Forbidden Heat

Fourteen

At Danielle’s shocked expression, Trey swore under his breath. What kind of an idiot was he to blurt that out? With her in his arms, his cock still embedded in her, he had known. He wanted her to be his woman. And his alone. But right now she was in a relationship with both him and Jake.

For her, was the attraction being with two men? But, no, she wasn’t the type to take advantage of people. If she was having sex with him . . . and Jake . . . it was because she felt something for them, even if it wasn’t all-out love.

Of course it wasn’t love. They had a very unconventional relationship to say the least. He certainly understood those. After all, that’s what he’d had with Nikki and Angela back in college.

It was different with Dani, though. He found himself longing for more than just sex with her.

Just what did she feel for him? And for Jake?

He wanted her to be his, but what about Jake? Would Jake be okay with that, or did he want her, too? He’d given no indication.

Damn, this was getting complicated.

But right now, Dani still stared at him in shock.

“I don

’t mean for real.”

At that, her face crinkled in confusion.

“I mean, my sisters are coming to visit me and . . . I was hoping you’d pose as my girlfriend.”

Danielle blinked. When he’d asked her to be his girlfriend, her heart had leapt in joy. Then it had crashed down as she saw the conflicting emotions flickering in his eyes. It’s like he’d immediately wanted to withdraw his request.

She’d been a fool to actually believe he’d want more from their relationship than what they had. Fun, unconventional, and exciting sex.

And she didn’t want him to want more. She wanted him to wind up with Jake. Trey and Jake were meant to be together. She couldn’t come between them.

But, of course, she wouldn’t. He just wanted her to pose as his girlfriend, not be his girlfriend.

“Uh . . . sure. I could do that.”

“Don’t you want to know when?”

“Oh, yes. When?”

“Well, they’re coming on Friday and they’ll be here all week. If you could come even just for the weekend and stay with me—”

“I can stay the whole week . . . if you want me to.”

A lot of her clients were on vacation, so next week was a good time.

He grinned and drew her against him. “I would love for you to come for the week.” He kissed her, stealing her breath away.

“So why do you want me to pose as your girlfriend?” Danielle asked as she gazed at Trey over the candle on the red-and-white checked tablecloth in the small pizzeria they’d chosen for dinner.

“When Suzie talked to you on the phone last Saturday, she assumed you were my girlfriend, and . . . well, she asked to meet you.”

“Okay, but you could have told her that I wasn’t.”

“My sisters have never met one of my girlfriends.”

“Did you think a woman would get the wrong idea, being introduced to your family?”

He glanced at their joined hands. “No. As pathetic as it sounds, I’ve never really dated a woman long enough to call her a girlfriend.”