“I’m about to give it back then. I have a favor to ask.” I swallowed, and embarrassment tinged my cheeks pink again.
“Anything. You name it.”
“If you see me acting weird tonight, would you make sure I’m safe?” I rubbed my temple and sighed. “And please, don’t let me make a fool of myself.”
His head tipped to the left. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
I moved my hand up and down in front of my face. “If you see me staring blankly or not responding to someone, rescue me.”
His hands left my shoulders to grasp my face. “In other words, if I see you having a seizure, wrap my arms around you and pretend we’re having a moment.”
“Basically. Also, if I say something incredibly bizarre or my hand starts tweaking, get me out of there.”
“I got your back, sweetheart. We’ll keep you cool and stress-free, and that should prevent one, right?”
“We can try,” I said on a shrug. “At least it’s overcast and cool today. I should be okay.”
“You know that epilepsy, whether you want to call it that or not, is a legit medical condition,” he said and kissed my lips with tenderness. “People are going to understand if you have a seizure. You know this, right?” His lips were a hairbreadth from mine now. “You don’t have to be ashamed of it.”
“Maybe it is and maybe I shouldn’t be, but I am, so help me, please,” I begged, grabbing his face the way he held mine.
“Okay, relax, sweetheart. I will. I promise.” He kissed me again and convinced my lips to open so his tongue could settle inside. The sensation told me exactly what it would feel like to have all of him settled inside me.
I moaned softly, his body resting against me close enough for me to know that was exactly what he wanted too. He was hard and throbbing through his dress pants, which told me one thing: a line had been crossed that I was pretty sure couldn’t be uncrossed. We were in new, uncharted territory.
“Ahem,” a voice said behind us, and we both jumped, narrowly missing a headbutt.
He rested his forehead on my shoulder while I waved nonchalantly at Charity. She stood in the doorway, clad in a bathrobe with a grin on her face.
“Hey,” I said, trying not to laugh as the man in front of me shuddered with pent-up frustration. “He forgot his tie.”
Charity giggle-snorted and motioned at him. “He certainly forgot something.”
Mathias laughed and stood to his full height. “I’ll let you ladies finish your beautifying. See you soon.” He threw me a tender wink, and his hand stroked my cheek for a moment before he dropped it to his side.
He turned and strode past Charity, not bothering to hide the aftereffects of the kiss on his nether regions.
When he was gone, she walked into the room, planted both hands on her hips, and raised her eyebrow. “Well, you don’t see that every day.”
I lowered myself to the bed and gripped the bedspread tightly. “You’re telling me.” I couldn’t help the sound of desperation in my voice for the man who was no longer here.
“Something certainly has changed between you two. Best friends don’t do,” she waved her hand at the middle of the room, “that.” She jumped up on the bed next to me and patted my leg. “Want to talk about it?”
“If I had something new to say, but as usual, Mathias is still unsure about things.”
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Mmm, yeah, he looked totally unsure just now. What I just witnessed was a man who was incredibly sure about what he wanted.”
“Last night we were talking about the letter and the feelings I disclosed within it. He told me he feels the same way I do.”
She cocked her head in total surprise, and I could tell she was holding back the squeal that wanted to escape. “Mathias told you he loves you?”
I sat and flopped back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. “No. His exact words were that he feels the same way about me that I said I felt about him in the letter.”
“What the hell is wrong with you two? It’s like you’re both allergic to the L-word.” She was laughing, so I knew she was kidding even though she wasn’t.
“I’m not allergic,” I said, my arms crossed over my chest in a huff. “Mathias knows how I feel. I don’t need to keep saying it. Until he sorts out his feelings, there isn’t much I can do. Belaboring the point just makes a fool of me when he moves on.”
“He didn’t look like a guy who was moving on to me. Well, maybe he was moving on to the bedroom,” she joked, wiggling her eyebrows.
