Read Because You Need Me (Falling for You, Book Two) for Free Online

leather couch, and a modular coffee table that hadn't held a single cup of coffee. An oversized flatscreen TV was attached to the wall, and I could count on one hand the number of times I'd actually turned the thing on. Off to the right, a few steps away from the French doors that led to the balcony, was a mahogany dining room set that I had never dined on. Up the metal staircase was my bedroom. A simple four poster bed was nestled against the wall, with another set of floor-to-ceiling windows that gave me a front row seat to the sun rising over the city. I couldn’t remember the last time I was still in bed to experience it.
    Coming home was an appointment I squeezed into my day. But when I invited Penny to dinner, I knew I wanted things to be different. I wanted to build something worth coming home to.
    While I hadn't taken massive steps to break in my place and turn it into something more than somewhere I crashed at from time to time, I knew it was still my home, my abode, my space—which was why she was the first woman I'd ever invited over. The suites I'd arranged in the past were because I was scratching some itch, getting something out of my system. It was something temporary. What Penny and I were building had the potential to be something great.
    The doorbell rang and I had a moment of panic. The food I'd arranged wasn't here, the candles hadn't been lit-
    “Calm the hell down,” I muttered under my breath. She had last minute wedding stuff to do since the big day was tomorrow, and wouldn't be arriving for another thirty minutes at least. I strode to the door to find the concierge, Lindsey, grinning back at me. Part one of the problems that had just raced through my mind was ready to be ticked off.
    I pulled open the door, the petite brunette already red as the delivery cooler that stood beside her.
    “M-Mr. Wade! I have a delivery from Brick’s Place?” Her dark eyes dropped to the clipboard that was rattling in her hands before she let out a nervous chuckle and thrust it in my direction. “If you could sign for it, that would be awesome.”
    I sketched out my signature and roped in the food, giving her a lopsided grin. “Thanks, Lindsey.”
    Her eyes widened like she was surprised I knew her name, then she scurried off like she was worried she'd overstayed her welcome. I almost called her back to ask for her help putting all the stuff out, but my pride got the best of me. The hard part, cooking, was done. Surely I could put salad in a bowl and lasagna on a plate and make it look halfway decent.
    I wheeled the food beside the bar and tracked down an unopened dish and serving set. After a quick rinse and locating a dusty roll of paper towels, I wiped the chosen few pieces off like I was polishing silver. I fought the urge to Google how to set a table and decided to just wing it.
    I laid out the black square plates and silver salad bowls, then the forks and knives, and scrounged up some linen napkins. The salad was pre tossed, but I turned it a couple of times so I could put my mark on it. I finished the spread by carefully setting out the lasagna and servingware.
    “Wow,” I mused, suddenly feeling the urge to snap a picture. Even though I hadn't cooked a noodle myself, I still felt a sense of pride. It was something very similar to what I'm sure cavemen felt when they went out and slayed buffalo for their women.
    Since the table was set, I started on ambiance. I'd briefly debated scented candles, something light and decadent like vanilla sunrise or whatever the candle store was hawking, but decided to go with unscented ones instead. The only thing I wanted to smell was that gentle, fruity fragrance that orbited around Penny like that sun rotated around the earth. It was a fragrance that I wanted to immerse myself in...and made me instantly hard as a rock as I tried to pinpoint the different notes of fragrance in it. It was a dangerous game to play because once I started thinking about her scent, I