Page 46 of Kiss Me Forever

But I wasn’t crying because of Duke.

No, I was crying because I loved the man that held me.

And I already knew what it felt like to lose someone.

And with everything surrounding us, I knew I would have to deal with losing a man I loved again.

Chapter 10

BROOKLYN

We hadn’t stayed at the hotel. The idea that the foundation had even spent money for each of the committee members to have hotel rooms in case they had too much to drink was ridiculous. But in the end, we had used that room. And we had snuck out of the building without anyone the wiser. I’d worn my dress, pulled my hair back in a tight chignon, and Reece had my panties in his pocket. Once again, we hadn’t spoken.

Because speaking about what was going on between us would actually have to mean something, and that wasn’t what we were doing in this moment.

And now I stood in my foyer, with Reece behind me, and I felt more lost than ever.

“I didn’t mean to break down like that.”

Reece leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. He had put his suit jacket back on, but hadn’t put on his tie. He still had a couple of buttons undone so I could see his chest and the outline of his nipple rings.

I’d always known that Reece had to be a little kinky, but the fact that both of us had piercings, tattoos, and I just had the best sex of my life, made everything a little surreal.

“You needed to.” He said it with a shrug in his voice, as if he was used to women breaking down in his arms after giving them the best orgasms of their lives. Not that I wanted to think about him with other women. I knew he had been with other women. Most likely countless women. In fact I had seen him on dates with other people when I had been with Duke. He was a father for God’s sakes. Of course he’d had sex. He needed to learn all of those techniques somewhere.

“I’m really not good at this whole awkward morning after thing even though it’s the middle of the night. Can I get you some coffee? A whiskey? Something to bang your head against because I’m being ridiculous right now?”

Reece just shook his head, his lips quirked into a small smile as he stood up.

“No. I don’t need any of that, Brooklyn. You’re doing just fine.”

“You don’t have to placate me, you know. I do realize I’m being ridiculous.”

He shrugged. I wanted to shake him and kiss him. Seriously, something was wrong with me.

“Reece—”

He moved forward then, wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, and crushed his mouth to mine. I moaned against him, unable to breathe or even process what was happening. And then he pulled away, leaving me breathless.

“Stop overthinking.”

“You obviously don’t know me then.”

“Brooklyn.”

“No. Don’t just say my name and get growly and pretend that what just happened didn’t.”

“There’s no pretending when it comes to you. We both know that.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” I asked, confused.

“It means what it needs to mean.”

“If you’re going to start sounding like Yoda, you can just leave. We can forget this ever happened and go back to work like we always do.”

“And how is that? When we both can’t stop looking at each other or saying the wrong fucking thing? This was bound to happen, Brooklyn. I’ve been trying to keep my hands off of you for years. First because you were too young, then because you were with Duke. Didn’t matter that we worked together. I wanted you. And I knew if I wasn’t careful, I was going to have you.”

Just like that, the man confused me once again. Why was he so good at confusing the fuck out of me? This man. This crazy man. He never made anything easy.