Read Closer Than A Brother Online
Authors: Hadley Raydeen
Closer Than A Brother (13 page)
* * * *
He stood in the kitchen, on the phone. “Look, I don’t know what to tell you, Ellen, I’m just not interested in that type of relationship with you.” He rolled his eyes and let out and exasperated sigh. He would prefer to be upstairs next to Danielle, the woman he truly loved. “You have to stop calling me.”
“This is about her, isn’t it? You cannot be serious about that!”
“Yes, this is about Danielle. I’m in love with her.”
“You are a fool. The same way you feel about me is how she feels about you. She doesn’t love you!”
“Then I guess I’ll be a fool waiting for her to care as deeply for me as I do for her. She is worth it to me. You deserve to find someone that cares about you the same way.”
“Trust me, Shane. I know I’m worth more than this shit. Good luck wasting your life chasing after someone that isn’t into you. Trust me, I’ve been there and it doesn’t work!” She hung up on him—the bitter words still ringing in his ear. He placed the phone on the counter in front of him, and lowered his head. “Damn it,” he mumbled. “I can’t blame her for being angry. I know how it feels to love someone and they not return the feelings.” He ran his fingers through his hair with frustration. “I want to make her my wife, and I could barely get her to say she loves me.” He hit the countertop. “This is crazy!”
“Do you talk to yourself often?”
He jumped at the sound of her voice and turned around embarrassed she had caught him having a full-fledged monologue about her in his kitchen. He perched his butt back against the counter and took in the sight of her standing in his kitchen, her hair a bit of a mess from their time in bed, barefoot, and wearing only his T-shirt. He felt his cock stir, and he tried to think of anything but sexy thoughts of her. They had been making love for almost two days straight he was sure she was exhausted from his pounding.
“I tend to talk to myself when I’m frustrated. It helps me work it out in my head.” She moved into the room closer to him. His heart started to pound as she got closer. He cleared his throat, trying to get himself together. “How much of that did you hear?”
“Pretty much all of it,” she said continuing her trek toward him.
Shit.
“You weren’t supposed to hear any of that.”
“Why not, it was about me?” She stopped short of him. “It was all so sweet—everything you said.”
“You shouldn’t have to hear about my feelings for you while I’m arguing with an ex.”
“I’ve heard it all Shane, it doesn’t matter how you say it. I know you feel it and that you love me.” She reached out and took his hand, pulling her to him. She reached up and ran a thumb over his bottom lip. He kissed it lightly and she smiled. He couldn’t help but love her. He wrapped his arms around her waist pressing their middles together. He looked down at her and she smiled. “What?” he asked smiling back at her.
“This feels so right.” She laid her head on his chest, allowing him to hold her.
“Mmm, yes it does,” he said to the top of her head.
“I’m sorry, Shane,” she said quietly. His heart sped up. He was not sure where she was going with this.
“For—for what, Dani?”
She moved her head slightly, still in his arms but able to look up at him. “For being so stubborn. I don’t know what I was thinking. I don’t know what the issues were and whatever it may have been none of it really matters when I’m with you like this. Everyday I’m with you, I love you more and more. I think something about that scared me, loving you intimately, when you’ve always been like a brother to me.” She laughed.
“What we’ve been doing the last day and half has been far from a sibling-type relationship, Dani.”
“I would say so.” She smiled and looked at him. “It’s been good, Shane—really good.”
“Did you mean it when you said it, Danielle?” He had to know if she meant the words and it hadn’t just been said in the heat of moment.
“I love you, Shane. I meant it then, I mean it now. If you will have me, I will mean it forever.”
He couldn’t help the giddy grin crawling across his face. He had waited for Danielle to say this to him his whole life. “You know how I feel about you, Danielle. I have been in love with you for a long time. Forever with you is all I want.” He dipped his head to claim her mouth with his. Loving the way she responded to his kisses. He slowed the kiss, thinking now was the time. He had to ask. He moved his mouth from hers smiling when she moaned her disappointment.
“Shane,” she whispered. “Why’d you stop?” She tried to kiss him again, but he ducked his head. Putting his forehead to hers he looked into her light chocolate eyes. “Marry me, Danielle,” he said the words before he lost the courage.
* * * *
The words she knew he wanted to say, even expecting them, still surprised her. She stood still in his arms. Soaking in the moment—the feel of being in his arms. The way her lips still tingled from the way he made love to her mouth. There was no need for her to hesitate, but when she did she saw the rejection in his face. He lowered his gaze from her and even loosened the grip on her waist. She hated that she put that look in his eyes.
“Hey,” she said placing two fingers under his chin to lift his beautiful, gray-blue eyes back at her. “You don’t have to wait for me anymore, Shane. I will marry you.” She kissed his lips lightly and allowed her answer to register for them both. The smile that lit his face warmed her heart.
“You’re saying yes?” he asked.
She laughed at the excitement in his voice. “I’m saying yes.”
He let out a whoop and lifted her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist. She giggled like a girl as he kissed at her face. “Shane, you are crazy. Put me down.” She loved the way he made her feel.
“Come upstairs with me,” he said depositing her back on her feet. “Oh no you don’t, we have to shower and get out of here. Brandi and Jason are going to send out a search party after us.” He gave her a devilish grin. “You heard what I said Shane.” She started to back away slowly from him. He followed. She turned and made a mad dash for the stairs, with Shane hot on her heels.
Chapter Twenty-One
After a shower, more sensuous than she originally had in mind, they emerged from the master bathroom wrapped in plush bath sheets. “You are so bad.” She wagged a finger at him. He feigned shock and winked at her. “You need to leave the room. If I remove this towel to get dressed and you attack me again, we are never getting out of this damn house.” She laughed.
“I don’t see the problem.” He joked from across the room.
“Shane!” She warned, turning her back to him. When she turned back to him he was on one knee in the middle of the room with the black box in his hand. A nervous hand floated to her mouth as she took the steps to close the distance between them. The ring box in his nightstand drawer had slipped her mind.
“You already said yes, but the ring was up here,” he said as she stood above him her eyes brimming with tears. “Don’t cry, baby,” he said softly. “You are my past, present, and future, Danielle.” The simple words were beautiful. She nodded her head yes to agree with him and to answer his proposal, again, too choked up to speak.
He opened the box and she let out a small gasp. “Oh my God, Shane, it’s beautiful,” she whispered.
“So are you,” he said taking the ring from the box and putting it on her finger. He stood back up taking her in his arms. “Do you like it?” he asked holding her tight.
She sighed. “Absolutely, it’s the perfect fit.” She could feel him smiling against her.
“The ring or us?”
“Both.”
The End
About the Author
Hadley Raydeen lives in a suburb outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband, two children, and one dog. By day she works as a Human Resources professional. In her spare time she loves to edit and write. Hadley has been editing for almost five years as a content and line editor for three different publishing houses. She recently is trying her hand as an interracial romance and erotica author.
http://hadleyraydeen.webs.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Hadleywrites
https://twitter.com/HadleyRaydeen
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