Free Just Can't Get Enough by Cheris Hodges Page A

close as he recognized what was happening to her. “You feel so good,” he whispered in her ear as he slowed his sexual pace. Celina uttered an incoherent sentence. Darius gently stroked her cheek as they pulled apart from each other.
    Celina stood up and quickly gathered her clothes.
    Darius stared at her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
    â€œThis, this was wrong.” Celina dressed and dropped her head in her hands. What have I done? she thought.
    Darius rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her waist. She threw his hands from around her, then pulled her shirt over her head.
    â€œWe both wanted this,” he said as he reached out to stroke her back.
    Celina jerked away. “This doesn’t change anything. What I said still stands. We’re friends, nothing more.” She walked over to the door and opened it. “Consider this a one-night stand because this will never happen again.”
    â€œI don’t believe that,” he said confidently. “What we just shared was only the beginning.
    â€œAs long as you know the rules,” she said.
    â€œRules?”
    â€œNo attachments, just sex.”
    â€œI don’t have a problem with that, but are you going to be able to follow your own rules?” Darius asked. “You’re not Carrie Bradshaw and this isn’t Manhattan.”
    Celina rolled her eyes. “And just what is that supposed to mean? Do you think men are the only ones who can have sex and walk away? Besides, my priority isn’t keeping your bed warm. I came here for my father. This is a by-product. You know what, forget the rules, this is the one and only time we’ll do this. If you don’t mind, I need to shower.” She nodded toward the door.
    â€œI’ll leave for now,” he said. “But this isn’t over, not by a long shot and you know that.” Darius winked at her as he walked out the door.
    As much as Celina wanted to tell him that he was wrong, she knew things between them had just gotten started.

CHAPTER 7
    For the next two weeks, Celina spent her days in Columbia and her nights avoiding Darius. The only reason she didn’t stay at the hospital with Thomas was because his doctor asked her not to. She wanted to hide from Darius because every time she saw him, she thought about the night that they’d spent together. She had to remain steadfast and stay away from him. Darius wasn’t what she needed in her life right now.
    Thomas had been responding well to his treatments, gaining weight and not coughing as much. Celina had to focus on her father, not her growing desire for Darius.
    â€œWhat’s wrong, Celina?” Thomas asked as she stared out of the window.
    â€œNothing,” she replied. “I was just thinking about how you fought to stay out of the hospital and look at you now.”
    Thomas smiled and sat up in the bed. “Just like your mother, you make me a better person,” he said.
    Celina bristled underneath the compliment. She wondered why, if Rena was so good for Thomas, he broke her heart the way he did. She wanted to ask him that, but decided that it was a conversation they could have at a later date.
    â€œWhen are the doctors letting you come home?”
    â€œMaybe in a day or so. I might be back in time for the festival.”
    Celina stood up and walked over to her father’s bedside. “The azaleas are looking pretty this spring,” she said.
    â€œCelina, I’m glad you came home. I never thought I needed anyone. Maybe I just never wanted to need somebody, but having you here is making this easier for me.”
    â€œI want to see you get well,” she said. “You have a lot more living to do.”
    Thomas nodded in agreement. “I see that now. I owe you a lot.”
    She took her father’s thin hand in hers. “No, you don’t. I’m going to head back before it gets too late,” she said. “Call me if you need