Read Online The Predicament (The Proposition #3.5) by Katie Ashley - Free Book Online Page A

the hall to the elevators. After slamming her hand against the down button, the doors opened up. She then punched the lobby button. To her frustration, Nate ducked inside just as the doors were about to shut.
    Jabbing a finger at him, Casey hissed, “I am not talking to you right now.”
    “Oh hell yes, you are.”
    Casey opened her mouth to protest when Nate turned and hit the emergency button on the elevator pad. The car came to a screeching halt, causing both of their bodies to shudder. “What the hell do you think you’re doing trapping us in here?”
    “When I said we were going to talk about this, I meant it, dammit. You’re not getting out of my sight until we make things right.”
    Sneering at him, Casey replied, “Good luck with that one.”
    With his hips, he pinned her to the wall. Taking her arms in his, he placed them over her head. “Now you listen to me. I love you—I have since the moment I saw you in Starbucks. Over all those years, we’ve had some ups and downs, but for the most part, it’s been good. Correct?”
    “Correct,” she grudgingly growled.
    “We’ve been a good team—we’ve learned to give and take from each other and work through our issues as a team. Correct?”
    “What does this—”
    Now it was Nate’s turn to growl. “Answer the fucking question.”
    “Correct, Asshole!” she snapped.
    “We’ve gone on some amazing trips and seen cool places, had a beautiful wedding and then honeymoon in Italy, and we’ve had wonderful times with our family and friends. Correct?”
    “Correct.”
    “During all those years, we’ve also managed to have some scorching hot sex. Correct?”
    Her anger receded a little as she wondered where he was going with this. “Yes,” she murmured.
    “So when you look back over all those years together, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?”
    Closing her eyes, she let her mind momentarily drift. When she pictured them, their years of dating, engagement, and marriage, she saw one thing—and it wasn’t sex. It was the two of them smiling and laughing over the little things.
    Tears pinpricked the back of her eyelids. “Oh Nate,” she murmured.
    His fingers came to grip her chin, and she opened her eyes to gaze up into his. “It wasn’t the sex you saw, was it?” When she gave a quick jerk of her head, Nate sighed. “Then why can’t you see what we have is good, and you don’t need to fixate on whether we’re having mind-blowing sex 24/7?”
    “I’m afraid,” she whispered.
    “Afraid of what?”
    Once again, she gave a jerk of her head. Although she was used to telling him everything, she couldn’t seem to bring herself to say this aloud. She hadn’t been able to voice this worry to anyone, not even Emma. Somewhere in her fucked-up head she thought that if she acknowledged it into words then it could really happen. So it had stayed festering in her mind.
    The intercom in the elevator buzzed. “Everyone okay?”
    “No,” Casey muttered as Nate replied, “Yeah, we’re fine.”
    “We’re checking the system and should have you out in a minute.”
    “Thanks,” Nate replied. He stared intently at her. “Please, Casey. We don’t have a lot of time.”
    As she stared into the face of the man she loved with all her heart, her resolve began to waver. She didn’t want to carry around the burden anymore. Swallowing hard, she finally uttered the thought that had been plaguing her. “I’m afraid that without the hot sex, you’re going to find someone else and leave me.”
    Nate’s dark eyes bulged. “Have you lost your mind?”
    She snorted as she swiped the tears from her cheeks. “Yes, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve officially gone over the edge.”
    “No offense, but you would have to be a little off to think I could ever leave you.”
    “But don’t you see? You’re the one who is a catch in our relationship—you always were. You’re sweet, smart, and hot as hell. Any single doctor or nurse on this