Gina just stood and shook her head. “I’ll fall asleep again if I do.”
“Not with me, you won’t,” he said with a wink and pulled her down to sit beside him. “I hardly ever sleep.”
“How come?”
“I’m a gaming addict.” Laughing it off, Sloan shrugged. “Better than heroin, right?”
What an odd thing to say.
“How come there isn’t a ring on this finger yet, hmm?” He took her left hand, studying it, and softly kissed her palm. “When I know Matt popped the question.”
“He told you?”
“I knew he was planning on it, silly girl, and when you showed up on Thanksgiving with your finger bare, I got it out of him.” The blue eyes staring into her soul were almost as bloodshot as hers. “What the fuck is spinning inside that pretty little head of yours?”
“I didn’t say no.”
“But you didn’t say yes, either.”
“I wanted to, but…” At a loss for words, Gina gnawed on her lip.
“You are trouble.” With his fingers going through her hair, Sloan combed the freshly washed strands. “I can assure you, Matt is not bisexual—not in the usual sense, anyway. I mean, it’s no secret he’s fucked a dude on occasion, so technically, he fits the definition, but he’s not, you know?”
“That doesn’t matter to me.”
“What is it then?”
“Kit.” And she placed her hand on top of his, halting the perusal of his fingers.
“Oh, him.” He waved away her concern. “He’s… fucked up. I don’t know where his head’s at lately.”
“But they love each other, Sloan.” The looks. The intimate touches. “I saw it with my eyes, and I know you did too.”
“We all love each other, Trouble.” The tip of his finger traced a slow path down the hollow of her throat to her breast. “And wehave for a very long time. You think everyone would put up with me if they didn’t?”
“I see through you, Sloan Michaels.” Crossing her arms over her chest, Gina sat back. “I don’t know why you pretend to be such an asshole because you’re really not.”
“Figured me out, huh?” Chuckling, he poured himself a hefty shot of whiskey, slammed it back, and then his hands were holding her face. “Matt lovesyou.”
I know.
“I told Matt he should fuck Kit.” She wet her lips. “I encouraged him to, actually.”
“Why?” His eyebrow arched, and that smirk turned into a devious grin. “You wanna watch?”
“No, because I need him to be sure.”
His head tilting to the side, he let her go. “Suppose they did, and they wanted to be together, could you love them both?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“Are you looking for someone to wash your sins away, or do you want permission to embrace them?” He rose from couch and stood in front of her. “Because you sure loved playing with him.”
“And you.”
“Well, I’m right here, Trouble.” Holding her chin, he swept his thumb over her lips. “Should you and Matt ever want to play again.”
Matt agreed to this evening’s meeting only because he knew Gina needed her rest. She would have forced herself to stay awake otherwise, and she was beyond exhausted when he picked her up at the hospital this morning. When he left, she was eatingthe Thai he ordered, and knowing Gina as well as he did, she was fast asleep on the couch by now.
