Ember“What are you doing?” I managed to ask, my breathing already becoming labored. “Why shouldn’t I move?”“To answer both of your questions in one, I want to show this pretty pussy some love, and if you scoot back, you’re going to ruin it for both of us.”I vaguely registered him using the L-word, but I hardly thought it meant anything in the context he used it. My heart missed that memo and went ahead to skip a beat just because he said the word out loud anyway.“I won’t move,” I agreed huskily. Expecting him to drop right to his knees and dig in like he had done before, I was surprised when I felt the dip of the mattress on my left when his knee hit it, the warmth of his body hovering above mine, and the soft press of his lips on my mouth.He kissed me lavishly, passionately. My hands slid up the toned muscles on his back and into his soft hair. My moans disappeared into his mouth.When he finally stopped kissing my lips to pay attention to my neck, my shoulders, my ear, and my c

KadenThe pancakes went a lot faster than I had initially anticipated and, surprisingly, weren’t a complete disaster. That was where I made up time. I had thought I might need to factor in time to scrap one batch and start another.I plated up my creation, got maple syrup and whipped cream I found in the back of my fridge out after checking it wasn’t expired, and took my girl breakfast in bed. Ember was just starting to stir when I walked in. She did one of those stretches that had earned her nickname and lazily blinked open her eyes. Just like a kitten.“Are my eyes deceiving me, or is Kaden Marx bringing me breakfast in bed?” She smiled, sitting up with surprise in her eyes.“Your eyesight is just fine.” I handed over her breakfast, cutlery, and a glass of water. Then I settled in beside her with my own. “If I’d planned this better, there would have been juice. But someone showed up and surprised me last night.”“Water is perfect,” she told me, leaning over to give me a quick peck

EmberHearing them from him was exactly what I’d been wishing for, a sign he wouldn’t run and write me off if I said them first. Hearing those words for the first time in earnest from any man who wasn’t related to me surely should have elicited a more appropriate response.There was only one conclusion to be drawn for all this. Something was wrong with me. Any other girl would have turned around, run to him, thrown her arms around the gorgeous, incredible man who said he loved her for the first time, and told him she loved him too.Only, I hadn’t done that. I had, in fact, reacted in the exact same way I was afraid he might have had I said it first. I turned and ran.I blamed my reaction on my overactive imagination. I was halfway to the street when I realized I hadn’t actually imagined what he said. By then, it was too late.Forgetting I meant to stop by my own office first, I marched straight to Mr. Marx’s office. I was so out of it, I didn't even realize I was still ten minutes ear

KadenI texted him on the way down to the parking garage to ask if he had time for a coffee. He replied almost immediately with a thumbs-up emoji, telling me he had taken the afternoon off.We met at a coffee shop near his office. I got there first since he was still wrapping up at work and snagged a table around the back corner. It was the most private table I could get, and we were going to need at least some semblance of privacy while having this conversation.Ryan arrived about twenty minutes after I did, his dark hair windswept and his cheeks tinged with red from the increasingly cold weather. Green eyes sparkling, he was grinning and undoubtedly relieved to have the day off work until he saw the expression on my face.Sliding into the seat across from mine, his eyebrows pushed together. “You look like shit, dude. What’s up? You can’t be jetlagged from a flight to Houston.”“I’m not jetlagged.” I just hadn’t gotten much sleep because I was up half the night making love to his sis

KadenShutting off the water in the shower, I reached for a towel and dried my hair before knotting it around my waist. There was something up with my girl, and I needed to find out what it was. There was a pit forming in my stomach that it was about her telling me she loved me too, that perhaps in the bright morning light, she was regretting saying words she didn’t really mean.The muscles in my jaw tensed, but I forced myself to loosen up. I refused to believe she didn’t mean them. It was just my mind playing tricks on me, projecting old insecurities about no woman ever loving me after my mom died onto an unrelated situation.Ember had been honest and sincere when she said she loved me. Her green eyes were open and expressive. I saw the emotion shining from them when she said it. Whatever was bothering her, it couldn’t be that.I dressed fast, hearing the news coming from the television in the living room and suddenly eager to make sure Ember was still even here. God, I didn’t know