Page 19 of Midnight & Memories
“I would rather stay in bed with you for the entire morning. We could always Door Dash breakfast.”
Ridge palmed her shoulders.
“As tempting as that sounds, I’d rather go out. We will work many long hours together in the next few months, and I’d like the chance to take you out while I can. Take out via Door Dash is inevitable in our immediate future with this project. Besides, we just started this thing between us.” He says as he motions between them with his hand before continuing. “And I don’t want you second-guessing my intentions. I want—no—I need you to be comfortable with wherever this may go between the two of us.”
Poppy blinked a couple of times. It was as if her brain registered what her body, drunk off past-life passion, was now sobering up to.
Fuck! I didn’t mean for her to second guess herself! Not now!
“No. You are right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean this to happen, not after I tried to make boundaries last night. You must think I’m a tease.”
He cupped her face in his hands.
“You are not a tease! My sweet, you are human and trying to figure out whatever this is between us. No one can fault you in that, and neither should you!”
“Then why do I feel like I’ve done something wrong?”
“Baby, you haven’t! I was only worried about last night and tried to make sure I was in check. Your comfort zone means everything to me. I’m sorry if I confused you.” He said in a breathy tone.
He hoped that would change the tension between them, which had seemed to thicken with each word. His mind toyed with Poppy’s blood, and he wanted—no—needed to get out of the shower with her if he had any hopes of composing the monster within him. She was too desirable in her naked state for him not to want to bite her.
She frowned.
“I like you, Ridge. I really do. But I’m not sure where we should take this. I was a fool to take things further than we had last night, and I’m sorry.”
Now he was frowning.
“No! You can’t think that way. I won’t have it because we’ve done nothing wrong! We’ve been attracted to each other since before we knew we were business partners, which has to mean something!”
He bore into her eyes with his gaze, hoping her past-life awareness would kick in and show her how they met on happenstance back then, too. Her gaze met his in a similar intensity before she cocked a brow.
“You know, you are right. There’s no sense in trying to label what’s happening so soon. We like each other, and for now, I’m comfortable with that if you are.”
Ridge’s lips curled up into a smile.
“I’m very comfortable with that. I’m going to get dressed.” He said as he stepped out and reached for a towel to dry off the water droplets on his body.
Poppy smiled at him as she rinsed off her conditioner and shut off the water. He reached for a towel for her and dried her back off. She arched in response to his touch.
“If you keep that up, we will both starve today.”
“Well, I’d better leave you to it then because I, for one, would like some breakfast. And then after that, we can see where the day takes us.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“I’ll lay out a shirt and some sweats for you. I think they will fit.”
His need to claim her subsided substantially as they reached Hal’s Diner. The distance between them was at the comfort level he needed, but he wasn’t sure how long he could go without satisfying his hunger for her blood. He needed to feed to keep his temptations at bay, but even with that, he wondered how long he could keep his secret from her.
The morning and afternoon flew by quickly, and Ridge was now faced with taking her back to her car, something he didn’t want to do. His hesitation to get her into the car after spending the day with her proved that.
“Stay with me tonight?” He said to her as he nibbled on her ear.
“Ridge, I’d love to, but I work tomorrow morning. I must leave my place by 5 AM to get there on time. Not to mention the fact that I need a change of clothes. Eveningwear for the morning commute would be a definite, noticeable walk of shame.” She said with a sigh. Her eyes then quickly brightened. “Unless you want to spend the night at my place? You can pack a bag and head out as early as you need to in the morning.”
Ridge lowered his gaze from her. His dick pressed against the zipper of his pants just by thinking about her proposition. But he still hadn’t fed yet, and going to her place could prove dangerous. Her intoxicating essence would be everywhere in her apartment, not just the sheets at his place. Controlling himself might prove harder, yet she mentioned he could leave whenever he needed to in the early morning.
“Deal.”
