landlord never told me about.”
“I might not be your neighbor much longer,” I told him.
“Where are you moving to?”
“This historical home is about to go on the market, and I’m pretty sure I can get it for a good price.”
“You’re not seriously thinking about buying that Scooby-Doo haunted house.”
“I will if I can get the price that I want and Andy tells me the renovations won’t exceed what I want to spend. Will you be too afraid to visit me if I do?”
“Can I pour a circle of salt around the bed?” Elijah countered. “There’s no ghost or ghoul that can keep me away from you, Freckles.”
“Dinner tomorrow?” I asked. “I make amazing spaghetti and meatballs.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
Elijah walked me and Lulu to our front door. The goodnight kiss he gave me was long, soft, and full of promise, longing, and so much hunger that I nearly changed my mind. I knew if we were going to do this right, then we needed our relationship to be healthy. That meant we needed to take a few steps back, possibly even start all over.
He took a step backward after our kiss ended. He smiled softly at me and said, “The lady rocked my world, but in all the right ways.”
