Chapter Forty-Seven

Angel was vaguely aware that this wasn’t a good idea. But she didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was being closer to Colton, in every possible way.

She barely had the patience to get out of her pants. Even as she yanked them off, her need to be with him was intense. It hadn’t been like this before. Time had made her needy.

She wanted him naked, and it seemed the fastest way to make that happen was to get naked herself. Rather than take the time to undress each other, they went the more efficient route and ripped off their own garments.

“God.” He swallowed as he paused to look at her. “I thought I’d remembered how beautiful you are. I thought my fantasies were pretty close, but they weren’t this good.”

She might have said thank you, or she might have told him to stop talking and focus on undressing, but she didn’t get the chance. He was kissing her again, and her thoughts scattered off into pleasure.

He didn’t play around. No doubt, he could tell how desperate she was. He touched her. His fingers slid inside her, and they both moaned. He continued to stroke her, and while it felt incredible, she wanted more.

She needed him.

All of him.

She let out a whine of frustration, and he chuckled into her open mouth.

They were on the bed, though she wasn’t quite sure how she’d gotten there… Right, he’d carried her. She was happily dazed. When he reached out to open the drawer of the nightstand, she nearly shouted in joy. She squirmed against the fingers of his other hand in anticipation.

“Oh, no,” he whispered after a brief pause.

“Oh, no, what?” She was instantly alert and listening for danger. Even sex couldn’t turn off her instincts entirely.

“These are expired.”

Angel took the familiar box from him to study the date herself. Surely, he was reading it wrong. Condoms didn’t expire. At least, not when owned by a man in his sexual prime.

“Is this the same box you had when we were together last year?” she asked in confusion.

He shrugged, then nodded. “There were still some left, and I haven’t been with anyone since you.”

“Seriously?”

They stared at one another, out of breath.

“Yeah. I don’t want to have to lie to someone. And I doubt I’d be able to handle someone screaming out the name Duncan without laughing. And since I can’t tell anyone who I really am, I was holding off until I figured it out. They don’t tell you how to deal with these kinds of things when you go into protection.”

She bit her lip, and confessed, “I haven’t been with anyone since you, either.”

What did it matter if he knew she hadn’t found anyone she wanted to be with? Or that she still thought of him, and wished she could have stayed.

“I didn’t ask,” he said with that sexy grin she loved.

“But you wondered.”

“A little.” He held up the box as the smile slid from his face. “What do we do about this?”

She studied the date again and frowned. “They’re only two months out of date. I’m sure there’s a buffer.”

“You’re sure, or you think there is?” He tilted his head, hope in his eyes.

“They would have to leave a buffer in case someone didn’t even bother to check the date. They wouldn’t want to get sued.”

“I’d sure like to be using the condom, rather than talking about it.” He brushed a hand over his hair and winced.

“Me, too. Let’s just go for it.” She couldn’t believe those words had come out of her mouth. She was always the epitome of safety. She knew a baby would end her career, and normally she wouldn’t ever take that kind of risk.

But this was Colton.

And deep down, a part of her knew the odds of getting her career back were slim.

“And if something happens?” He raised a brow, surprise clear in his eyes.

“We’ll figure it out.”

Good grief. She never took this kind of chance with her future. She was always in control of her life—ever since she was twenty-one and gained control of her crazy life, that is.

It was the reason she’d left Colton a year ago without a word. Because she’d been losing control, and had been far too tempted to stay with him when he’d asked.

“If this goes bad, I’ll be the one reminding you it was your idea,” he said as he ripped one of the condoms from the strip.

“Sure, sure. Come on.” She made the hurry up motion then bit his neck in that spot by his ear that made him groan. The sound of the condom wrapper ripping was followed by a delicious pressure as he entered her in one thrust.

She may not have known it when she was fleeing San Francisco, but this was one of the reasons she’d come here. She’d wanted this feeling again, and only this man would do.