Champagne Cravings by Ava McKnight

forthright. “I know you can be faithful. That I know of, you’ve
always dated one woman at a time. The real question is, can you be faithful for
longer than four or six weeks?”
    That wasn’t the only concern I had. I turned away and
started to pace as anxiety washed over me. I said, “Maybe that’s not the real
issue. Can I even hold your interest for longer than four or six weeks?”
    “Well, it’s been three years so far, sweetheart.”
    I whirled around, my finger pointing at him. “That’s because
we haven’t had sex yet.”
    Despite the tension that filled the room, one corner of his
mouth lifted in a sexy grin. “ Yet? ”
    I’d just made it a foregone conclusion, when I’d told him
emphatically in the hallway this morning I had no intention on acting upon the
admission I’d made about wanting him to fuck me.
    Backpedaling would make me a hypocrite, so I said, “I wanted
you last night and I was willing to do exactly what I’ve been accusing you
of—having sex without any real commitment around it.” Of course this led to the
extremely disappointing revelation that I truly was a hypocrite. With a groan,
I added, “Christ, that makes me the bad guy. Geez, what is wrong with
me?”
    He shot to his feet and grabbed my wrist before I could turn
away. I was suddenly too ashamed to look him in the eye, but he forced me to by
hooking his finger under my chin and lifting it.
    “Hey, slow down a sec,” he said, his blue irises shimmering
under the soft glow of my chandelier. “First, you are definitely not the bad
guy in this scenario. Sometimes I’m too cocky for my own good. And you know I
wanted you too. The way you looked at me when I stepped out of the shower…
Hell, how could I not have capitalized on that when I’ve fantasized about you
for so damn long?”
    “Don’t let me off the hook,” I told him as my stomach
twisted. “Here I’m always preaching about fidelity and whining about the fact
the men I choose—who have reputations for cheating and having one-night
stands—can’t be faithful and continually break my heart, and I’m no better.”
    “We didn’t sleep together last night, Lace. You didn’t have
a one-night stand when you adamantly oppose it.”
    “I would have,” I told him, “if you hadn’t been thinking
more clearly than me. If you didn’t respect me the way you do…” I shook my
head. “It all would’ve gotten out of hand, and the worst part is, if you’d have
taken advantage of the fact I wanted you, I would have loathed us both come
morning.”
    He sighed. “I know you’re struggling here, Lace. And let’s
face it, I’ve never been in a real relationship, so I don’t have much reason to
expect you to trust me. Casual dating is the biggest commitment I’ve ever
made.”
    Aha. He’d just painted the big picture right in front
of my face and it made me sigh in sheer torment.
    “I can’t just casually date you, Mike.” It wasn’t in my
nature. But was more than casual dating even in his DNA?
    In a low tone, he said, “Yeah, I know.” The finger under my
chin skimmed over my jaw and then he tucked a loose curl behind my ear. “And I
don’t have longevity on my side. No positive track record to prove I can do
what I say I intend to do. I get that.”
    “I’m not putting this all on you,” I insisted. “My fear of
taking a leap of faith is because I do have a track record. A dismal one
I don’t want to keep repeating.”
    “So we both have some work to do. I can handle it, Lace.”
    I stared at him, wanting to believe him because he was so
genuine. And trying so hard.
    How could I shrug him off? The guy was pulling out all the
stops and he wasn’t attempting to disguise or minimize his flaws. He was
throwing them out there for me to scrutinize and even balk at, which I
couldn’t, given his direct approach. Nor could I deny accountability for my own
shortcomings. Still… I was at a loss for how to proceed from here.
    “Where does that