Bestfriend or Best Lover

THIRTY SIX: GREEN MONSTER

Belle's POV

"I have never seen you jealous before. This is a new side of you." Arden said, after we have reached the penthouse. He seated on the living room. Loosening his tie and taking them off. "So, I'm not sure. Was that the train wreck it felt like it was?"

I sighed. My emotions had been all over the map all day; I couldn't decide how I felt about anything.

"It could've gone worst," I said wearily, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. I was bone tired. Too tired to even think about catching the eight o'clock Krav Maga class with Lizzie. "I'd kill for a quick shower and our bed."

"I have some things to take care of before I can call it a day."

"That's fine." I yawned. "You should head on the study."

Thick silence greeted my suggestion. I was motivated to lift both my head and my heavy eyelids to look at him.

"I'm exhausted, Arden. I need sleep and ——"

"I need you," he mutter.

With a low moan, I rested my cheek against the seat and closed my eyes again. "I'm tired, really tired. Honestly, I've been feeling off all day."

"Are you sick?" He shifted, cupping the back of my neck gently and pressing his lips to my forehead. "You don't feel hot. Is your stomach upset?" I breath him in, absorbing the delicious scent of his skin. The urge to press my face into the crook of his neck was nearly overwhelming.

"No." And then it hit me. I groaned.

"What is it?" He pulled me into his lap, cradling me close. "What's wrong? Do you need a doctor?"

"It's my period," I whispered. "It should start any day now. I don't know why I didn't realize it before. No wonder I'm so tired and cranky; I'm hormonal."

He stilled. After a second or two, I tilted my head back to search his face.

With his lips twisted ruefully, he admitted. "I completely forgotten about that." His definitely talking about my mood swing everytime I get my period.

"Lucky you. You get to experience the inconvenience reserved for men with girlfriends and wives."

"I am lucky." Arden brushed loose strands of my hair away from my temples, his own luxuriant hair falling around that chiseled face. "And maybe, if I'm really lucky, you'll feel better tomorrow and like me again."

Ah, God. My heart ache in my chest. "You know, I love you. I just don't know how to handle being jealous."

"Trust me." He murmured, tracing my brows with his fingertip.

"I do. You know, I do." Folding over me, he pressed his lips softly to mine. Sliding my arms beneath his jacket, I hugged him, soaking up the warmth of his lean, hard body. I missed him so.

Arden pressed the advantage, his tongue dipping into my mouth, lightly touching and teasing mine with velvet licks. Deceptively unhurried. I sought a deeper contact, needing more. He groaned into my mouth, an erotic sound of pleasure and need that vibrated through me. Tilting his head, he sealed those beautifully sculpted lips over mine. The kiss deepened, our tongues stroking, our breaths quickening.

The arm he'd banded beneath my back tightened, pulling me closer. His hand slid beneath my camisole, cradling my spine in his warm palm. His fingertips flexed, gentling me even as the kiss grew wild. I arched into the caress, needing his touch against my bare skin.

"Arden..." closing my eyes, I buried my face in his neck. And settled for a minute there before I drifted to oblivion.

I woke sometime in the middle of the night to a racing pulse and quick, shallow breathing. Disoriented, I lay still for a moment, gathering my bearings and remembering where I was. I ease when it sank in, my ears straining to hear if I woke Arden up. When I discover him lying quietly beside me, his breathing deep and even, I relaxed with a sigh.