Yours or Mine by D.S. Craver Page A

She’d throw a robe over it in the morning. Blake would never see it
when he came for his morning coffee. He liked her coffee because she
had the grind and brew type of coffeepot.
    She jumped at the sound
of thunder. Glancing outside, she saw continuous lightning flashing
in the sky. She took a deep breath. I can handle this. It’s just
a little thunderstorm. More alcohol was needed to calm her
nerves. So what she’d already had enough to drink. It wasn’t like
she planned to drive anywhere. The stronger, the better. Whiskey would hit the spot but she knew they didn’t have any in the
house. She wasn’t about to venture out to a store during a raging
storm to get her favorite bottle of whiskey.
    Once in the kitchen,
she opened the refrigerator and took out the bottle of red wine.
After pouring a glass, she started walking toward the window to peek
at the formidable sky. Before she got there, a loud clap of thunder
startled her. Leaping away from the window, she dropped her glass.
She moaned at the sound of glass breaking against the hardwood floor.
    A second later, she
yelled, “Ouch.” A piece of glass must be in her foot, she
thought.
    Could she limp to a
chair without stepping on more glass? Why hadn’t she turned on more
lights when entering the kitchen?
    She heard a knock on
the adjoining door. “Sydney, what happened? Are you okay,” Blake
asked with concern in his voice.
    “I dropped my glass
when I heard the thunder. Now I have glass in my foot. I better use
plastic glasses during thunderstorms.”
    He opened the unlocked
door and entered the kitchen. While flipping a light switch, he said,
“When I played golf with Zach, he mentioned how thunderstorms
weren’t your favorite thing.”
    “Watch out for the
glass on the floor.”
    “It’s okay. I’ll
be careful.”
    She forgot the pain for
a moment while noticing Blake only wore boxers. “I’m sorry I woke
you.”
    “You didn’t,” he
said, lifting her. “I got up to close a window in the great room
and heard your voice.”
    With her arms around
his neck, he carried her to a chair. After he carefully put her down,
she put a hand on his chest. “I guess I’m a bit heavy for you.
You’re breathing hard.”
    He stared at her slip.
“My breathing isn’t the only thing hard. Do you always sleep in
that thing?”
    “I guess I could take
it off.”
    “You just had to say
that.” He squatted. “I better get the glass out.”
    She stared at his
muscular legs before his bulge caught her attention. Blake wasn’t
kidding. He was hard. She gulped. “I’m sorry I broke your glass.”
    With her foot cradled
in his hand, he removed the glass and examined it. “Are you drunk?
You bought the set of wine glasses.”
    “Yeah, you’re
right. I did. I could be a bit drunk.”
    “I better clean your
foot and wrap it. It’s bleeding, but doesn’t look like a deep
cut.”
    While he worked on her
injury, she asked, “Do you think we should check on Carter?”
    “I did before I
headed to close the window. He was fast asleep. He usually sleeps
through storms.”
    Ten minutes later,
Sydney drank a glass of wine while Blake finished sweeping the glass.
After putting the glass in the trash can, he said, “Now, the
floor’s clean and I’ll carry you to bed.”
    “It’s okay. I can
walk. But I’d like a kiss first.” I need Blake to kiss me, she thought. Feeling all this desire for him is hard.
    “How about more than
a kiss? I think you should join me in my bed. I’ll keep you from
thinking about the storm.”
    Sydney exhaled a deep
breath. “How will you accomplish that?”
    “If it’s okay with
you, I’d like to make an exception to the platonic relationship
tonight.”
    “Give me a moment
here.” Who was she kidding? No way was she going to return to bed
alone. “I want to be with you too. Forgetting about our rules
tonight works for me.”
    “I’ve wanted you
from the first. You’re so beautiful.” He scooped her into