“Go to sleep, Em. We’ll pick this up when we’re both ready.”

She sighed and opened her mouth but I didn’t give her a chance to argue.

The first time I took things further with her, did everything I wanted to do, I needed to make sure we were on the same page. And awake. Coherent enough to enjoy everything.

I reached around her and opened her door, guided her inside as she grinned up at me, shaking her head. “Such a gentleman,” she muttered.

“Always. Good night.”

“Night, Kane.”

I left her room before I could show her exactly how un-gentleman-like I could really be.

Twenty-Three

Emmersyn

I closed the door after Kane walked away and settled my back against the door. Breathing out a sigh, I scrubbed my hands through my hair and blew out a breath.

It’d been a long time since I felt that heated pulse at the tops of my thighs from a simple kiss. Even longer since I’d been woken from a deep sleep and been turned on by a whisper in my ear.

Lincoln would have never woken me up on the couch to carry me to my room. He would have given me a blanket, tucked me in, and kissed my cheeks, sure. And it would have been sweet. Made me smile.

Carrying me to my room, up a flight of stairs with the ease of lifting a simple bag of flour? There was no way in hell he would have done that for me.

Kane wasn’t Lincoln, though. There was truly no comparison, not with the man Lincoln had revealed himself to truly be. And as I rested against the door, my heart still racing from that kiss, my lips still warm from Kane’s and that pulse only growing in arousal instead of lessening, I made my choice.

I knew exactly what I could have from Kane, exactly what he was willing to give me. So maybe it would never be love or last forever.

Did that mean we had to torture ourselves for the next year? Besides, after Lincoln, a real long-term relationship wasn’t exactly something I was considering diving into. Not when there was still so much drama left to endure before I would be truly free of him.

Decision made, I pushed off the door and went to the closet where I’d hung the clothes Kane and Heather had bought for me, and a few more items I’d ordered last week. My nightgown was a soft, creamy cotton with a lace trim that fell right over the upper curves of my breasts. The bottom lace hem hit me right above mid-thigh, barely covering my backside. It wasn’t the prettiest nightgown or lingerie I’d ever bought, but it was simple, lightweight, and practical. Regardless, it was better than showing up in his room in my boxers and tank tops I’d been wearing. I slipped it on and shivered as the cotton brushed over my hardened nipples and skimmed down my sides. My tan gave me a darkened olive skin tone and made the cream appear even brighter.