I wake in the secure arms of the man I’m almost certain I’m in love with. I want to believe what I feel for him is one hundred percent real. But Blakely’s advice hangs over me like a dark cloud. I know she didn’t say what she did to be mean. She gave me the advice I needed to hear. If all this works out in the end, I know she’s going to become a lifelong friend.
“What time is it?” James murmurs, rubbing a hand against his forehead.
“You’re not late for work.” I drop a soft kiss to his lips, hoping it’s not the last one I ever get. When he tugs me against him, it takes every ounce of restraint not to surrender to my desire. I want him inside me so bad I can almost taste his tongue tangled with mine. But time isn’t on our side today. When he gets off work, I’ll be gone. “I need to talk to you, James.”
His eyes flicker open, the seriousness I saw all too often in the beginning there now. “Not the words any man wants to wake up to.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I should’ve talked to you last night. I just—” I just wanted to spend one more night naked in the sheets together in case this blows up in my face. “I have some things back at home I need to sort out.”
James sits up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He doesn’t have any training flights today, which is good for the amount of sleep he didn’t get, but he’s still expected to report to the airfield soon. Time is slipping away too fast. Tears threaten to prick the corners of my eyes. This is so fucking hard. “Spit it out, princess.”
“My time in North Haven has been amazing. But, I have a life back in Virgina Beach. One I have to go back to. At least for now.” I already know I’ll be handing in my two weeks’ notice first thing tomorrow morning. But what I don’t know is if I’m one hundred percent over Marc. And until I figure that out, I can’t promise myself to James.
“You’re really going back to him?”
“No.”
He tosses the sheets aside and hops up from the bed. Despite the grimness of the conversation, I’m still distracted by the naked man and his massive swinging cock. My mouth waters. Not now, Serenity.
“Sure as hell sounds like it.”
Telling him I’m quitting is on the tip of my tongue, but I bite the words back. It’s not fair to tell him that because it’ll make it sound like a promise to come back. A promise to pick up right where we leave off. Though it’s exactly what I want to say, I know it’s not fair. “I’m falling for you, James. I really am.”
“What the fuck does that matter?” he asks, slipping on boxers then uniform pants. “You’re leaving in a couple days.”
“I’m leaving today.”
As he finishes getting dressed, his shock morphs into anger. No doubt a mask for hurt. Well, this isn’t how I wanted things to go. “I need to know if I miss you. I need to know if you’ll miss me.”
“What the fuck kind of game are you playing, Serenity?” I think it’s the first time he’s called me by name. It makes me squirm uncomfortably.
My stomach twists in knots as I fear everything we’ve shared these past couple of days is going up in smoke. “I have to know for sure,” I say, sticking to my resolve to do the right thing. Even though it completely sucks. I need to stand my ground for what I know is necessary. “It’s not fair to you if I jump into something with you prematurely—”
“Go back to your asshole and let him keep stringing you along.” James stomps to the door. “We’re done here. Have a nice life.” He slams the door and storms off down the hall.